2015 SSL Volume

Under this act, a person may maintain an action for defamation when the person has made a timely and adequate request for correction or clarification from the defendant, or the defendant has made a correction or clarification. A person who, within 90 days after knowledge of the publication, fails to make a good-faith attempt to request a correction or clarification may recover only provable economic loss

This act provides allows a judge to use discretion when sentencing a veteran or servicemember, who has been diagnosed with a mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder and who is charged with a non-violent offence to undergo a counseling/treatment program rather than be sent to jail. However, if an individual does not complete the program they can then be sentenced to jail time.

With passage of this act, Montana became the first state to require state and local government entities to obtain a probable-cause warrant before remotely engaging personal electronic devices. Agencies may obtain location information in the case of emergencies or if an electronic device is stolen or if an individual gives authorized permission to access their location information.

This act relates to investigations of deaths involving a law enforcement officer. It requires the use of outside investigators in the event of a police-related death of a citizen, and requires reports of custody death investigations to be publicly released if criminal charges are not filed against the officers involved. In addition, officers must also inform victims’ families of their options to pursue additional reviews.

This act makes it a crime and Class D felony to manufacture, import, install, or reinstall a nonfunctional or counterfeit airbag. It also makes it a crime, punishable by the increased penalty, to knowingly sell, offer for sale, manufacture, import, install, or reinstall a counterfeit or nonfunctional air bag, as defined in the act. Further, selling or offering for sale a replacement device that the seller knows or reasonably should know does not meet federal airbag safety standards will be considered an unfair or deceptive trade practice under state law.