The Montana Supreme Court will not suspend the attorney general’s license, as was recommended by a state board for charges of professional misconduct.
The state’s high court agreed that Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen violated the rules of professional misconduct, but not to the extent the Commission on Practice concluded.
The commission reviews ethics complaints against attorneys and refers its findings to the state Supreme Court.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, another oversight board, charged Knudsen with 41 counts of professional misconduct. Knudsen was accused of undermining and disobeying the judiciary during a 2021 case that put Republican legislators at odds with the courts. After a two day hearing, the commission recommended suspending Knudsen’s law license for 90 days and billing him for legal fees.
More than a year later, a majority on the Montana Supreme Court rejected that suggestion and dismissed Knudsen’s case. The decision was made largely by substitute judges as most sitting justices were involved in the original 2021 case and recused themselves.
The majority also wrote that the Commission on Practice violated Knudsen’s due process during his hearing. In a statement, Knudsen said he’s glad the court brought the “frivolous complaint to a long-overdue conclusion.”
Justice Katherine Bidegaray dissented, noting that the other justices agreed Knudsen had disobeyed a court order in 2021. She wrote that such conduct, without consequence, weakens the court’s constitutional power.
