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Kelly Sather urges legal training for justices, proposes traffic court to reduce license-related recidivism
Summary
Challenger Kelly Sather emphasized that a justice should be a lawyer, described her experience as a public defender and civil attorney, and proposed a traffic court to help residents restore licenses and avoid repeated offenses.
Kelly Sather framed the Justice of the Peace role at the City Club forum as requiring legal training. "I am running for justice of the peace because I believe an arbiter of the law should be a lawyer," she said, adding that a judge should be able to research, analyze and write a legal opinion.
Sather described wide experience in Montana as a trial attorney and public defender and said that background informs her approach to balancing constitutional protections with accountability. She argued alternatives to automatic jail for nonviolent misdemeanors, recommending evaluations and treatment where appropriate and community-based options such as work release or community service. "Putting someone in jail for being mentally ill costs our community $200 a day," she said, adding that lengthy confinement without treatment is often ineffective.
On administrative changes, Sather proposed creating a traffic court aimed at helping people get driver's licenses restored and avoid becoming habitual offenders. "What they need is help. They need a caseworker. They need a social worker," she said, arguing that traffic court could reduce docket churn and the collateral harms of license suspension.
Sather stressed she would hold people accountable after conviction and weigh victim impact in sentencing, while using community resources where available.
