Court Opinion

ID: 9883564
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 01:49:31.299742+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:16.354105
License: Public Domain

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE HASWELL,
dissenting:
I dissent from this Court’s acceptance of original jurisdiction via extraordinary writ at this time. I consider this action premature until such time as Compact negotiations are concluded.
While the Court’s intervention at this time may not violate the letter of the law, it violates the spirit of Montana’s public policy to make “an effort to conclude compacts for the equitable division and apportionment of waters between the state and its people and the several Indian tribes claiming reserved water rights within the state” (section 85-2-701, MCA) and the federal government claiming non-Indian reserved water rights within this state (section 85-2-703, MCA). The litigation spawned by the majority opinion is inimical to successful compact negotiations despite protestations to the contrary by the majority. The inherent coercive effect of contemporaneous litigation on the negotiating posture of the parties in Compact negotiations cannot be ignored.