News & Commentary

The ACLU of Montana contacted Governor Bullock and Montana Department of Corrections Director Michael last week urging them to develop plans to protect some of Montana’s most vulnerable population from COVID-19 – the people in our prisons and jails, and those involved in the criminal justice system. Today, the organization, along with partner organizations, urged the Governor, Director Michael, and representatives from every part of the criminal legal system to prioritize releasing people who are vulnerable and, as much as possible, end new incarcerations, revocations from supervision, and other activities that make social distancing impossible. Read the letter.

On March 12, we sent a letter to Governor Bullock and the Director of the Montana Department of Corrections, Reginald Michael, urging them to immediately develop evidence-based and proactive plans for the prevention and management of COVID-19 in the Montana Department of Corrections and county jails in Montana.

On May 16, 2018, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent illegally detained Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez in Havre, Montana. Captured on video, the agent’s stated reason for detaining them was because they were speaking Spanish.

Montana agencies are withholding public documents possible about Keystone XL pipeline protest preparations.Today, the ACLU of Montana, Western Environmental Law Center, and the Bahr Law Offices challenged two Montana state agencies’ refusal to release public records relating to the Keystone XL Pipeline. The documents in question pertain to the government’s plans in response to protests. The ACLU is concerned that such plans may include spying on protesters, suppressing constitutionally protected free speech rights, and responding with militarized police tactics. 

2019 brought a lot of battles to the courts, another legislative session, and more people on the ground in the fight for Indigenous justice, against the criminalization of poverty, and upholding rights for all. As the year comes to a close, we want to thank you for being part of the ACLU of Montana! 

Indigenous students face highest disparities in out-of-school suspensions and arrests.According to a new ACLU of Montana report, students in Montana lost more than 18,000 days of school during the 2015-2016 school year because of out-of-school suspensions. During the same school year, students were referred to law enforcement agencies from school or a school-related function 1,121 times and were arrested at school or a school-related function 326 times. Students of all ages – including elementary school children – were suspended, referred to law enforcement, and arrested. “Education is a civil right, and all students must be given equitable opportunities to learn,” said Caitlin Borgmann, ACLU of Montana Executive Director. “The data is extremely troubling and shows too many students in Montana being denied this fundamental right.” Indigenous students faced the highest disparities: they lost nearly six times the rate of instruction and were arrested more than six times as often as their white peers. The ten schools with the highest rate of days lost because of suspensions were located either on a reservation or in a town bordering a reservation. Indigenous students in urban areas also experienced disparities in days lost. Indigenous female students had the highest school-related arrest rates among all students -- they were arrested at 12 times the rate of white female students. Public schools on reservations were more likely to have a law enforcement officer (LEO) at school. Montana’s use of exclusionary discipline and police in schools is especially harmful to Indigenous students because of the legacy of colonization, historical trauma, and overincarceration of Indigenous people.“Indigenous students bear the brunt of Montana’s failure to provide an education to all students,” Borgmann said. “Montana has failed to adequately address the harms of its colonialist legacy. Indigenous people in Montana remain disproportionately impoverished and imprisoned. Denying Indigenous students their right to an education only serves to perpetuate this unconscionable legacy.”Students of color and students with disabilities also experienced disparities in days lost, referrals, and arrests. Black students were referred to law enforcement at a higher rate than any other race and lost nearly three times as many days of instruction as white students. Latinx students lost 1.5 times the rate of days as white students. Students with disabilities lost twice the rate of instruction and were arrested twice as often as students without disabilities. Other main findings of the report include: 

Steven Keefe was only 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the time of his sentencing, he was too young to vote, buy cigarettes, or join the military. Yet, under our broken criminal justice system he was old enough to be put into prison for the rest of his life.

On October 11 and October 12, Indigenous nations will gather for a two-day environmental symposium. This gathering is the first of its kind on Fort Peck. Water protectors, activists, environmentalists, and concerned tribal members will come together for two days of learning and discussion about protecting the environment, the people, and the sacred lands on which Fort Peck is located. After the violent and excessive response from government agencies to peaceful protestors at Standing Rock, the ACLU filed federal and state open records requests to learn if the government has any plans to obstruct the free speech rights of Indigenous protestors to the Keystone XL Pipeline. At the symposium, the ACLU will present a Know Your Rights workshop and lead a discussion about legal observing.