On July 11, 2006, the Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, other civil rights organizations, and state legislators filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Montana, seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions banning all executions in the state. The complaint alleged that the state did not provide standards for the use of lethal injections in executions to ensure constitutional protections. The Supreme Court of Montana dismissed or denied all claims. The court declined to exercise its original jurisdiction because the only prisoner scheduled to be executed, David Dawson, did not wish to appeal his death sentence and there were no other emergency circumstances warranting injunctive relief.

On August 4, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the District of Montana seeking to litigate the issue of whether the procedure for administering lethal injections in Montana was constitutional. On August 7, 2006, the court (Judge Donald W. Molley) dismissed the case for lack of standing.

The plaintiffs appealed the same day. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling and dismissed the appeal on Aug. 10. Court documents explaining the court's reasoning are not publicly available.

The case is closed.

Angela Heverling - 07/28/2007
Virginia Weeks - 11/12/2017


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