News & Opinions
Please note that opinions posted here are not necessarily opinions of The Friends of the Montana Constitution, a 501c3 nonprofit. The views and opinions expressed below are those of the authors listed and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
News
August 12, 2022 / News
Montana SupCo: Voting on Supreme Court justices by district won’t appear on Nov. ballot
Montanans will continue to elect Montana Supreme Court justices at large with a decision issued Friday — and one immediately criticized by Republican leaders.
The state’s highest court in a 5-2 opinion affirmed the Butte-Silver Bow District Court’s decision to enjoin the Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen from placing HB 325 on the ballot in the 2022 general election.
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July 27, 2022 / News
Judge strikes down law that targeted youngest voters, ruling it violated state’s constitution
A Yellowstone County District Court judge has ruled that a law passed by the 2021 Legislature that would have forced county clerks to withhold absentee ballots from voters who would turn 18 by Election Day is a violation of the Montana Constitution.
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July 11, 2022 / News
Court hears arguments on four voting rights challenges to Montana law
Lawyers for the state and several organizations spent Monday afternoon searching for the problems that solutions created by the Montana Legislature solved. The hearing in Yellowstone County District Court focused on four bills passed by Montana lawmakers that changed voting laws and access to ballots and those collecting ballots.
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June 29, 2022 / News
Montana Supreme Court: Regents can set gun policy on state’s campuses
The Montana Board of Regents has full authority to oversee the Montana University System, and a bill that tried to take away its power to restrict firearms on campus is unconstitutional where it applies to the regents, according to a unanimous decision Wednesday from the Montana Supreme Court.
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June 28, 2022 / News
Montana Attorney General wants state Supreme Court to consider Dobbs decision in abortion appeal
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is asking the Montana Supreme Court to consider last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in an appeal of four abortion laws before the court.
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Opinion
December 27, 2022 / Opinion
Proposed legislative rule change undermines constitution, invites corruption
n the early 1970s, something revolutionary happened. Everyday Montanans stood up, demanding a new constitution with expanded rights and freedoms.
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October 19, 2022 / Opinion
Laws and the constitution are not a choose-your-own adventure
I had a neighbor once who spent several days in the county jail because he wouldn’t make his mortgage payments. He felt he had a constitutional right to not pay them because the money wasn’t backed by gold.
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October 12, 2022 / Opinion
Montana AG Knudsen is all hat, no cows
In his recent guest view, Attorney General Austin Knudsen whines that the Montana Supreme Court deprived Montanans of a right to decide election methods. Specifically, electing supreme court justices by district, instead of in statewide, non-partisan elections.
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October 9, 2022 / Opinion
Montana must keep its judiciary independent, free of partisanship, and respect ‘Rule of Law’
We have two Montana Supreme Court races this year, each, as always, extremely important.
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October 8, 2022 / Opinion
How democracy and Montana may be dying
Are Montana Republicans fascists? Goodness no! But the story is more complicated. Conservative columnist Gary Abernathy wrote recently that Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, and other Republicans willing to chastise Trump and their party in general should leave the party.
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