Montana’s Supreme Court dismisses misconduct case against the state’s attorney general

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a misconduct case against the state’s attorney general after he defied court orders in a dispute over a law that gave the governor more power over the judiciary.

A court-appointed panel last year found that Attorney General Austin Knudsen repeatedly attacked the integrity of the justices in his defense of a 2021 law permitting the state’s Republican governor to directly fill judicial vacancies. The panel had recommended that his license to practice law be suspended for 90 days.

Justices ruled Wednesday that Knudsen had violated rules of conduct for attorneys but said the panel violated his due process rights by excluding his expert witness from the case.

Knudsen had urged the high court to dismiss the case against him. He said in a statement Wednesday that the compliant against had been a distraction during his time in office.

“I appreciate the Supreme Court bringing this frivolous complaint to a long-overdue conclusion,” Knudsen said. “We’ve said it from the very beginning, this was nothing more than a political stunt.”

Chief Justice Cory Swanson wrote that Wednesday’s order amounted to a “public admonition” over Knudsen’s misconduct. Swanson also said the extensive litigation in the case was “far worse” than a private admonition that had been previously considered in his case.