READ THE STORY FROM THE MONTANA FREE PRESS
“An ongoing dispute over Montana’s state court system, stemming from a new law that gives Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte direct power to fill temporary judicial vacancies, has embroiled the state judiciary in a mud-streaked partisan fight involving bias allegations, missing records, and subpoenas issued to Montana Supreme Court justices.
The increasingly fraught situation has seen legislative Republicans set up a committee to investigate the judicial branch and subpoena judicial records and staff as the court prepares to hear a challenge to the appointment law. Legislative Democrats have responded by accusing Republicans of manufacturing a “constitutional crisis” by smearing the judiciary in an effort to exert broader control over state government.”