The Legal Program handles cases that involve infringements upon constitutional rights and civil liberties. We represent individuals or classes of individuals whose cases will either serve to create new precedent or will result in general system-wide reform in favor of protecting and defending civil liberties.
In other situations, we may not file a lawsuit, but may write letters calling for changes or reforms.
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Apr 4, 2004
US v. Blaine County
Voting Rights
In February 2001, the ACLU, on behalf of Native American residents of Blaine County, sought to intervene in a suit brought by the US Department of Justice against Blaine County for a violation of the 1964...
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Oct 7, 2003
State v. Mount
Criminal Legal Reform
The ACLU challenged the application of the sex offender registry law to people who had already served their sentence prior to the date of enactment of the registry in 1997. Robert Mount had fully served his...
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Feb 22, 2002
Snetsinger v. Montana University
2S-LGBTQIA+ Rights
Status: Victory!
The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the state must provide lesbian and gay employees of the University of Montana System with the option of purchasing health insurance and other employee...
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Feb 10, 2002
White et alia v. Martz
Public Defense
In 2002, the ACLU, acting on behalf of indigent criminal defendants from seven counties throughout Montana, brought suit alleging widespread unconstitutional deficiencies in the public defender system. A...
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Feb 1, 2000
Castro v. Billings Police Department
Racial Justice
Status: Other
This historical racial profiling case was the first to be settled after being filed at the Montana Human Rights Bureau as part of the Montana Human Rights Act. Billings police officers stopped Bonnie and...
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Dec 1, 1999
ACLU of Montana v. Custer County
Freedom of Religion
Status: Other
The ACLU sued Custer County after sending letters to encourage them to remove a large Ten Commandments sculpture and a seasonal Nativity scene from the courthouse lawn, citing separation of church and state...