Closed Door Judge Interviews Violated Montana Public Meeting Law

An advisory council meeting to review candidates for a Montana judicial vacancy excluded members of the public in violation of a state law governing open meetings, the Supreme Court of Montana affirmed.

Petitioners Choteau Acantha Publishing Inc. and Montana Free Press showed that closing the meeting for the duration of judge applicant interviews was “overbroad” and violated the open meetings statute, despite claims that an open meeting would violate the applicants’ privacy rights, Justice James A. Rice said.

“Montana’s open meeting laws are ‘liberally interpreted in favor of openness,’” the court said Tuesday.

This dispute involved Gov. Greg Gianforte’s ...