READ THE STORY FROM THE HELENA INDEPENDENT RECORD
“The Montana Supreme Court on Friday issued a unanimous order putting a temporary halt on the wave of legislative subpoenas calling for the court’s internal documents by Monday.”
“The unprecedented public clash between the two branches arose from the revelation of an internal judges’ poll conducted in January on Senate Bill 140, which eliminated the Judicial Nomination Commission and expanded the governor’s power to appoint judges in the case of vacancies. When Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law in March, a legal challenge to the law followed less than 24 hours later later. Filings in that case showed one of the district court judges to preside over the case had “adamantly opposed” the law when it was in the legislative process.”