News & Commentary

CoreCivic has offered Montana a $30 million cash kickback in exchange for a ten-year contract renewal. This national for-profit corporation is leveraging our budget crisis to entrench itself in Montana’s criminal justice system and deepen its profit margins. Montana legislators need to take responsibility to come up with real solutions, including raising revenue, rather than giving in to a quick-fix remedy that only feeds corporate greed and will hurt Montana in the long run.If the name “CoreCivic” is not familia

The ACLU of Montana vehemently denounces CoreCivic’s $30 million inducement to the Bullock administration in exchange for renewing the contract of Montana’s only private prison for the next ten years. CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America and best known for violating the rights and dignity of prisoners across the country, is blatantly seeking to take advantage of a state government in a budget crisis.

When Montana voters approved CI-116 in 2016, they had no idea that the initiative jeopardizes some of our most cherished Constitutional protections.  The following list provides examples of why CI-116 is wrong for victims, and wrong for Montana.

Cynthia Wolken (D) is the Montana State Senator for Senate District 48.  She is sponsoring a package of bills this session aimed at criminal justice reform.

Settlement Requires Major Improvements in Conditions for Prisoners With Disabilities at Montana State Prison

HELENA, Mont. - The ACLU of Montana, working with the Montana Association of Counties, the Montana League of Cities and Towns, and the Montana County Attorneys Association, prevailed yesterday in their lawsuit about the effective date of CI-116, also known as Marsy's Law. In a 5-0 ruling, issued just 32 days after the case was filed, the Court held that the Attorney General's ballot statement indicating the amendment would be effective on approval conflicted with the plain language of the Montana Consitution, Article XIV, Section 9(3). Jim Taylor, the Legal Director for the ACLU of Montana said, "We were glad to work with the other plaintiffs in this action, and appreciate the perspective and experience they brought to the litigation. We are gratified that the Court understood the importance of the issue and acted as swiftly as it did."

First Judicial District Court Grants Motion to Preserve and Produce Evidence in Death Penalty Case Smith v Batista

On March 5, 2016, ACLU of Montana and the Alexander Blewett III School of Law co-hosted an educational forum featuring the current candidates for the Montana Supreme Court.

The movement to limit the use of solitary confinement in our prisons gained new momentum in January when President Obama took executive action to limit the use of solitary throughout the federal prison system.