Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Very Bad News

NEIL H. BUCHANAN

In this second of a two-part series of columns considering the likelihood that President Trump will refuse to leave the White House even if he loses the election, UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan describes the bad news that Trump and his supporters seem likely to use violence to keep him in office.

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Latest Twist in the Flynn Case Highlights the Danger of Judicial Deference to Trump’s Administration

AUSTIN SARAT

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost, Associate Dean of the Faculty, and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College—comments on a decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit holding that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan exceeded his power by refusing to grant the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security advisor. Sarat explains the relationship between the judiciary and prosecutors and points out that that judicial deference toward prosecutorial decisions can only be reconciled with constitutional governance if prosecutors respect, and are guided by, canons of integrity and professionalism. Sarat argues that the current leadership of the Justice Department shows utter disdain for such canons.

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Montana Department of Labor & Industry v. Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court

Citation: 2020 MT 164

Opinion Date: June 23, 2020

Judge: Beth Baker

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

The Supreme Court held that service is not required when the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Employment Relations Division (DLI) files an application for enforcement of judgment when it seeks enforcement of a final agency decision in a wage claim action. DLI applied to the district court for enforcement of judgment against a Billings restaurant on behalf of Jordan Carillo for unpaid wages pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. 39-3-212(1). DLI did not serve the restaurant under Mont. R. Civ. P. 4. The district court concluded that the filing of an application for enforcement of judgment initiates as lawsuit that that due process requires service of process. DLI petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of supervisory control. After considering DLI's petition as one of a declaratory judgment, the Supreme Court held (1) DLI need not follow Mont. R. Civ. P. 4 service of process requirements when applying for enforcement of judgment in Montana's district courts in wage claim matters pursuant to section 39-3-212(1); but (2) the statutes do not exempt DLI from compliance with Mont. R. Civ. P. 5.

Garding v. State

Citation: 2020 MT 163

Opinion Date: June 23, 2020

Judge: James A. Rice

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's denial of Appellant's petition for postconviction relief and the court's order granting partial summary judgment in favor of the State, holding that the district court did not err. Defendant was convicted of vehicular homicide while under the influence, failure to stop immediately at the scene of an accident involving an injured person, and driving without a valid driver's license. Defendant later filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC), Brady violations, and newly discovered evidence of her innocence. The district court granted summary judgment on Defendant's newly discovered evidence claims and Brady claim and then denied the remainder of the claims after a hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by (1) denying Defendant's postconviction petition based on her claim of ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) concluding that the State did not violate Defendant's due process rights by failing to disclose certain non-exculpatory photographs; and (3) dismissing Defendant's newly discovered evidence claim.

State v. Pierre

Citation: 2020 MT 160

Opinion Date: June 23, 2020

Judge: Sandefur

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction and sentence for burglary, holding that the district court erred by requiring Defendant to pay restitution for pecuniary losses resulting from offenses committed by others absent evidence of criminal accountability or a causal connection between Defendant's offense and those losses. Defendant was one of several persons involved in multiple burglaries of the main house, garage, and separate guest house owned by Elden and Betty White. Defendant pled guilty to burgling the guest house. The district court concluded that Defendant should be jointly and severally responsible with his associates for the entire amount of pecuniary loss of $43,294 sustained by the Whites as a result of the burglaries. The Supreme Court reversed the restitution order, holding that where there was no record evidence that Defendant's admitted commission of the guest house burglary directly caused any pecuniary loss resulting from any burglary of the main house or garage by others, the district court erred by ordering Defendant to pay restitution for pecuniary losses sustained by the Whites as a result of the burglaries of their main house.