Courts
POLSON — James Phillip Lawrence of Polson pleaded not guilty to felony charges of deliberate homicide and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the death of Edwin “Ed” Loder of Ronan. Lawrence was arraigned in Lake County District Court on Wednesday, Sept. 18. According to court documents, on or about Aug. 31, Lawrence allegedly shot and killed Loder and then destroyed, concealed evidence including a gun, phone and the body of Loder to impair investigation. On Sept. 4, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of Loder as a missing person. They were informed that Loder had last been seen on Aug. 30 and that suspicious blood and h...
A state district court judge in Yellowstone County has ruled that three Republican-backed abortion restrictions passed in 2021 are unconstitutional, delivering another blow to conservatives who support limiting when and how Montanans can terminate pregnancies and a win for advocates of reproductive rights. ...
News from Rylee Sommers-Flannagan, Upper Seven Law HELENA — Late on Feb. 6, 2024, public school plaintiffs—a diverse group that includes the Montana Quality Education Coalition and the League of Women Voters of Montana as well as eight individual Montana teachers, parents, voters, and taxpay...
News from Upper Seven Law HELENA — The Montana First Judicial District Court held today that the Governor and the Secretary of State must follow the clear procedure the Montana Constitution mandates and allow the Legislature the opportunity to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 442&...
News from U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia WASHINGTON — A Montana man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a jo...
FLATHEAD RESERVATION — Two men have been indicted on charges of killing some 3,600 federally-protected birds, including bald eagles, for profit. According to court documents, Simon Paul and Travis John Branson are accused of killing and selling eagles on the black market between 2015 to 2021. ...
The Montana Supreme Court Wednesday ruled against Montana county governments in a dispute over the Montana Department of Revenue’s authority to order the full collection of the 95-mill state-level school equalization levy, a formerly obscure piece of tax bills that became a flashpoint this fall as stat...
POLSON — Sunny Kathrinne White pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide while under the influence (or alternatively – negligent homicide), accidents involving another person or deceased person, two counts of criminal child endangerment, and a count of criminal possession of dangerous d...
News from ACLU Montana MISSOULA — A Montana state district court judge recently blocked enforcement of Senate Bill 99, the discriminatory law that threatens the health and well-being of Montana transgender youth by denying them access to the only evidence-based care for gender dysphoria. In his or...
News from the Department of Justice WASHINGTON — A Montana man and a Pennsylvania man were sentenced in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, on several felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to their ac...
