LTE: We Need Ci-132 to keep politics out of our courts

Our country has benefitted from a system of checks and balances that has prevented any one branch from wielding too much power in our government and ultimately has kept power in the hands of the people. Our legislatures exist to implement the will of the people via elected representatives, and our courts ensure the laws they pass adhere to the constitution. This is a system that has worked well for 250 years, and one we should be careful to preserve.

I spent 4 years as a Republican legislator in Bozeman, and during that time, I watched the legislature pass an increasing number of bills that fell outside the bounds of our state constitution. Even when those bills were well intentioned, the courts correctly overturned unconstitutional new laws. Now, the legislature has attempted to exert power over our courts by making our judicial elections partisan, a very dangerous step toward giving politics and the money it runs on the final say over our laws.

That’s why we need CI-132: to ensure our judicial elections remain nonpartisan and keep politics out of our courts. As a legislator, I watched fair and impartial judges make decisions based only on the facts, the law, and the constitution. As someone who has run for partisan office, I understand the pressure to make decisions with your next election in mind. That’s not how we want judges ruling on cases, whether at the Supreme Court or traffic court. Partisan politics does not belong in our courtrooms, and it does not belong in our judicial elections.

I’m glad that CI-132 is such a simple initiative that only adds a few words to our constitution: “judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Vote yes on CI-132 this November to keep partisan politics and the money it runs on out of Montana’s courts.

Bruce Grubbs

Former Montana Legislator

Bozeman

Originally published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on 9/29/26