Opinion ID: 890151
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: The State's Con-Con Theory

Text: ¶ 79 The State's second theory is premised on the records from the 1972 Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). In this regard, Plaintiffs' position is that the relevant language of Article VII is unambiguous and, thus, resort to the Con-Con records is unnecessary. But to the extent the transcripts of the Con-Con debates may be considered, Plaintiffs argue that the delegates' remarks reflect an intention to broadly empower the electorate to vote for Supreme Court justices on a statewide basis. In response, the State asserts that [t]he individual delegates' statements ... should not be considered by the Court. Instead, the State focuses on the fact that Delegate David L. Holland's proposed amendment to Article VII did not pass. Having reviewed the relevant portion of the Con-Con record, however, we disagree with the significance the State attributes to the failure of Delegate Holland's amendment. ¶ 80 As discussed in Racicot, 243 Mont. at 387-88, 794 P.2d at 1184-85, the Judiciary Committee presented the delegates with two different proposals. The majority proposal provided for the selection of justices and judges primarily through general elections, while the minority proposal provided for the selection of justices and judges through a system of appointment with an approval-or-rejection election for each succeeding term. The delegates voted to adopt the minority proposal, but then, in a series of debates and amendments before the committee of the whole, broadened its election provisions. In the midst of those debates, Delegate Holland moved to amend part of the minority proposal by substituting the following language taken from Section 6 of the majority proposal: The justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the electors of the state at large, and the term of the office of the justices of the Supreme Court, except as in this Constitution otherwise provided, shall be six years. See Montana Constitutional Convention, Verbatim Transcript, Feb. 29, 1972, p. 1086; Montana Constitutional Convention, Judiciary Committee Proposal, Feb. 17, 1972, vol. I, p. 487. Ultimately, this amendment failed by a narrow margin. Montana Constitutional Convention, Verbatim Transcript, Feb. 29, 1972, p. 1099. And from this fact, the State posits that the attempt to constitutionally require the election of Supreme Court Justices at-large was rejected by the convention. ¶ 81 We cannot agree with this inference. Delegate Holland's amendment was the third of five proposals that were placed before the delegates concerning the selection of Supreme Court justices and district court judges. The sole question being debated at the time was whether justices and judges should be elected, appointed, or some combination of the two. There is no indication in the delegates' discussion that they objected to the state at large portion of Delegate Holland's proposal. To the contrary, the assumption of all who spoke on the question was that, under whatever system the delegates finally adopted, Supreme Court justices would be selected on a statewide basis and district court judges would be selected on a district-specific basis. A careful reading of the transcript reveals that Delegate Holland's amendment was rejected because a majority of the delegates favored an approach involving merit-based appointments with the justice or judge having to stand for election at each succeeding term. It would be extraordinary to conclude that the delegates intended by their vote on Delegate Holland's amendment to reject Montana's decades-old system of electing Supreme Court justices by the electors of the state at large, without even a single word by any of the delegates directed to this issue and without any language to this effect in Constitution itself. ¶ 82 In sum, LR-119 would create new qualifications for the office of Supreme Court justice by requiring each justice to be a qualified electori.e., a registered voter and residentof the Supreme Court district from which the justice is elected or appointed. In addition, LR-119 would alter the structure of the Supreme Court by converting it from a statewide elected institution into a district-based representative body. Correspondingly, LR-119 would eliminate the right presently held by all Montana voters to select all seven justices of the Supreme Court. Legislators argue extensively in their amicus brief that the process of electing justices from smaller, local districts from around the state has inherent value. However, this case is not about the wisdom or value of the changes proposed by LR-119. The point, rather, is that these changes constitute amendments to the Constitution, which cannot be achieved by means of a statutory referendum. Accordingly, we hold that LR-119 is facially unconstitutional.