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Montana justices, attorneys warn cutting Supreme Court from seven to five would slow decisions and risk backlogs
Summary
Chief Justice Corey Swanson and numerous legal groups told the House Judiciary Committee HB322 would create delays and backlogs if the Supreme Court is reduced from seven to five justices; sponsor argued the change would save about $1.2 million annually and is in line with other small states.
Representative Lucas Schubert introduced House Bill 3 22, proposing to reduce the Montana Supreme Court from seven justices to five. Schubert said the change would save about $1.2 million a year and argued several smaller states handle similar workloads with fewer justices. "This is a common sense bill to cut out bureaucracy," he told the committee.
Chief Justice Corey Swanson, appearing in opposition, described the court's current workload and the time required to draft opinions. He said justices are at capacity and warned that reducing the…
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