"There is no provision in either state law or Montana's Constitution that gives the
Montana Department of Livestock the discretion to modify the public's right to know,"
states Darrell Geist of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers.
"The Montana Department of Livestock is getting bad advise from its' attorneys," states
Dan Brister of Buffalo Field Campaign. "If the agency's activities cannot stand the light
of public scrutiny then they need to stop digging the hole they're in."
"ARTICLE II, Section 9. Right to know. No Person shall be deprived of the right to
examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of
state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual
privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure."
"MCA 2-6-102. Citizens entitled to inspect and copy public writings.
(1) Every citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state
.... (3) Information that is constitutionally protected from disclosure is information in
which there is an individual privacy interest that clearly exceeds the merits of public
disclosure, including legitimate trade secrets .... and matters related to individual or
"We do not want to see the state waste taxpayer dollars defending the Montana
Department of Livestock's denial of our right to know, " says Jim Coefield of
The
Ecology Center Inc., "But we will take action to protect our Constitutional rights."
1
2
