The commission on practice, a regulatory board for Montana attorneys determined Attorney General Austin Knudsen guilty of violating the professional rules of conduct.
During a 2021 case between the Montana Supreme Court and state legislature. The board recommended that Knudsen lose his law license for 90 days. In a statement, the Attorney General's spokesperson, Emily Cantrell said Knudsen plans to appeal arguing the proposed punishment lacks merit and that he wasn't given due process.
Knudsen argued that he was doing his job to carry out the state legislature's wishes in the 2021 case, the commission rejected that and wrote that attorneys are not weapons to be wielded at the discretion of any client.
They wrote that failing to enforce professional conduct rules is an invitation to anarchy if Knudsen's appeal is rejected and the recommendation advances, the Montana Supreme Court gets the final say on whether to accept, modify or reject it.
On Thursday, five of the high court's seven justices recused themselves from making that decision. District court judges will likely be appointed to fill in.
It's unclear if disciplinary action will impact Knudsen's re-election campaign. It's possible the issue won't be resolved before the election on November 5th.
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