Author Archives: forthrightradio

Andrew Seidel AMERICAN CRUSADE: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom

Andrew Seidel is a constitutional and civil rights attorney and the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom. He’s also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school.

He has been fighting to keep state and church separate for more than a decade. Currently, Andrew is the Vice President of Strategic Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the largest organization fighting for that founding principle. Previously, he served as a constitutional attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) beginning in 2011 and later as the Director of Strategic Response, running a nimble unit known as the Strategic Response Team.

Andrew Seidel is a Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, a prolific author of op-eds and scholarly articles. He organized and contributed to the groundbreaking report “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection,” which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF and which aroused considerable congressional interest. He has appeared on Fox News to debate Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC, and hundreds of other media outlets.

Andrew graduated cum laude from Tulane University (’04) with a B.S. in neuroscience and environmental science and magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School (’09, part of the first post-Katrina class), where he was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Award for excellence in environmental law. He studied human rights and international law at the University of Amsterdam and traveled the world on Semester at Sea. Andrew completed his Master of Laws at Denver University Sturm College of Law (’11) with a perfect GPA and was awarded the Outstanding L.L.M. Award for his work as the Erik Bluemel International Environmental Law Fellow.

Before dedicating his life and law degree to keeping state and church separate, Andrew was a Grand Canyon tour guide and an accomplished nature photographer.

Tennessee Pastor burning **THE FOUNDING MYTH: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American**

Articles pertinent to this interview:

What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/10/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-00108082

Another Right-Wing Supreme Court SHAM RULING is Exposed for FAKE FACTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEh5R3Bkf4

Oklahoma’s Religious Public Charter School Would Be an Affont to Taxpayers Everywhere https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/opinion/religion-schools-constitution-oklahoma.html

Oklahoma sued for funding US’s first ‘state-sponsored’ religious charter school https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/13/oklahoma-lawsuit-religious-public-charter-school

Religious identity and Supreme Court justices – a brief history https://theconversation.com/religious-identity-and-supreme-court-justices-a-brief-history-146999

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM AND THE JANUARY 6, 2021 INSURRECTION https://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/Christian_Nationalism_and_the_Jan6_Insurrection-2-9-22.pdf

Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-other-billionaires-sokol-huizenga-novelly-supreme-court

Trump’s assault on American justice gives inspiration to authoritarians everywhere https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/06/donald-trump-assault-american-justice-gives-inspiration-authoritarians-everywhere

Americans United applauds updated federal guidance on religion and prayer in public schools https://www.au.org/the-latest/press/guidance-religion-prayer-public-schools/

COURT FOR SALE Supreme Court Corruption | Don Caron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fXwDifHPds

This lawmaker and rabbi was scheduled to deliver an invocation. His colleagues replaced him with a Christian https://forward.com/news/547677/montana-lawmaker-rabbi-invocation-prayer-legislature-ed-stafman-legislature-house/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20was%20never%20given%20a,the%20rest%20of%20the%20session

Montana Rep (And Rabbi) Confronts Christian Lawmakers after Invocation Cancellation https://momentmag.com/montana-rep-and-rabbi-confronts-christian-lawmakers-after-invocation-cancellation/

Bozeman Tenants United: Katie Fire Thunder & Olive Sohn

For the past couple of years Bozeman Tenants United has been meeting regularly to address and find solution to the high cost of housing here. We met with two members of the Bozeman Tenants United’s Steering Team, Katie Fire Thunder and Olive Nakano Sohn, to talk about their goals and perspectives. We spoke with them at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bozeman on August 1, 2023.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

City commissioners signal willingness to further restrict short-term rentals in Bozeman https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/city/city-commissioners-signal-willingness-to-further-restrict-short-term-rentals-in-bozeman/article_c8549bbe-36cb-11ee-b2d5-0bb06bb26a45.html

Bozeman commission to discuss short-term rentals, urban camping https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/city/bozeman-commission-to-discuss-short-term-rentals-urban-camping/article_819eccbc-32de-11ee-82f3-777504e4f146.html

Joey Morrison would bring energy to city commission https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/letters_to_editor/letter-to-the-editor-joey-morrison-would-bring-energy-to-city-commission/article_6cb6381e-271f-11ee-bdfe-239ab78d0980.html

Affordable housing project proposed for midtown Bozeman https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/city/affordable-housing-project-proposed-for-midtown-bozeman/article_27dbc57a-2d5e-11ee-96d5-432be21da6ac.html

Meet the Candidates: who’s running for Bozeman mayor? https://www.montanarightnow.com/bozeman/meet-the-candidates-whos-running-for-bozeman-mayor/article_38488516-1be2-11ee-acfd-0f8af90fea4a.html

‘Renters Are Struggling’: Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control https://www.commondreams.org/news/economists-rent-control

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of American Democracy & Robert Pape ‘The Dangers to Democracy’

This edition of Forthright Radio is in in two parts. In our first segment, radio& TV host/journalist and author, Thom Hartmann, returned with the latest in his Hidden History series, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: REDISCOVERING HUMANITY’S ANCIENT WAY OF LIVING, published by B-K, Barrett-Kohler Publishers. This is the 8th book in the series and the 32nd of the books he has written. He has hosted his nationally syndicated show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003. We spoke with Thom via Skype on July 24, 2023.

In our second segment, we spoke with University of Chicago Political Science Professor, Robert Pape, about the Project on Security and Threats (CPOST). You may recall their initial study published a few months after the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, analyzing those who had been arrested & the surprising details they discovered. They have published a follow-up study and report from their most recent of 7 surveys since then, from this June, 2023, titled “The Dangers to Democracy.”

Robert Pape has been studying and writing about the causes and solutions to political violence since 1992 during the Bosnian War; and the 1999 War in Kosovo. In the 2000s, he studied suicide terrorism, as well as humanitarian intervention centering on appropriate international responses to political violence related to the Arab Spring in Libya and Syria. Professor Pape has testified before Congress, briefed the National Security Council and the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate. In 2020, he published the results of his analysis of the impact of the deployment of Homeland Security agents on political violence in Portland, OR, during the George Floyd demonstrations. In 2021, he published the first systematic study of the demographic profile and political geography of individuals arrested for assaulting the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Project on Security and Threats, has continued the surveys, and recently released the report on their 7th survey, titled The Dangers to Democracy. We spoke with Professor Pape on July 26, 2023 via Skype.

What the Glorification of Luigi Mangione Reveals About America https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/opinion/luigi-mangione-united-healthcare-ceo-shooting.html

You can see THE DANGERS TO DEMOCRACY report here: https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/2023-04_CPOST-NORC_Survey_Report.pdf?mtime=1690380798

Articles pertinent to these interviews:

‘Anger and radicalization’: rising number of Americans say political violence is justified https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/25/us-political-crisis-radicalizing-republicans-democrats-alike

Understanding American Domestic Terrorism https://cpost.uchicago.edu/publications/understanding_american_domestic_terrorism_mobilization_potential_and_risk_factors_of_a_new_threat_trajectory/

How Trump’s Plan for the Military Could Topple America https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-trumps-plan-for-the-department-b10

Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html

How Democracy Dies the First Month of the Next Trump or GOP Presidency https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-democracy-dies-the-first-month-6a3

Trump’s plans for 2025 sound like a vengeful disaster https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-presidential-power-second-term-2024-autocracy-rcna95098?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

How Long Will Politicians Be Able to Ignore the Planet Becoming Unlivable? https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-long-will-politicians-be-able-ed4

DeSantis’s Apartheid Pedagogy in the Age of Fascist Politics https://www.laprogressive.com/election-reform-campaigns/apartheid-pedagogy

The Redneck Army Refuses to Stay Buried https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/opinion/culture/west-virginia-strike-coal-miner-history.html

Everything They Owned Burned, and They Still Can’t Get Restitution 102 Years Later https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/opinion/tulsa-race-massacre-reparations.html

“Anonymous” Miles Taylor: Trump Second Term Would Focus Solely on Revenge | Amanpour and Company https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eqm5wuSN9s

David Neiwert THE AGE OF INSURRECTION: The Radical Right’s Assault on American Democracy

This interview was originally broadcast on July 14, 2023, Bastille Day, when the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. It was a day of insurrection, so it was fitting that we shared our interview with award winning journalist and author, David Neiwert, that day discussing his latest book, THE AGE OF INSURRECTION: THE RADICAL RIGHT’S ASSAULT ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, published by Melville House.

For over four decades he has worked in newspapers, television, the blogosphere, as well as having been the Pacific Northwest correspondent for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Among his nine books are RED PILL, BLUE PILL: HOW TO COUNTERACT THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES THAT ARE KILLING US; ALT-AMERICA: THE RISE OF THE RADICAL RIGHT IN THE AGE OF TRUMP; and OF ORCAS AND MEN: WHAT KILLER WHALES CAN TEACH US. We spoke with David Neiwert on July 9, 2023 via Skype.

© 2023 Clay Bennett / Chattanooga Times Free Press / dist. by Counterpoint Media. Used with Permission

Articles pertinent to this interview:

More of Clay Bennett’s editorial cartoons here: https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2023/07/11

Fourteenth Amendment song by Don Caron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJcW-BEpgGk

Rise of the Freemen https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/rise-of-the-freemen/

US white supremacists found guilty of gay pride riot plot https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66271505

Republican women learn the hard way: Complicity will not protect you https://www.salon.com/2023/07/11/women-learn-the-hard-way-complicity-will-not-protect-you/

The Age of Insurrection review: how the far right rose – and found Trump https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/05/the-age-of-insurrection-review-far-right-trump-david-neiwert

As Trump is arraigned, Republicans honor the insurrectionists https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/16/house-gop-trump-indictment-reaction-jan-6

Republicans reignite the red scare in service of Trump https://www.salon.com/2023/06/28/reignite-the-red-scare-in-of/

“Trump thinks he has this big army out there still”: A MAGA movement betrayed has now morphed https://www.salon.com/2023/06/27/trump-thinks-he-has-this-big-army-out-there-still-a-maga-movement-betrayed-has-now-morphed/

Family of activist killed in alleged ‘spray of bullets’ by US police files lawsuit https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/13/michael-reinoehl-activist-killed-police-family-lawsuit

“Unfriending” America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God — like you and me. Rising far-right Christian movement linked to GOP calls for “kingdom revolution” led by an “army of believers” https://www.salon.com/2023/06/17/unfriending-america-the-christian-right-is-coming-for-the-enemies-of-god–like-you-and-me/

How Europe’s far right is marching steadily into the mainstream https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/30/far-right-on-the-march-europe-growing-taste-for-control-and-order

Trump Denies Inciting The Capitol Attack, But 174 Jan. 6 Defendants Blame Him For It https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-incitement_n_64a717a1e4b0e5efaada8926

Moms for Liberty is part of a long history of rightwing mothers’ activism in the US https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/06/moms-for-liberty-long-history-rightwing-activism

A Jan. 6 “Moms” Group Funded by Big Lie Donors Is Stoking Voter Suppression https://truthout.org/articles/a-jan-6-moms-group-funded-by-big-lie-donors-is-stoking-voter-suppression/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=fb7a46e5e2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_20_2023_13_41_COPY_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-fb7a46e5e2-651106009&mc_cid=fb7a46e5e2&mc_eid=f9703b4752

Major ”Grassroots” Parents’ Rights Group Rakes in Big Right-Wing Money https://www.importantcontext.news/p/major-grassroots-parents-rights-group

School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-education-threats/

Moms for Liberty Uses Hitler Quote To ‘Scare’ Parents https://www.vice.com/en/article/ak3kz5/moms-for-liberty-hitler-quote

Inside Moms for Liberty’s Close Relationship With the Proud Boys https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d93qd/moms-for-liberty-proud-boys

Held v State of Montana Claire Vlases & Georgi Fischer Testimony

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have recorded and archived the audio testimony to preserve the record to inform our listeners, and allow you to hear for yourselves what transpired.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we share the testimony of our own Bozeman youth plaintiffs, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution “to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government. Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.”

Furthermore, the Montana State Constitution includes under Article II Declaration of Rights: Section 15. “Rights of persons not adults. The rights of persons under 18 years of age shall include, but not be limited to, all the fundamental rights of this Article unless specifically precluded by laws which enhance the protection of such persons.” It is said that it is the only state constitution to specify this, and the youth plaintiffs in Held v State of Montana are holding the state to the letter of this supreme law of the state of Montana.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we bring you the testimony of two of the youth plaintiffs from Bozeman, MT, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer. Although they and the other 14 youth plaintiffs are the first to have their case heard in the United States, they are by no means alone in their efforts. There are at least five other youth led climate change suits.

In the matter of Juliana v United States, filed by 21 young Americans in 2015, in the US District Court in Oregon, asserting that the federal government’s fossil fuel energy system and its affirmative actions that cause climate change violate their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as their rights to essential public trust resources like air and water. It had seemed that the legal maneuvers by the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump had succeeded in blocking their efforts. However on June 1, 2023, Federal Judge Ann Aiken, of the US District Court in Oregon, granted their motion to amend their complaint, putting their case back on track to trial, where evidence of the government’s conduct will be heard in open court.

These 21 youth plaintiffs are seeking a judicial declaration that the US fossil fuel energy system is unconstitutional, and violates their fundamental right to a safe climate. According to ourchildrenstrust.org’s website, “A victory in their case would mean that U.S. climate and energy policy – whether executive or legislative in nature, and regardless of political majority or party – would need to adhere to the court’s declaratory judgment, protecting the rights of our nation’s children and ending the physical and mental harm they have experienced due to the actions of their own government.”

However on June 22, 2023, The Department of Justice of the Biden Administration filed yet another motion to dismiss Juliana v. United States, one day after receiving an online petition signed by more than 255 organizations and over 50,000 individuals delivered by the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition, urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to end opposition to the Juliana case proceeding to trial, and only two days after the plaintiffs rested their case in Held v. State of Montana, which now awaits the decision of Judge Cathy Seeley.

Meanwhile, the 14 youth plaintiffs in Navahine F. v Hawaii Department of Transportation, whose case was filed in June of 2022, succeeded on April 6, 2023 when the Environmental Court of First Circuit in Honolulu denied the State’s motion to dismiss. They are awaiting a trial date to be determined, after their motion to maintain their September, 2023 trial date was denied, when Judge Crabtree granted the State’s motion to continue the trial date to give the State more time to prepare their defense.

‘I cried like 10 times’: Bozeman plaintiffs reflect on youth climate trial https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/i-cried-like-10-times-bozeman-plaintiffs-reflect-on-youth-climate-trial/article_bbdb990a-11dc-11ee-aa76-a7baaf9171d7.html

Claire Vlases – Solar Makes Sense http://kgvm.org/show/claire-vlases-solar-makes-sense/

‘Nothing Short of Outrageous’: Attorneys for Youth Climate Plaintiffs Blast Biden DOJ https://www.commondreams.org/news/doj-dismiss-juliana-climate

Held v State of Montana Opening & Closing Arguments

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have been recording and archiving the audio to preserve the record, to inform and allow listeners to hear for what transpired.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that the state of Montana was denying them their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution

“to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government.

Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources. ”

In this edition of Ecotones, we share the opening arguments given in Held v State of Montana on Monday, June 12, 2023, as well as the closing arguments from Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Here is a list of the unedited testimonies of witnesses in this trial in chronological order of their appearance:

Mae Nan Ellingson http://kgvm.org/show/held-mae-nan-ellingson-testimony-6-12-23/

Ricki Held http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-ricki-held-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Steven Running http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-steve-running-testimony-6-12-23/

Grace Gibson-Snyder http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-grace-testimony/

Eva http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-eva-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Cathy Whitlock http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-cathy-whitlock-testimony-6-13-23/

Mica http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mica-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Daniel Fagre http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-dan-fagre-6-13-23/

Badger Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-badge-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Lori Byron http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Shane Doyle http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

Michael Durglo, Jr. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Sariel Sandoval http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-sariel-sandoval-testimony-6-14-23/

Taleah Hernández http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-taleah-hernandez-testimony-6-14-23/

Georgianna Fischer http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-georgianna-fischer-testimony-6-14-23/

Kian Tanner http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Anne Hedges http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Claire Vlases http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Peter Erickson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

Mark Jacobson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mark-jacobson-testimony-6-16-23/

Olivia V. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-olivia-v-testimony-6-16-23/

Dr. Lise Van Susteren http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

Lander Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lander-busse-testimony-6-16-23/

Christopher Dorrington & Sonja Nowakowski http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-christopher-dorrington-sonja-nowakowski/

Sonja Nowakowski & Dr. Terry Anderson https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-part-2-cross-examination-of-sonja-nowakowski-final-witness-dr-terry-anderson/

Held v State of Montana Day 7 Closing Arguments

This special edition of Ecotones is the final daily audio digest of the historic Held v State of Montana trial.

On the final day of this trial, one day before the summer solstice, on June 20, 2023, closing arguments were given before Judge Kathy Seeley, presiding judge of the Lewis and Clark District Court in Helena, MT.

Our Children’s Trust Senior Staff Attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivered the plaintiffs’ closing arguments, followed by Montana Assistant Attorney General, Michael Russell, delivering closing arguments for the State.

Judge Kathy Seeley presides as plaintiffs’ attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivers closing arguments.

Before these remarks, plaintiffs’ attorney Philip Gregory, offered further information attacking the credibility of the State’s lone outside expert witness, economist Dr. Terry Anderson, submitting a report documenting errors of his sources and information, and asking the court to take judicial notice, which the court granted. The audio of this portion of the proceedings, which came before the closing arguments was problematic, and our best efforts only made marginal improvements, so we have put this portion at the end of this recording after the closing arguments.

Held v State of Montana – Day 6 Part 2 Cross Examination of Sonja Nowakowski & final witness, Dr. Terry Anderson

This is a special edition of Ecotones, Part 2 of our daily audio digest for June 19, 2023, Day 6 of the historic Held v State of Montana. It was the second week of the trial, which began on June 12, 2023 in the Lewis & Clark County District Court in Helena, MT – Judge Kathy Seeley presiding. Attorneys for The 16 youth plaintiffs rested their case on Friday, June 16th.

Because of limited radio broadcast time, we had to leave Part 1 of the June 19, 2023 session after the direct examination of Sonja Nowakowski, Administrator for the Air, Energy, and Mining Division at Montana DEQ. We now continue with the cross examination of Administrator Nowakowski by Barbara Chillcott, Senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC).

This is followed by The final of only 3 state witnesses, Dr. Terry Anderson, an economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and emeritus professor at Montana State University. He presented a brief testimony of under 15 minutes of carefully limited inquiry from defense attorneys related to Energy Information Administration data on GHG emissions.

Under blistering cross examination by plaintiff attorney, Philip Gregory, Of Counsel with Our Children’s Trust, who asked about errors in his math and misinterpretation of data in Dr. Anderson’s expert report. The State initially objected, stating the questions exceeded the scope of their direct examination, which consisted of only five questions. However, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the cross examination went to credibility of the witness. Judge Kathy Seeley overruled the State’s objections, allowing Mr. Gregory to pursue beyond scope of the direct to probe questions of his credibility.

The state had originally listed Dr. Judith Curry as one of their expert witnesses, however they withdrew her name last week without explanation, after pre-rebuttals by numerous plaintiff’s expert witnesses.