The Montana Supreme Court has dismissed a misconduct lawsuit against the state’s attorney general

Billings, Mont. (AP) – Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a misconduct case against the state’s attorney general after he rejected a court order challenging a law that would have given the governor more power over the judiciary.

A court-appointed panel last year found that Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen repeatedly attacked the integrity of judges in defense of a 2021 law that would have allowed the state’s Republican governor to directly fill judicial vacancies.

The panel recommended that Knudsen’s license to practice law be suspended for 90 days.

The justices agreed in Wednesday’s ruling that Knudsen had violated rules of professional conduct for lawyers. But the court said the panel handling the case violated Knudsen’s due process rights by excluding his expert witness and failing to adequately explain the ruling against him.

Knudsen had asked the High Court to dismiss the case. He issued a statement Wednesday saying the complaint against him was a distraction.

“I applaud the Supreme Court for bringing this frivolous complaint to a long overdue conclusion,” Knudsen said. “As we’ve said from the beginning, this was nothing more than a political stunt.”

Chief Justice Cory Swanson wrote that Wednesday’s order was a “public warning” about Knudsen’s misconduct.

“We categorically warn all Montana attorneys, including Knudsen and his subordinates, to comply with all court orders,” Swanson wrote.

The dispute between Montana’s chief law enforcement officer and its high court centered on a law that was part of a nationwide GOP effort to create a more conservative judiciary and was ultimately upheld by the Montana Supreme Court.

In its defense of the Legislature and the 2021 law, Knudsen’s office accused Supreme Court justices of judicial misconduct, corruption, self-dealing, “actual impropriety” and conflicts of interest in court filings.

After the complaint against Knudsen, a 13-member panel — a group of lawyers and others known as the Commission on Montana Supreme Court Practice — determined that the attorney general’s office had “repeatedly, consistently and unquestionably” violated the rules of professional conduct.

Knudsen argued that any punishment should be handled privately.

Swanson wrote Wednesday that extensive litigation in the case was “much worse” than the private counsel previously considered.

All but two of the court’s seven judges recused themselves from Knudsen’s case because of conflicts with their offices. They were replaced by five District Court judges and were joined by newly elected Chief Justice Swanson and Judge Catherine Bidegare.

Six of the seven judges rejected the recommendation to suspend Knudsen, with only Bidegare dissenting. She said Knudsen’s actions merited a public censure and a 30-day suspension.

“Expunging a complete disciplinary record is inconsistent with our constitutional responsibility and our precedent,” Bidegare wrote. “Discipline is not punitive; it is protective—of the public, the courts, and the profession—and serves to preserve confidence in the fair and orderly administration of justice.”

The court unanimously rejected Knudsen’s claim that he was immune from disciplinary action against him as Montana attorney general. Swanson wrote that it would be “foolish” to allow the attorney general to supervise hundreds of lawyers while exempting him from the basic ethical standards of the profession.

Knudsen acknowledged during a hearing last fall that several things should have been done differently in the legislature’s scope of representation.

“If I had been doing this job, I probably wouldn’t have allowed such language — so sharp — to be used,” Knudsen testified.