The Lesson From Montana, Stop Judicial Usurpation Before It Becomes Too Late

By Rob Natelson

From time to time I’ve told the story of how the left-leaning activists on the Montana Supreme Court exercise oligarchical control over the people of the state state—see, for example, here, here, and here. (“Oligarchy” means “rule by the few, as opposed to “democracy,” rule by the people.)

By misconstruing parts of the state constitution, the Montana justices have snatched state public policy from the democratic branches of government. Among the areas of policy where the justices’ political preferences are decisive are election law, environmental law, business regulation, and health law.

In those areas, the court severely restricts the options open to the people’s elected representatives. For example, when the legislature decided to move back the voter registration deadline from Election Day to the day before, the court declared the change unconstitutional. (Of course, the deadline for registration traditionally has been a full month before Election Day.) The court didn’t give the legislature even 24 hours leeway!