Bill to lift confidentiality on Judicial Standards Commission complainants draws opposition from judges' groups

Senate Bill 48, carried by Sen. Glenn at the request of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform, would change current practice by permitting complainants to discuss publicly complaints they file with the Judicial Standards Commission (JSC). The bill was presented as a transparency measure by the sponsor and strongly opposed by the State Bar and Montana Judges Association.

Sponsor Sen. Glenn said the bill responds to an interim-committee finding that citizens who file JSC complaints are prohibited from speaking publicly after filing, which he described as a restraint on free speech. He said the change is intended to improve transparency and allow citizens with legitimate complaints to speak out about judicial conduct.

Bruce Spencer, appearing for the State Bar of Montana and the Montana Judges Association, opposed the bill. Spencer told the committee that roughly 98% of complaints are dismissed at the initial stage as lacking merit and that allowing complainants to publicize filings before an initial review would enable the complaints to be used as political tools that damage judges’ reputations even when complaints are summarily dismissed. He cited the legislative auditor’s review, which he said found the JSC’s confidentiality rules to fall “broadly within the mainstream” and warned that Montana would become an extreme outlier if the change were enacted. Spencer also noted that current statutory and rule changes enacted in the prior session (Senate Bill 313) had increased transparency in reporting after adjudication; he argued the new bill would risk unfair, front-page publicity for unvetted allegations.

Committee members asked procedural and comparative questions. Senators questioned whether the current confidentiality practice has formal enforcement mechanisms and raised analogies to disclosures for political-practices complaints. Witnesses discussed that while adjudicatory reports are published in certain circumstances, allowing pre-review disclosure risks headline-focused accusations that are later dismissed and not equally prominent in news coverage. Several senators referenced the legislative auditor’s report and the consequences of Senate Bill 313, including the commission’s required reporting procedures to the legislature.

Sen. Glenn closed saying the bill is about protecting free speech and transparency; he urged the committee to support it. The committee did not take a formal vote during the hearing.