Both the United States and Montana Constitutions create a strong, independent judiciary that protects our rights and freedoms from an overreaching government. This is the American way. We value our courts where judges make impartial rulings based on the law and facts rather than on political pressure.
That wisdom has served us well for more than 235 years. As Alexander Hamilton noted in Federalist No. 78: “There is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers.”
Unfortunately, Governor Greg Gianforte and many Montana Republicans seem to have forgotten this lesson of history and are attempting to politicize Montana’s courts — steps which would erode Montanans’ freedoms in an effort to enhance their political power.
During the past several years, for example, Republicans repeatedly have called for the Governor and Legislature to have greater influence over the courts — and some have openly talked of impeaching judges for rulings that protected Montanans’ right to vote or reproductive freedoms.
We must resist these and similar efforts to politicize the courts and weaken the judiciary’s ability to protect our rights granted by Montana’s Constitution. Instead, now is the time for Montanans to support Montana’s judicial system as an independent branch of government.
To outsiders the courts can be an unfamiliar and confusing environment. No one wants to be in court, and it’s important that the public has confidence that Montana’s judicial system works in a fair, transparent, and productive manner.
Several steps can help keep our courts working for the benefit of all Montanans. First, as our population grows, the court system needs adequate funding to keep pace with its growing caseload. Justice delayed is justice denied, and the courts must have the resources to hold people accountable while ensuring that citizens can access courts to redress wrongs.
In addition, the courts are transparent in that a system to evaluate our courts and judges already exists — measuring things like case load, time to trial, backlogs and other important metrics — maybe more should be done to make sure citizens know this scorecard is publicly available and can be used to help understand how judges are accountable.
We also should bring back legislation killed by Republicans in the legislature several years ago that would expand the background information judges must publicly disclose when filing to run for district court judge or supreme court justice.
Finally, Montana should restore the independent nominating committee process for judicial openings that Governor Gianforte abruptly ended. This system — which was fair, neutral, and transparent — worked well for many years with positive results. Committee members were independent, all meetings and records were open, and their recommendations were merit based.
A free, fair, and well-functioning court system is vital to protect our rights and make sure the law applies equally to everyone. Generations of Americans and Montanans have benefitted from strong, independent courts. Now it’s our turn to preserve a judicial branch that honors and protects our personal freedoms.
Andrea Olsen is a Democratic state senator from Missoula and sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee.