BILLINGS, Mont. — 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.
Knudsen had urged the high court to dismiss the case against him.
Justices ruled Wednesday that Knudsen had violated rules of conduct for attorneys but said a state panel violated his due process rights by excluding his expert witness from the case.
