A state judicial panel is recommending that Montana’s Republican attorney general be suspended from practicing law for 90 days for openly defying court orders and repeatedly attacking the integrity of justices in his defense of a law permitting the state’s Republican governor to directly fill judicial vacancies.
The law at issue was part of a nationwide GOP effort to forge a more conservative judiciary and was eventually upheld by Montana’s Supreme Court.
Both sides have up to 30 days to object to Wednesday’s recommendation by the five-member Commission on Practice and another 30 days to respond to objections before the Supreme Court hands down its decision. Three justices filed motions Thursday to recuse themselves from ruling on the punishment, meaning they would likely be replaced by state District Court judges.
