Letters to the editor Feb. 4
Judicial reform
In response to the onslaught of opinion pieces and news articles regarding the Montana Legislature’s plethora of bills seeking to “reform” the judiciary, I feel that, contrary to Sen. Tom McGillvray’s statements, it is indeed an assault on the courts. How can he say that the public’s confidence is threatened when it is that very public that elected the justices? That statement is ludicrous.
Then to consider a bill to “expand the definition of public information” by the party that consistently tries to deny access to public records via the Freedom of Information Act. There’s a certain irony when they refuse to grant interviews to the press or respond to questions and letters from constituents. That seems to be the way of the Republican Party in Montana. I know that I have never gotten a straight answer to any of my letters.
Finally, and perhaps most disturbing, is to mandate candidates for judicial positions to claim party affiliation as a way to combat a falsely perceived view of judicial partisanship. This is probably the most outrageous thing yet to come from the controlling party in our state government.
It is the courts responsibility to prevent the Legislature from running roughshod over the citizens they are supposed to represent by preventing unconstitutional laws from being enacted. If the legislature doesn’t want their bills to be challenged and ruled unconstitutional, then the only recourse is for them to stop passing unconstitutional bills. They have been warned repeatedly by their own legal counsel that various bills would be challenged in court, yet they press on, wasting their time and their constituents money by opening themselves up to litigation.
After what I’ve seen, I can say that I do have the utmost confidence in our courts, even if I don’t always agree with them. The Legislature says it is fighting to secure a court system that lawmakers can trust. We already have that. What they really want is a judiciary that is subject to party rule, and that is a very dangerous situation. Our government cannot function properly as a monopoly, but that is what the Legislature is seeking.
As a final caution, I would urge them to be careful what they wish for. The pendulum will only swing so far to the right before it begins to swing back. If it stops swinging, democracy is dead.
— Tim Wiley, Kalispell
Wonderful organization
Thank you for your feature about the Whitefish Community Foundation in the Jan. 26 issue.
As music director of the Crown of the Continent Choir and president of Authors of the Flathead, both recent grant recipients, I know firsthand the wonderful blessing this organization is to the Flathead Valley. Their vision is far-reaching and their gifts are essential for the success of many arts and humane organizations in our community.
— Craig Thomas Naylor, Kalispell