News & Commentary

While a dozen senators, including Senator Steve Daines, have stated their plans to object when members of Congress meet today to count and confirm the Electoral College votes, in a letter sent today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged Congress to oppose the efforts led by President Trump to trample the will of the American electorate. These efforts to undermine the will of the voters are unprecedented in U.S. history and have no legal basis.

 The 2021 Montana State Legislative session started this week. With a new administration that isn't aligned with our values on numerous issues, plentiful bills that attack the rights and liberties of Montanans, and the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, this legislative session will test us.Together with our partners, we're ready to face these challenges head-on. Our list of priorities this session includes:•    Reforming our harmful, unfair, and wealth-based criminal legal system.•    Supporting Indigenous people and communities as they work to uphold their sovereignty, dignity, and autonomy.•    Protecting the dignity and equality of LGBTQ Montanans, including trans and non-binary youth.•    Protecting reproductive freedom in Montana.•    Ensuring our communities are welcoming and safe for immigrants.•    Protecting all Montanans' right to vote in a safe and accessible manner.

In a letter sent Thursday, the ACLU of Montana asked Governor Bullock, Governor-Elect Gianforte, and Acting Director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services Erica Johnston to prioritize certain vulnerable or marginalized populations for the COVID-19 vaccine. 

We’ve faced enormous challenges this year, as a country and here in Montana. But, together with our partners and supporters, we’ve done good work, won important victories, and made a real difference in the lives of Montanans. Here are a few highlights of our work from 2020. 

Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez, two American citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for speaking Spanish while shopping at a local convenience store in Havre, Montana, have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the Trump administration. Their lawsuit brought to light systemic racism on the northern border.

"The ACLU of Montana will work with our members and partners to hold Governor-elect Gianforte accountable for protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of Montanans. Governor-elect Gianforte has a dismal track record when it comes to reproductive freedom, LGBTQ equality, immigrants’ rights, and ensuring that people have access to services and treatment for mental health issues or substance use disorders. His stances on many issues are not aligned with the values that Montanans hold dear. We won’t back down. Legal action is not off the table if executive orders or legislation pass his desk that violate the rights of Montanans."

The ACLU of Montana is a non-profit organization which focuses on protecting constitutional rights and freedoms in the state of Montana. We also prioritize Indigenous justice - part of which recognizes and works to overcome historical disenfranchisement of the Native vote.

Three days after the Blackfeet Nation brought a federal lawsuit against Pondera County arguing that the county was violating the voting rights of tribal members, Pondera County has agreed to make changes to make voting more accessible. 

ACLU’s first lawsuit against the for-profit bail underwriters that drive the predatory bail industry ended in a financial payout. A Montana family who was stalked, hunted down, and held at gunpoint by bounty hunters in 2017 have settled a lawsuit filed against the insurance companies who make bounty-hunting possible and profitable. This settlement is the final chapter in a lawsuit filed in April 2019 by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Montana, Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, and Tipp Coburn & Associates PC on behalf of Eugene Mitchell,  Shayleen Meuchell, and their young daughter.