David Paoli of our firm (left), congratulates Jordan Johnson after hearing the verdict as co-counsel Kirsten Pabst (right) looks on. Following a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for about two hours before unanimously finding Mr. Johnson innocent of the charge.
Missoula Legal Blog
OSHA Forces BNSF to Eliminate “Points for Injury” Policies
OSHA announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with BNSF that requires BNSF to eliminate several policies that had placed employees who reported on-duty injuries under increased management scrutiny. The terms of the settlement require BNSF to...
Federal Judge Orders Cigarette Companies to Admit Lying
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler has ordered the nation's largest and most powerful cigarette manufacturers to publish notices admitting that they manipulated cigarettes to make them more addictive and that smoking causes an average of 1200 American deaths a day.The...
More Citizens United Fallout: Ninth Circuit Says MT Must Allow Parties to Endorse Judicial Candidates
The majority opinion sets the stage: Since 1935, Montana has selected its judges through nonpartisan popular elections. Mont. Code Ann. § 13-14-111. Further to this end, Montana makes it a criminal offense for any political party to “endorse, contribute to, or make an...
Supreme Court Confirms That Montana Constitution Doesn’t Permit Supreme Court “Districts”
On May 18 the Montana Supreme Court affirmed Judge Reynolds' decision that a legislative scheme to elect Supreme Court justices from "districts" violates the Montana Constitution.Before turning to the merits of the case, the Court first considered and rejected a...
CDC Says Montana is Second-Most Dangerous State for Drivers
A recent analysis of Centers for Disease Control statistics indicates that Montana is the second-most dangerous state to drive in. Montana had 23.1 deaths per 100,000 residents in the period from 2007-2009. In 2007, 11.1 of these Montana deaths were related to drunk...
The Last Full Measure of Devotion
Memorial Day greetings to you and yours.
Another Short Statute of Limitations
Your deadline for appealing from any adverse action on your conductor certification is going to be 120 days. That's even shorter than the deadline for retaliation and discrimination. First you'll have a hearing before carrier operating department officials. Then the...
BNSF Plans 140 New Hires
The Great Falls Tribune reports today that BNSF plans about 100 new hires around Montana, including 48 in Havre, 35 in Glendive, and 18 in Glasgow. The same article reports BNSF intends to replace 109,629 wood ties between Havre and Browning with concrete and perform...
Montana, Other States, and John McCain File SCOTUS Briefs Urging Deference to Montana’s Century-Old Campaign Finance Statute
As we reported earlier this year, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in December of 2011 that the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision did not invalidate Montana's 100-year-old statutory regulations on corporate campaign spending. Predictably, Western Tradition...