Roger Koopman is baaack. His recent guest view, replete with inaccurate accusations against Montana courts, judges, and a certain Supreme Court justice, is misinforming and ignorant of facts that he needs a good dose of Government 101.
He should read Montana Constitution Art lll, S.1 : “The power of government … is divided into three distinct branches: executive, legislative, judicial. No person(s) charged with the exercise of power belonging to one branch shall exercise any power belonging to either of the others,…” Separation of powers has been a cornerstone from our nascent history in 1889 to the 1972 constitution and such trust lives on.
Koopman and GOP leaders wail that their recent ideologically enacted laws have been subjected to constitutional challenge. The courts fairly adjudicate these laws and when found unconstitutional, these guys accuse the judiciary of “partisan bigotry” all the while demanding that the judiciary must only rule in the GOP’s own partisan interests.
People are also reading…
The 2023 GOP legislators used their supermajority to ram through laws that many of them knew to be constitutionally weak or wrong, regardless. Right, Sen. Fitzpatrick?
If the Republican caucus knew our constitution as well as the young Montanans who won victory on its behalf in Held v. Montana, they would make laws that HOLD and benefit all Montanans and would survive challenge. Mr. Koopman, get out your copy, read it and perhaps examine your own partisan “agenda of justice under law”.
