Montana’s Supreme Court dismisses misconduct case against the state’s attorney general
December 31, 2025
Montana’s Supreme Court has dismissed a misconduct case against the state’s Republican attorney general after he openly defied court orders in a dispute with justices. 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. Justices said Wednesday that Knudsen had violated rules of conduct for attorneys but said the panel violated his due process rights. Knudsen said in a statement Wednesday that the compliant was nothing more than a political stunt.