April 22, 2025
Choteau Acantha Publishing and Montana Free Press
v.
GREG GIANFORTE, in his official capacity as GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MONTANA; JENNIFER STUTZ, Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council for the Ninth Judicial District Vacancy
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower-court's decision that a meeting of Gov. Greg Gianforte's advisory council violated Montana open-meeting laws.
Choteau Acantha Publishing and Montana Free Press sued the Gianforte administration, claiming that the closure of the Governor’s Advisory Council meeting with judicial applicants violated open meeting laws.
The Advisory Council, appointed by Governor Greg Gianforte, was tasked with interviewing applicants for a judicial vacancy in Montana’s Ninth Judicial District. The meeting was closed to the public by the Chair, Jennifer Stutz, after the applicants asserted their privacy rights.
The District Court of the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County, presided by Judge Mike Menahan, granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Petitioners.
The court determined that the Advisory Council’s closure of the meeting violated open meeting laws, as the applicants for a judicial position do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their qualifications. The court also found that the meeting was improperly closed for its entirety without identifying specific privacy interests, thus failing to perform the required balancing test.
The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case. The court affirmed the District Court’s decision, holding that the Advisory Council’s blanket closure of the meeting was overbroad and violated the statutory procedure for closing meetings. The court emphasized that the closure should be limited to the time when the discussion relates to individual privacy matters and that the presiding officer must articulate a rationale for closure.
The Montana Supreme Court did not address the broader constitutional issue of whether judicial applicants have a reasonable expectation of privacy, as the statutory violation was sufficient to resolve the case. The dismissal of Petitioners’ claim to void the Advisory Council’s actions was also affirmed.
Read the Montana Supreme Court opinion of Choteau Acantha v Gianforte et al here