Court Opinion

ID: 9507532
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 21:23:43.923307+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:20.661945
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE MORRISON,
specially concurring.
I concur in the result. Originally my vote was to find the subject statute unconstitutional as a violation of Jackson’s right against self-incrimination. At that time my vote was not based upon independent State grounds but rather upon my own interpretation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 25 of the Montana Constitution. Furthermore, I tried to determine what the United States Supreme Court would do when confronted with the question.
My feeling is that where language in the Montana State Constitution is identical to language in the United States Constitution, we should feel bound by determinations made by the United States Supreme Court in interpreting that language. Therefore, though I disagree with the decision of the United States Supreme Court, my vote is to follow their interpretation.