The Political Reality of Montana Jurisprudence in 2010.
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Supreme Court (DA 09-0675), I find the political reality of equal
access in Montana Jurisprudence to be lacking.
I feel like Don Quixote tilting at Montana windmills. The political
reality OF 2010 is that “indignant” individuals in Montana and the
U.S. cannot expect or find legal Counsel for Civil complaints
involving Guaranteed Fundamental Rights.
In Montana, this Catch-22 political reality is reflected in A Catch as
Catch Can, or less formally, Willy Nilly Public Defender System (“the
Montana Public Defender Act § 47 MCA“), defined and developed out of
a necessity to defend individuals accused of crimes against the State.
(Art. II – § 24. Rights of the accused. Montana Constitution).
However, in common law as well as enumerated law, defending
individuals is only half of our “equal protection of the laws” (see
Section 4. Individual dignity. Montana Constitution) The other half is
defending Our Montana Constitution and Our Fundamental Rights.
Whether political expediency, indifference, or simply a lack of
understanding regarding the basic necessity of “equal access” and
“equal protection” to Montana’s Court system, the delegates couldn’t
muster the needed votes to include and insure legal Counsel for ALL
the poor in Montana Civil Jurisprudence.
Subsequently, they stopped short by requiring that Montana ONLY
provide legal Counsel for Criminal Defendants in our 1972
Constitution. They also foresaw that they could not and should not
limit the possession of ONLY those Montana’s Constitutional Rights
Enumerated, and that we the people recognize the possession also of
“Unenumerated Rights” “(w)hich shall not be construed to deny, impair,
or disparage others retained by the people.” (Art. II – § 34.
Unenumerated rights. Montana Constitution)
From these “Unenumerated Rights” the Court has a vested self-interest
in ensuring equal access to trained Counsel in Montana Jurisprudence
for ALL the poor, yet as we see, in the instant Civil case, this is
NOT the political reality to date.
There are many issues and problems that Montana Courts are not
addressing and We the People of Montana, need to Insure an open,
honest and forthright Court for our own Fundamental Rights Protection
as well as that of our Constitution.
As always, Think about it and I'd like to encourage your comments
about this important topic. Feel free to ask your elected officials.
Rick Gold
Missoula, MT
http://mtlegal.blogspot.com/
http://mtlegal.wordpress.com/