Montana

Judge denies Democratic Party's request to boot Green Party Senate candidate from ballot • Daily Montanan

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Judge denies Democratic Party's request to boot Green Party Senate candidate from ballot • Daily Montanan

Robert Barb, the Green Party candidate for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat, is on November’s ballot after a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge on Tuesday denied a request from the Montana Democratic Party for an injunction to try to keep him out of the election.

Judge Mike McMahon denied the Democratic Party’s injunction request and dissolved a temporary restraining order issued by another district court judge that temporarily prohibited Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen from certifying the November ballot to include Barb’s name.

But the Montana Democratic Party’s chairperson said the party planned to appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, meaning if the state’s high court sides with the Democrats’ forthcoming appeal, Barb could potentially still be taken off the ballot.

“I’m pleased that the court sided with the election officials for following the law and certifying the 2024 General Election ballot by the deadline,” Jacobsen said in a written statement Tuesday. “This lawsuit was nothing more than bogus political games meant to undermine Montana law with complete disrespect to county election officials during one of their busiest stretches of an important election year. The Montana Elections Team will continue its work preparing to serve Montana voters this fall.”

The Democratic Party sued to stop Jacobsen from certifying the ballot with Barb’s name on it hours before the certification deadline, arguing that the Green Party had not followed its bylaws in appointing Barb and that the appointment should have gone to a vote of party members, not been made by the party’s central committee. It said that having to educate voters about a different candidate than Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester would have faced otherwise in November would cost the party extra time and resources.

Barb intervened in the lawsuit ahead of a hearing last Friday that came a week after another Lewis and Clark County District Court judge had issued a temporary restraining order that said Jacobsen could not certify the ballot with Barb’s name on it.

But McMahon’s order said the Democratic Party’s argument that the Green Party had not followed its bylaws in appointing Barb as the replacement U.S. Senate candidate after primary winner Michael Downey dropped out of the race “conveniently ignores” that the Democratic Party had not informed Barb it was challenging his nomination as is required by Montana Code Annotated 13-36-102.

That statute, as Barb’s attorney told McMahon in court on Friday, requires a person or organization contesting a candidate’s nomination, like the party’s appointment of Barb for the Senate race, to notify the candidate within five days of the candidate being certified.

“Since the Democratic Party failed to comply with the Legislature’s exclusive nomination ‘contest’ procedure, this court finds, at this juncture in this proceeding, that the Montana Democratic Party is not likely to succeed on the merits in this matter and therefore, a preliminary injunction is neither permitted nor authorized,” McMahon wrote.

Because he denied the Democratic Party’s request for a preliminary injunction, he also dissolved the Aug. 22 temporary restraining order issued by Judge Kathy Seeley about 50 minutes after Jacobsen certified the November ballot.

McMahon rendered moot Barb’s motion to dismiss the case as well. Jacobsen and the state’s motion for summary judgment is not fully briefed and McMahon did not issue an order on that request.

Barb’s attorney, Rob Cameron, told the Daily Montanan that he and Barb were pleased with the court’s quick decision so his client will be on the ballot and so county election officials can get ballots out to overseas and military voters on time.

“We view it as very well-reasoned and thoughtful, and we were also gratified to see it come out this quickly, particularly in light of the election calendar requirements that are coming up for the local elections officials to print ballots,” Cameron said, adding he would not seek attorneys’ fees in the case.

Montana Democratic Party chairperson Robyn Driscoll said the party would appeal the decision and that it still believes Barb’s appointment was done illegally and that his sworn attestations to adhere to the Green Party’s platform were not true.

“Today’s ruling does not reflect what we know to be true: Robert Barb’s placement on the ballot was done in violation of Montana law, and no Green Party candidate should appear on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate,” Driscoll said in a written statement. “Robert Barb is a Republican, with a history of donating to Republicans, promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, and calling climate change a ‘B.S. fake narrative.’”

The Secretary of State’s Office did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about whether it would continue to seek summary judgment in the district court case or seek attorneys’ fees.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

9 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

21 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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