Judge for Yourself

The most boring of political races are typically judicial races. This is how it should be, as no one wants a bombastic show horse for a judge, and we don’t want judges to be partisan. Impartiality almost always requires monotony, which is why very little attention or money are given to judicial races. It’s a demanding job, the cases keep coming, your schedule is defined by the Court’s docket, and there isn’t a “work from home” option. It’s also a lonely job; the rules for the judicial profession are strict and require isolation from lawyer colleagues and litigants to prevent the appearance of impropriety. My desire to be a judge ended long ago, mostly because I lack the temperament and prefer to be a player rather than referee. Despite my mother’s disappointment, there’s no doubt the Montana judiciary thanks me for not attempting to join their ranks. 

Most Montana lawyers are surprised by the nature of the current Supreme Court race between James Brown and Ingrid Gustafson. Brown has been labeled by both himself and the state GOP as a conservative Republican, which is consistent with my political ideology. Gustafson has not labeled herself, but according to the state GOP she’s a liberal Democrat. I haven’t practiced before Justice Gustafson and know very little about her. So, to inform myself I ask other lawyers for advice – kind of like asking a doctor for a referral to another doctor. It seems Gustafson has far more lawyers with excellent reputations from both sides of the political aisle supporting her, which is telling.    

In contrast, James Brown doesn’t seem to know who he is or what he wants. He sought election to the Public Service Commission and instead of meeting his commitment there he seeks to hop scotch over to the Supreme Court because, according to him, “the governor asked him” to. Then he sought the endorsements of virtually every Republican currently in office, which is a violation of the Judicial Canons. Now, he’s not yet a judge, but a lawyer seeking the office should act in a manner consistent with the office, which means following the Judicial Canons. According to his commercials, Brown apparently hasn’t read the job description for the position he seeks as he proclaims he will “protect Montana from Joe Biden.” As a Montana Supreme Court Justice under no circumstance will Brown have the jurisdiction or capacity to “protect us” from the President of the United States. Between his disdain for the Judicial Canons, shunning the commitments of his current office as PSC commissioner and his bombastic unfounded claims in his commercials, Brown has proven himself unfit to ascend to the Montana Supreme Court. I’ll vote accordingly.  

Tammi Fisher is an attorney, former mayor of Kalispell and host of the Montana Values Podcast.