Judge rejects vaccine choice law in health care settings
December 12, 2022 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — A person's choice to decline vaccinations does not outweigh public health and safety requirements in medical settings, a federal judge ruled in a Montana case.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy last week permanently blocked a section of law the state said was meant to prevent employers — including many health care facilities — from discriminating against workers by requiring them to be vaccinated against communicable diseases, including COVID-19.
US sued in bid to force decision on Rockies wolf protections
August 9, 2022 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates sued federal officials Tuesday after the government missed a deadline to decide if protections for gray wolves should be restored across the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains, where Republican-led states have made it easier to kill the predators.
Judge orders US to decide if wolverines need protection
May 27, 2022 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has given U.S. wildlife officials 18 months to decide if wolverines should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, following years of dispute over how much risk climate change and other threats pose to the rare and elusive predators.
Judge: Montana can’t enforce ban on mandating vaccines
March 18, 2022 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana cannot enforce a state law that prevents most health care facilities from mandating vaccines while an interim federal rule is in place requiring millions of health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Judge: Montana Clean Campaign Act is unconstitutional
January 20, 2022 GMTHELENA, Mont. (AP) — A 2007 Montana law that was meant to curb last-minute campaign attacks violates free speech rights, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled Tuesday that the Montana Clean Campaign Act “delays, and sometimes even prevents, political speech on the basis of content.”
Federal judge says public service districts likely illegal
December 25, 2021 GMTBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Public Service Commission districts, which have not been reapportioned in two decades, are likely unconstitutional, a federal judge has concluded.
Judge: Arco partly responsible for aluminum plant cleanup
October 20, 2021 GMTCOLUMBIA FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the Atlantic Richfield Co. is partially responsible for millions of dollars in cleanup costs at the former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant that it sold more than 35 years ago.