Constitution Day is a chance to reflect on the rights and protections our Constitution promises to every person.
At Montana Innocence Project, these protections shape our work every day. So, in honor of Constitution Day, here are five constitutional rights and protections at the heart of our work.
1. The Right to Due Process – The Fifth & Fourteenth Amendments
Due process means the government must follow fair procedures when it takes away someone’s liberty.
In criminal cases, that includes important protections like the opportunity to defend yourself, access to evidence that could help establish your innocence, and meaningful avenues to challenge serious legal errors.
These protections exist for a reason. The power of the government to take away someone’s freedom is enormous, and the process used to make that decision matters.
When that process breaks down, the consequences can be life-altering—and sometimes nearly impossible to undo.
2. The Right to a Fair Trial – The Sixth & Fourteenth Amendments
A fair trial means more than having a judge, a jury, and a courtroom.
It requires an impartial jury, reliable evidence, a meaningful opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s case, and the protections guaranteed to people accused of crimes under the Constitution.
The justice system asks jurors to make one of the most consequential decisions possible: whether another person should lose their freedom.
That decision deserves a process designed to get as close to the truth as possible. When constitutional protections fail, the possibility of a wrongful conviction becomes very real.
3. The Right to Effective Counsel – The Sixth Amendment
The Constitution guarantees people accused of crimes the right to the assistance of counsel.
But having a lawyer in the courtroom isn’t enough.
That representation must be effective.
Effective counsel means investigating the evidence, consulting appropriate experts, challenging the prosecution’s case, and providing a meaningful defense.
Our client Aaron Oliphant’s case illustrates why this right matters. He was convicted in 2017 of aggravated assault after prosecutors argued that his infant son’s injuries were the result of abusive head trauma. His post-conviction case raises claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, including his attorney’s failure to obtain complete medical records, consult medical experts, and adequately challenge the prosecution’s medical evidence.
The right to effective counsel recognizes something fundamental: when someone’s freedom is at stake, a lawyer cannot simply be present. They must also meaningfully investigate and challenge the case against their client.
4. The Right to Mount a Defense – The Sixth Amendment
The United States Constitution guarantees criminal defendants a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.
That can mean presenting evidence, calling witnesses, challenging the State’s theory, and offering an alternative explanation of what happened.
Our client Bradley Hillious’s case demonstrates the importance of this constitutional right. He is serving a 100-year sentence for the death of his wife, Amanda.
At trial, the defense intended to present Bradley’s father, Scott Hillious, as an alternative suspect. Scott was the only other adult present in the home when Amanda suffered her fatal injuries. After being informed of Amanda’s death, Scott committed suicide. But a pretrial ruling prohibited Bradley’s attorneys from arguing that Scott’s suicide was evidence that he felt guilt because he killed Amanda. This prevented Bradley’s attorneys from presenting a complete defense, in violation of the right of due process that is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
MTIP filed a petition for post-conviction relief on June 17, 2026, seeking a new trial for Bradley and arguing that these circumstances raise serious constitutional questions about his right to a fair trial.
5. The Death Penalty – The Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
But what does that mean when the punishment is death?
Wrongful convictions demonstrate that our justice system is not infallible. Even with constitutional protections in place, people can be convicted of crimes they did not commit.
That makes the safeguards surrounding the death penalty—and the questions about whether those safeguards can ever be sufficient—all the more important.
These aren’t easy questions, but they’re worth asking. Next week, we’ll come together virtually to discuss some of them.
Community Conversation: Secrets of the Killing State
September 22 | 12–1 p.m. MT | Virtual | 0.75 maximum general credits available
Join Montana Innocence Project and Corinna Barrett Lain, award-winning author and leading death penalty scholar, for a conversation about the history of lethal injection and the broader questions surrounding the death penalty.
Click here to register: https://umontana.zoom.us/meeting/register/4-EfTxGzToGZRLt1f5ifSA