Opinion - Important to vote in Supreme Court election

The Montana Supreme Court and Montana Constitution might seem foreign to most Big Sky citizens.

But it plays a huge role in our lives.      

The 1972 state Constitution gives Montanans strong rights to privacy, freedom, a quality education, and ensures we keep our environment clean and healthy so we can enjoy our clean air and water and hold polluters accountable.

Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court — one chief justice and six associate justices — ensures we have a fair and impartial justice system to provide a check on our partisan branches of government — the executive branch, including the governor, and the 150-member Legislature — to protect all our rights.

To put it simply, the Supreme Court can and should limit excess political power and overturn unconstitutional state laws that curb our privacy and freedom.

That’s why it’s important for Montanans to vote this fall in the races for state Supreme Court chief justice and associate justice.

In recent years, we’ve seen the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature try to interfere with Montana’s court system and the Supreme Court. Our court system should remain free of politics and political interference. After all, lawmakers don’t want judges sitting on the state House or Senate floors telling them how to make laws.

That’s why Montanans — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — overwhelmingly support candidates who value upholding the Constitution, even if they disagree with some of its provisions.

Butte native Jeremiah “Jerry” Lynch, a 14-year federal magistrate (judge) running for state Supreme Court chief justice, and Katherine Bidegaray, a state district judge for 20 years in eastern Montana running for Supreme Court associate justice, have a depth of experience that shows they are fair, impartial, and will protect the Montana Constitution and the rights of Montana families.

We must keep partisan and extreme politics out of the Supreme Court and protect our state Constitution. Our freedom, privacy and ability to get fair and impartial justice are on the ballot this fall. We should stand up to protect those values we hold so closely as Montanans.

We should expect our Supreme Court justices to follow the law, keep politics out of the courtroom, uphold the Montana Constitution, and be fair and impartial.

Jerry Lynch and Katherine Bidegaray aren’t politicians and don’t have direct ties to political parties. They’ll simply continue to work to maintain our personal rights and freedoms in the Montana Constitution as our way of life and values face change from inside and outside our borders.

Our constitution puts every Montanans’ freedoms to privacy, dignity, a clean and healthful environment, and education first. This protects our way of life from special interests who want to control our great state.

These are not foreign concepts — what’s common to all Montanans is our state Constitution.

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Jim Hunt of Helena was born and raised in Montana, is a trial attorney, veteran and son of the late Montana Supreme Court Justice William “Bill” E. Hunt Sr.