Politics has no place in the courtroom
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen was called to account for multiple, egregious violations of the rules that govern all Montana lawyers. Unimaginable as it seems, Montana’s attorney general brazenly disobeyed a direct, final order of the Montana Supreme Court, and he did so knowingly.
Knudsen continued to defy that order for nearly one full year, while publicly calling judges liars who engage in misconduct. In essence, Knudsen’s position is that he alone, among all Montana lawyers, is special; that his pledge to adhere to the Rules of Professional Conduct was somehow less binding than all the other lawyers in the state who swore the same pledge.
He has denied none of what he is accused of and if any other lawyer had engaged in similar despicable conduct they would have been summarily disbarred.
Recently, Montana Republican Party Chairman Don Kaltschmidt, seeking to politicize the matter, publicly decried the procedures and thoughtful decision of Montana’s Commission on Practice (the body responsible for disciplining lawyers) as a “show trial,” “weaponization,” and “partisan manipulation” of the system. He also attacked the person who filed the complaint against Knudsen, Clara Ellen Roberts, ignoring the inconvenient truth that Ms. Roberts grew up in Billings, attended college in Missoula and is a licensed Montana lawyer.
Truth is, the only partisan manipulation to be seen is that which the hopelessly biased Republican Party chair Kaltschmidt relentlessly forces upon Montana citizens and Montana’s judiciary. He just can’t seem to grasp the fact that politics has no place in either the courtroom, or in attorney disciplinary proceedings, both of which are – and must always remain – arenas in which facts and applicable laws are the only thing that matters.
One thing distinguishes the United States of America from any two-bit authoritarian regime or banana republic. It is respect for the rule of law. Without that, we are left with the law of the jungle, where none of us can stand on equal footing with the rich and powerful.
And there is no place in America where anyone, and especially an attorney, is entitled to a get out of jail free card after disobeying a direct, final court order. Knudsen does not get to disobey these rules by claiming “separation of powers.”
Knudsen’s brand of intentional misconduct is not a part of his “constitutional duties,” far from it. Kaltschmidt's shameful, revisionist view pins a “badge of honor” on an attorney who has trashed his most basic professional obligations, defied the rule of law and run roughshod over the rules of common civility – you know, that stuff we were all supposed to learn in kindergarten.
Austin Knudsen has not been singled out for unfair treatment. His case is being handled just the same as that of any attorney who breaks the rules. This is not a show trial or a weaponization of the system. What you’re seeing is due process and accountability for a wrongdoer. Montanans do not want, let alone need, politics in the courtroom. Montanans want and need the courtroom to be a sanctuary in which facts, law, and justice are all that matters.
Kaltschmidt, if you truly want to enhance the “integrity of the legal system and the fundamental principles of democracy,” encourage Knudsen to stop breaking the rules. And, you can help by ending the constant spread of conspiracy theories.
It’s not OK to defend rule breakers by labeling or impugning others who have the audacity to enforce the rules. Integrity demands we support and encourage our fellow citizens who bring rule breakers to answer for their conduct.
David Paoli is an attorney in Missoula.