A federal judge has ruled that class-action claims in which jail inmates allege a host of issues ranging from poor living conditions to being denied access to medical care can proceed against Lake County and the State of Montana.
Federal Judge Donald W. Molloy ruled that inmates who were held in Lake County can proceed as a group to sue the county for conditions they say were not constitutional.
"I believe the state has a compelling interest in preventing the spread of childhood diseases like polio and measles," Committee chair Ed Stafman, a Democratic representative from Bozeman, said Monday.