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HELENA, Mont.— The Montana State Legislature has not received a legally-mandated report from the Judicial Standards Commission (JSC).
The JSC is the entity charged in the state constitution with investigating complaints against judges. State law requires the JSC to provide a detailed report to the Legislature about its policing of judicial misconduct every two years, by September 1st. As of September 3, 2024, the JSC has ignored that statutory deadline and not provided its required report to the Legislature.
At the last meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform (SJOR), House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R-Billings, raised concerns that the JSC had not fully complied with its legal requirements in its 2022 report to the Legislature. Anticipating problems with the JSC’s 2024 report as well, Senate President and SJOR chair Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, preemptively subpoenaed the records from the JSC last week. The subpoena gives Judge Mike Menahan, chair of the JSC, a September 5th deadline to comply.
A copy of the subpoena is attached to this release. The subpoena makes no demands beyond what state law already requires.
“To be clear, the Judicial Standards Commission is currently violating the law by not providing its required report to the Legislature,” Ellsworth said. “I expect Judge Menahan to comply with the Thursday deadline in the subpoena, especially since the JSC has already blown through the deadline mandated in state law.”
“No one in Montana is above the law. That includes judges and the commission charged with policing judicial misconduct. The JSC needs to come into compliance with state law immediately,” Ellsworth said.
“Judges in Montana are accountable to the people through elections. Transparency into judicial misconduct is essential to upholding Montanans’ constitutional right to know and their ability to make informed decisions at the ballot box,” Ellsworth added.
