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.
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An Idaho couple who says their teenage son was sprayed with cyanide by a predator-killing trap that federal workers mistakenly placed on U.S. land near their home has sued the government.
An Idaho couple who says their teenage son was sprayed with cyanide by a predator-killing trap that federal workers mistakenly placed on U.S. land near their home has sued the government.
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(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). Private investigator Jason Jensen holds a phenotype report at his office Friday, June 15, 2018, in Salt Lake City. Groups of private investigators in Utah and California have been emboldened by the arrest of the suspected Golden...
Some private investigators and genealogy experts want to use the same DNA-tracking system that identified the suspected Golden State Killer to solve decades-old murder and missing-person cases.
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(AP Photo/Marshall Ritzel). James Hansen sits for a portrait in his home in New York on April 12, 2018. NASA’s top climate scientist in 1988, Hansen warned the world on a record hot June day 30 years ago that global warming was here and worsening. In a...
Thirty years after his historic testimony saying global warming is here and a problem, scientist James Hansen wishes he was wrong about climate change.
Thirty years after his historic testimony saying global warming is here and a problem, scientist James Hansen wishes he was wrong about climate change.
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A group of scientists says China' decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing plastic to stockpile around the globe, and wealthy countries need to find new solutions.
A group of scientists says China' decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing plastic to stockpile around the globe, and wealthy countries need to find new solutions.
