MT Supreme Court Election

[SixPoint]

This email hit my inbox recently. This concerns me enough that I am posting it here, and hopefully those of you that are more in tune with Montana politics can help confirm. If this is true, then it should be blasted across the state. I am leaving the email's author anonymous, although they did ask for it to be passed along. Maybe some of you also received this?

"All -

By now you have probably received your absentee ballot . Whether you are a
Republican or a Democrat, you will note that there are three candidates
running for a Montana supreme Court seat full-term. They are Sandefur ,
Juras and Mills. This is non-partisan .


The way it works is that the top two will go on the November ballot for
final vote of which one will be selected.

Here is the deal....................... Juras is an unvarnished advocate
for property rights and a written enemy of stream access . She has gone on
record as being opposed to stream access as a " taking". So whatever you do
not vote for her. My niece Ingrid is a District Judge here in Billings and
she highly recommends Sandefer as being a seasoned judge from Great Falls on
the District Court there and being a friend of conservation causes. That is
who I am voting for. We don't know much about Eric Mills but he is a
relative newcomer to the whole judicial scene and have never held public
office.

Some strange dark outside money is funding door knocking is support of
Juras here in Billings . Given that the dark money folks already
successfully showed their interest in the McKinnon election in 2012(?) I am
sure it will show up this time. McKinnon voted against the stream /
bridge access law in the latest PLWA/Kennedy decision . (PLAAI v Madison
county.) Just one more like her could kill stream access ! I am not
kidding. There are 7 members of the court and a 4-3 adverse decision would
do the trick. That is all it would take . ( Sadly, the current Republican
hierarchy would love it.)


(Mike McGrath is on the ballot for Supreme Court Chief Justice unopposed
and that is a no-brainer in that Mike has always been a strong supporter of
stream access and conservation causes.)


Pass it on . Thank you."

 

[kingderek]

I am attorney in Montana--am familiar with both candidates--I know Kristen. If anyone is interested in my opinion, send me a message--, am happy to share it. FWIW, consistent with the above, and for other reasons, Sandefur is getting my vote.

 

[RobG]

Sandifer is the preferred candidate. Juras is viewed as bad for stream access. She wrote a law review article regarding access and alleged loss of private property rights. http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/faculty_lawreviews/85/

 

[Ben Lamb]

I'm voting for Sandefur based on the access issue alone. We need to keep the court access friendly lest we lose it all when the billionaire boys club decides to sue again.

 

[katqanna]

I know Rob posted this above, but I already had it at my site with the pdf page number for the quote, so I am going to link that, rather than deal with the download info.
Kristen Juras review of Montana Stream Access - Stop the Breach
PDF page 58, where Juras refers to Montana Stream Access as an "erosion".

Although the early Montana courts and legislature strongly protected riparian rights (1) by extending riparian ownership to the low-water mark of navigable waters and to the middle of non-navigable waters, and (2) by affirming the riparian owner's right to exclude the public's use of privately-owned stream beds, these rights have progressively eroded. The first erosion was slight (and, in view of Montana's affinity for fishing, caused little controversy) -the adoption in 1933 of the "angler's statute" allowing fishermen to enter onto the banks of navigable rivers between the low- and high-water marks for purposes of fishing. The second erosion was monumental-the expansion of the public trust doctrine to allow public use of both navigable and non-navigable stream beds for recreational use.

 

[RobG]

Thanks Kat. I should have figured you'd have it on your site

 

[Shotgun1]

We need a legislative score card this round, I really feel sportsman and women are really coming around lately and taking an active interest

 

[katqanna]

Thanks Kat. I should have figured you'd have it on your site

I thought I had posted it here, about a year ago, when I found it after that 2015 article. I couldnt find it on a hunttalk search though. So many documents at my own site I have to use my site search to find some things.

I just thought, in case many didnt read through the whole thing, like I love to do, I would post the page number with the pertinent quote for quick reference.

 

[shoots-straight]

We need a legislative score card this round, I really feel sportsman and women are really coming around lately and taking an active interest

AT our website on "Montana Sportsmen's Alliance" we have a scorecard, and have endorsed Sandefur.

http://www.msapac.com/candidates.htm

[url]http://www.montanasportsmenalliance.com/MSA%202015%20Legislative%20Scorecard.pdf
[/URL]

 

[katqanna]

In looking further into Juras views concerning stream access, I saw she was interviewed on Northern Broadcastings Voices of Montana in Dec., listened to the 2 segments. She stated that water rights is going to be huge in the next 15 years, which is part of what the above paper was addressing.

Most of the callers were more concerned with Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 than Montana issues, so I didnt hear anyone ask her directly about MT stream access, but she did discuss the MT Supreme Court not making new law and advocating the court uphold the original positions, something the above article also addresses when she states that, "early Montana courts and legislature strongly protected riparian rights", but then began to erode.

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Riverbed Ownership case, "According to University of Montana School of Law associate professor Kristen Juras this decision is very important not only for PPL but also for any landowners with property abutting rivers. She says the broader you describe navigability the less property rights riparian landowners have. "

 

[Shotgun1]

AT our website on "Montana Sportsmen's Alliance" we have a scorecard, and have endorsed Sandefur.

http://www.msapac.com/candidates.htm

[url]http://www.montanasportsmenalliance.com/MSA%202015%20Legislative%20Scorecard.pdf
[/URL]

Nice

I started one on another post, the research takes a lot of time. Anyway

SD 7 (Thompson Falls), I agree with Glenn Ferren as the pick. Crazy Jennifer Fielder needs to go, now. Anyone who is anyone who lives in that district needs to spread the word, goodbye to another out of state transplant who purchases a little land, and after a little time living here tries to change our way of life. she is a morally corrupt individual.

You should include SD 40 (Helena). Hal Jacobsen (D) is the way to go IMO. He is "staunchly" against the transfer of land. (http://helenair.com/news/politics/s...cle_b5e4ff86-4cd2-5ccf-9427-b4e17d900309.html)

 

[SixPoint]

Well it looks like the answer is clear. Thanks for all the great replies and links. It's great being able to make informed decisions based on the facts. Sandefur will certainly be getting my vote.

Kat- you are a research Ninja! Thanks for spending all of your time fleshing these things out!

 

[Shotgun1]

Sandefur. Spread the word

 

[katqanna]

Montana Supreme Court candidates debate experience, wait for interest groups to spend big money

Last night I finished three hard days of research for a client, primarily focusing on PERC (Property and Environment Research Center), based here in Bozeman, so to speak. Their primary funders are corporations and foundations created by heads of corporations. A while back, numerous leaders of these industries (oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, etc) started following the same game plan - setting up foundations to fund think tanks, such as PERC or front groups like Richard Berman, to push certain agendas, primarily privatization. They view public lands and resources as socialization. I pulled 990's from so many of these groups, drew maps of the interconnections, saw the salaries paid to these guys for cranking out mass amounts of propaganda, the events and contributions to buy judges was amazing. It is a heinous web. They are dumping mass amounts of money at so many levels/tiers of this game, it is revolting. So I wake up, bleary eyed from days of this subject and see this article. Oy

The Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiative lists Montana as a “state to watch” in 2016, but two affiliated PACs in Montana that spent heavily in 2014 have just a few hundred dollars in the bank so far. The national group, which might funnel money into the state, has raised about $6 million so far this election, with the largest contributions coming from conservative and business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wal-Mart, Koch Industries and Exxon Mobil, according to federal records compiled by the Center for Responsive Government.

The group has consistently raised more than $35 million in recent elections, but it is unclear how much will be spent on judicial races if similar funds are collected this year. So far at least, the organization has already bought as much advertising in state court campaigns as it did in 2014, spending more than $3 million against candidates in early-election states like Arkansas and West Virginia.

Sandefur expects the group will buy attack ads against him, noting that a Florida-based research firm used by the committee in 2014 has filed requests for his voting record, case files and expense receipts, among other public records. The researcher, Alex Holzbach, did not return requests for comment. The Republican organization declined to discuss the Montana race or any preparations for it beyond an emailed statement.

“We are monitoring this race because we believe Kristen Juras would be an excellent Justice and help bring the court into closer alignment with the prevailing opinion of Montana voters,” Spokesman Adam Temple wrote in an email. “We established the RSLC JFI Montana PAC in 2014 so it would be available should we decide to engage in a race like this. At this point we aren’t detailing plans or decisions on whether to engage.”

The Republican organization, based in Washington, D.C., formed in 2002 to spend money to make the party more competitive in state-level races, contributing, in part, to an increased number of states with conservative legislative minorities. In 2014, the group’s leadership changed and announced a new project: the Judicial Fairness Initiative.

The Republican State Leadership Committee spent more money in more states on judicial campaigans than any other national organization, according to an analysis of the 2014 elections by the Brennan Center and Helena-based National Institute on Money on State Politics.

Concerning our Montana Supreme Court, I would like to mention something I found a few weeks ago, but did not post. I do not want this to be misconstrued as guilt by association, but I think it does have bearing. In the paper I found written by Kristin Juras, where she states, "Although the early Montana courts and legislature strongly protected riparian rights (1) by extending riparian ownership to the low-water mark of navigable waters and to the middle of non-navigable waters, and (2) by affirming the riparian owner's right to exclude the public's use of privately-owned stream beds, these rights have progressively eroded. The first erosion was slight (and, in view of Montana's affinity for fishing, caused little controversy) -the adoption in 1933 of the "angler's statute" allowing fishermen to enter onto the banks of navigable rivers between the low- and high-water marks for purposes of fishing. The second erosion was monumental-the expansion of the public trust doctrine to allow public use of both navigable and non-navigable stream beds for recreational use", there was a note about a lawsuit filed against stream access in 1986 by Jack Galt. What I didn't know at the time I read the paper about a year ago, was that Jack Galt was Kristin Juras' uncle - Juras is Kristin's married name. Her mother was Patricia Galt, sister to Jack and William Wylie Galt. Patricia married Gustafson, Kristin's maiden name. Jack Galt was a State Senator at the time, this is during MT's 49th Legislature when part of Stream Access was being deliberated in a number of bills, which he opposed. After they passed, he filed the lawsuit. I think this is pertinent because it shows the longstanding familial perspective of "takings" and "erosion", perhaps a foreshadowing of what we could expect if Juras were to win the seat.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Thanks, Kat, for another great research piece. It is disconcerting, but not surprising to realize the history and the lines of connectivity to the present political environment.

 

[RobG]

Wasn't Galt was that poor rancher getting eaten out of house and home by the elk that flew Bullock around in his jet helicopter to tout the success of the shoulder seasons.

 

[Dan O]

I know Dirk Sandefur from working with him when he was a Deputy C.A. and I was a Deputy Sheriff in Cascade County. I fully endorse him. Dirk is one heck of a good attorney and follows the law no matter where it leads or who the other guy is. He will stand up for what is right not what is politically correct.

Dan

 

[katqanna]

Wasn't Galt was that poor rancher getting eaten out of house and home by the elk that flew Bullock around in his jet helicopter to tout the success of the shoulder seasons.

The very same, and National Committeeman for the MT GOP Executive Board

Article

Juras, whose slogan is “objective & balanced,” is being hosted Wednesday evening at Helena’s Montana Club.

The invitation directed guests to send an RSVP to Dave Galt, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association and secretary-treasurer of the Montana Gas & Oil Political Action Committee.

Other hosts listed on the invitation include Errol Galt, the Montana Republican Party’s national committee member, and the staff of the Montana Group, headed by former Montana GOP Executive Director Chuck Denowh.

 

[Carbon]

Rob,

I think getting eaten out of house an home is an exaggeration. My understanding is that the bulls on his properties didn't eat anything. The cows were the freeloaders that weren't paying their way.... ;-)

 

[katqanna]

Since it wasnt at Follow the Money.org yet, I pulled the C5 reports for Juras and Sandefur. Some of the last ones will probably be amended, but the Committee/PAC contributions were interesting (as were the individual contributors).

For Juras
Montana Independent Bankers PAC
Allstate Insurance Company PAC
Montana Farm Bureau PAC
Montana Gas & Oil PAC
Contractors PAC
Landowners For Montana PAC
Montana Coal Council Coal PAC
Montana Beer & Wine Distributors Association ( I think they are an equal opportunity contributor because politics makes for lots of drinking)


For Sandefur
United Transportation Union PAC
Montana Education Association & Montana Federation of Teachers PAC
Montana Beer & Wine Distributors Association