Montana Supreme Court elections, 2008-2010

2010 election

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Montana judicial elections, 2010

• Michael E. Wheat was appointed to the Montana Supreme Court in 2010 to fill out John Warner's term. Wheat must run in the 2010 election to retain the seat.

• In Montana's judicial elections, if there are fewer than twice the number of candidates to seats up for election, all candidates advance to the general election.

Seat	Candidate(s)	Details	Results
Seat 2	Michael E. Wheat	Supreme Court	Michael Wheat's seat is up for election.
Seat 4	Beth Baker & Nels Swandal	William Leaphart is leaving office.	Beth Baker won with 52.29% of the vote.

2008 election

One Montana Supreme Court seat was up for grabs and another was up for re-election in the 2008 general election. Mike McGrath and Ron Waterman ran for an eight-year term as Chief Justice of the court, in the seat vacated by retiring Chief Justice Karla M. Gray. Patricia O'Brien Cotter's seat is also up for re-election in 2008, but she has no opponents.

On November 4, Attorney General Mike McGrath defeated Helena lawyer Ron Waterman by a count of 75% to 25%. McGrath, who was scheduled to be term limited from his position as Attorney General now moves to the Supreme Court.

Hair analysis case becomes issue

A group called Montanans for Fairness Not Politics formed in October 2008 to draw attention to the investigation of Arnold Melnikoff, the former forensic "hair analysis" expert for Montana; the group is saying that candidate McGrath mishandled the state's investigation of Melnikoff.

Melnikoff worked for Montana's crime lab from 1975-1989. He then took a similar job in the state of Washington. In Washington, Melnikoff failed a competency examination in the forensic science of hair analysis and was fired. When these events came to light, there was political pressure in Montana to go back and review the 240 criminal cases that had taken place in Montana where Melnikoff's hair analysis testimony at trials as a supposed expert witness might have led to injustice from the judge or jury relying on what Melnikoff said.

Melnikoff's testimony was part of the case of Jimmy Ray Bromgard, a Billings man who was wrongly imprisoned for 14 years for raping a young girl. In 2002, as part of the national Innocence Project, DNA analysis proved him innocent and Bromgard was freed.

McGrath was put in charge of the investigation into Melnikoff's cases, but, according to the group now criticizing him, only conducted an extensive analysis on 19 of the cases. The group says this review was superficial and leaves the state vulnerable to ongoing litigation from wrongly convicted citizens as well as raising the spectre of ongoing injustice.

McGrath's investigation did not look at any of Melnikoff's cases where a convicted person was already released from jail.

Mike McGrath's campaign positions

Candidate McGrath has declined to discuss his judicial philosophy during the campaign, especially with regards to capital punishment, whereas his opponent is an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. McGrath says that it is inappropriate for a potential justice to tell people what his position is on issues that may be decided on the court.

More drug courts

In a speech to the Bozeman Kiwanis club on September 8, McGrath said that pushing for more drug courts will be a top priority if he is elected. "I will spend some time encouaging other communities and trying to find some dollars for those drug court programs.

Reduce court's backlog

When he announced his candidacy, McGrath said that if he is elected, he wants to focus on reducing the Court's backlog, stating:

"It seems like it takes long periods of time to get opinions issued, and I'd like to work on that. Justice delayed is justice denied. People want answers and disputes resolved. That's why they go to the Supreme Court."

Ron Waterman's campaign positions

Ron Waterman

Judicial independence

On his campaign website, Waterman says, "The Montana judicial system must remain independent and free of political interference. Turning a judicial campaign into one that looks more like a full-fledged political battle between special interest groups would be a disservice to all Montana voters. While we respect the First Amendment right of free speech, Montanans have recently watched in shock as other states have seen judicial races that are little more than partisan battles. This erodes both judicial independence and respect for our courts."

Capital punishment

Candidate Waterman is an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. He said while campaigning in October that his well-known views in opposition to capital punishment mean that he would have to recuse, or disqualify, himself from hearing any death penalty cases that would come before the court. Three people have been executed in Montana since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s and there are two convicted criminals (Ronald Smith and William Gollehon) on death row.

Ron Waterman discusses his views on capital punishment in a video.

Reject special interest ads

In a May 5, 2008 press release, Waterman advocated for judicial elections free of PAC (Political Action Committee) or other special-interest money, and urged his opponent, Mike McGrath, to do the same. Waterman said, "Montanans expect their judges to rule on the basis of law, not personal preference. Independent campaign committees try to push voters to choose judges based on political views. Nothing could be worse for our courts."

Assure competent representation

During his announcement for candidacy to the Montana Supreme Court, Waterman said he wants to lead the state's court system because,

"...I believe that each person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty and that all persons deserve competent lawyers. This has been the foundation of my legal career and it will continue as a fundamental component during my service as chief justice."

Campaign spending

Through September 5, McGrath had raised $194,000 compared with $72,000 raised by opponent Ron Waterman. Of the funds he has raised through early September, McGrath had spent $83,000, leaving a cash balance of about $111,000. Waterman had spent about $27,000, leaving a cash balance of $45,000 left in the bank.

Chief Justice salary

The salary for Montana Chief Justice is $107,404 annually

Debates start September 17

Waterman has called on McGrath to engage in a series of six debates prior to the election in order to allow "people to have an understanding as far as the different philosophies and experience of both candidates."

The first debate occurred on September 17th in Billings. The two candidates will square off again at the University of Montana on October 2nd.

To date, those are the only debates McGrath has agreed to.

External links

• Waterman's Election Page
• McGrath's Election Page
• Fairness Not Politics
• Supreme Injustice
• Chief justice candidates square off during forum
• Chief justice hopefuls offer different views
• On our minds: Supreme Court race