Valley Neighbors v. Montana

(Filed: Sept. 30, 2025)

On Sept. 30 2025, Plaintiff Valley Neighbors of the Flathead filed suit challenging House Bill 278 (“HB 278”) for violating the Montana Constitution. 

Passed during the 2025 legislative session, HB 278 would allow Montana law enforcement officers to conduct prolonged and warrantless investigative detentions using a federal standard that offers less protection against search and seizure than the Montana Constitution. 

Both the federal and Montana constitutions limit officers’ ability to detain people for investigative purposes, absent a warrant. In Montana, courts apply a heightened “particularized suspicion” standard, rooted in the Montana Constitution’s express right to privacy, rather than the lesser “reasonable suspicion standard” that applies under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  

Because HB 278 authorizes Montana officers to conduct investigative detentions for immigration purposes based on the lesser “reasonable suspicion” standard rather than the Montana-specific “particularized suspicion” standard, it plainly violates Article II, Sections 10 and 11 of the Montana Constitution. It also impermissibly discriminates on the basis of national origin and race. 

Valley Neighbors seeks a declaration that HB 278 is unconstitutional and a permanent injunction to prevent its enforcement.