On March 22, 1972, all 100 delegates of the Montana Constitutional Convention signed a new constitution for the State of Montana. So just as we celebrate Constitution Day in the U.S. on September 17 to commemorate the September 17, 1787 signing of the United States Constitution, the Friends of the Montana Constitution are calling on Montanans to commemorate our State Constitution every year on March 22 – Montana Constitution Day!
2026 Montana Constitution Day – Celebration in Helena
March 20, 2026
For the first annual Montana Constitution Day, the Friends of the Montana Constitution invite the public to join a free lecture by the Honorable Anthony Johnstone on Montana’s Constitution at the new Montana Heritage Center in Helena, Montana.
- Date: Friday, March 20, 2026
- Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Remarks begin at 10:30 AM followed by a Q&A
- Light refreshments will be provided at 10:00 AM
- Location: Big Sky Hall at the Montana Heritage Center, 225 Roberts Street, Helena, MT 59601
- Keynote: The Honorable Anthony Johnstone, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, will present “The Montana Constitution in Time” with an introduction from Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson.
The first annual Montana Constitution Day is sponsored by the Montana Historical Society and the Friends of the Montana Constitution.
Montana Constitution Day is free to attend. Please let us know you’re coming by using the registration form linked above.
The Montana Constitution in Time
Judge Johnstone’s presentation considers the development of the Montana Constitution over time in relation to the 1889 Montana Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and other state and national constitutions. A question and answer session will follow his presentation.
The Honorable Anthony D. Johnstone serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with chambers in Missoula, Montana. Judge Johnstone previously served as the Helen and David Mason Professor of Law and an affiliated Professor of Public Administration at the University of Montana’s Blewett School of Law, where he taught federal and state constitutional law, legislation, jurisprudence, and a federal judicial clinic. He also served more than two decades as trial and appellate counsel in federal and state courts, including as Montana’s State Solicitor. He entered practice as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. Following law school, he clerked for Ninth Circuit Judge Sidney R. Thomas in Billings, Montana. Judge Johnstone is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Unavailable to attend Montana Constitution Day in person? A online option is available via Zoom, https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/89140933494. Thank you to the Montana Historical Society for hosting this option. The livestream will begin at 10:30 AM on Friday, March 20, 2026.