A district judge in Libby rules against Montana's 24/7 sobriety program for drunken driving suspects, calling it unconstitutional. The state has already appealed the ruling to the Montana Supreme Court.
In his February 5 ruling, District Judge James Wheelis says the program's sobriety testing fees are an unconstitutional punishment for defendants before they are tried.
The legislature passed the law in 2011 to crack down on drunk driving. Under the law, anyone arrested for drunken driving two or more times can be ordered to take part in the program. It requires the driver to take, and pay for, frequent breath tests before their trial.
Wheelis threw out the law based on a challenge by Robert Spady, who was arrested for drunken driving and careless driving in Lincoln County. Spady took part in the 24/7 program for 113 days and paid $452 in fees. The order shows he was arrested each time and charged with contempt of court.
We will have more information, and reaction from Governor Bullock, on the ABC MONTANA NEWS at 5:30, and the FOX MONTANA NEWS AT 9.
Sunday, April 22 2018 3:05 PM EDT2018-04-22 19:05:03 GMT
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(Marla Brose/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File). FILE - In this 2017 file photo, Jennifer Riordan, of Albuquerque, N.M., poses for a photo in Albuquerque. Family and friends will gather Sunday, April 22, 2018 to mourn Riordan, an Albuquerque bank ex...
An Albuquerque woman who died after an in-flight accident on a Southwest Airlines plane will be remembered at a memorial service.
An Albuquerque woman who died after an in-flight accident on a Southwest Airlines plane will be remembered at a memorial service.
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Fifty years ago this week, students occupied five buildings at New York's Columbia University and shut down the Ivy League campus in a protest over racism and the Vietnam war.
Fifty years ago this week, students occupied five buildings at New York's Columbia University and shut down the Ivy League campus in a protest over racism and the Vietnam war.
Monday, April 23 2018 2:15 AM EDT2018-04-23 06:15:27 GMT
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(AP Photo/Jay Reeves). In this Wednesday, April 18, 2018 photo, Josephine Bolling McCall poses with a photo of her father, lynching victim Elmore Bolling, at her home in Montgomery, Ala. Bolling is among thousands of lynching victims remembered at the ...
A new memorial is opening to honor thousands of people killed in racist lynchings.
A new memorial is opening to honor thousands of people killed in racist lynchings.
Sunday, April 22 2018 3:44 PM EDT2018-04-22 19:44:57 GMT
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(Shelley Mays /The Tennessean via AP). Nashville Metro Police officers knock on doors at Discovery at Mountain View Apartments near the scene where four people died after a gunman opened fire at a Waffle House in Antioch early Sunday, April 22, 2018. I...
Authorities say the suspect in a deadly shooting at a restaurant in Nashville was arrested last year by the U.S. Secret Service for being in a restricted area near the White House.
Authorities say the suspect in a deadly shooting at a restaurant in Nashville was arrested last year by the U.S. Secret Service for being in a restricted area near the White House.
