A Montana state judicial panel recommended suspending Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s license to practice law for 90 days over his actions related to the appointment of conservative judges. Knudsen defended a law allowing Montana’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte to fill judicial vacancies without the input of the state’s judicial commission, which had been passed due to concerns about the commission’s bias.
The charges arose out of Knudsen’s tangling with the Montana Supreme Court over the matter; Knudsen believed that the state supreme court was overstepping its constitutional power and usurping the authority of his client, the state legislature.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) initiated the complaint against Knudsen in September 2023. He was charged with 41 counts of misconduct. They included some of the same broad, vague ethics rules used to target conservative attorneys, such as prohibiting criticism of judges, which many consider a violation of the First Amendment.
They also included Rule 8.4(d) of the Montana Rules of Professional Misconduct, which states that attorneys may not “engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.” The 41 counts consisted of the same handful of ethics rules allegedly repeatedly violated.
A spokesperson for Knudsen, Emilee Cantrell, told KTVH, “The allegations are meritless and stem from a legitimate dispute between two branches of government. No one should be persecuted for holding a different opinion than those in power.”
Read the rest of the article at The Tennessee Star