Chief Justice Final

For immediate release Oct. 7, 2008 EDITOR’S NOTE: These stories are produced by University of Montana journalism students under the supervision of Professor Dennis Swibold. They may be used without charge, provided editors retain the students’ bylines. Please contact Professor Swibold ([email protected]) with any questions. You can also find this story and others on the upcoming election at www.montanaschoice2008.blogspot.com.

Chief justice rivals clash over experience By ELIZABETH HARRISON Community News Service UM School of Journalism Ron Waterman, a Helena attorney running for chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court, has an identity problem. Although he is reasonably well known among Montana lawyers and in his home city, this is his first run for statewide office. His opponent, two-term Attorney General Mike McGrath has been in the news and on yard signs since he first ran for Lewis and Clark county attorney in 1982. Getting attention hasn’t been easy, though Waterman is making the rounds of candidate forums and debates, arguing that his lack of political experience is a good thing. What the court needs now, he said, is broad and deep legal experience. He said the next chief justice should be someone who has tried cases all over the state and represented not only corporations and insurance companies, but individuals with a range of problems. Waterman, 64, was born in Newark, N.J., but moved to Montana as a teenager to work on a ranch near the Big Hole River. After graduating from the University of Montana’s law school in 1969, he clerked for a federal judge. The experience Waterman touts began with his involvement in gender equity litigation in the early 1980s. That work led Montana high schools to develop more extracurricular activities for girls. His later work with stream access litigation led to the development of the current stream access law, and he helped build Montana’s new public

defender system. “My opponent has nothing but partisan politics in his resume,” Waterman said. “I think the fact that I’ve never run for political office before is a good thing, because it means I don’t have the same political baggage.” For his part, McGrath doesn’t see how his political affiliations can hurt. “I’ve been in the public arena since 1982,” he said. “I have a reputation for being fair and impartial. I’m not sure what he means by ‘political baggage.’ I just think that’s silly.” At 56, McGrath has spent most of his professional life in public service. Before serving five terms as Lewis and Clark county attorney, the Butte native was an assistant state attorney general for six years. As attorney general, he’s backed the Montana Meth Project, fought identify theft and supported the expansion of drug courts and more help for victims of crime. Beyond criminal justice issues, his office won settlements from mining companies, holding them responsible to cleaning up sites in East Helena and along the Upper Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers. His office also handles consumer protection cases and is presently defending the state’s method of funding public schools. In all of these cases, McGrath said, he is personally involved, at least with strategy, and he participates in the courtroom part time. Waterman has been critical of McGrath’s participation in one highprofile case, that of Jimmy Ray Bromgard, who spent 15 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Bromgard was exonerated in 2004 by DNA evidence. His original conviction was based in part on faulty hair analysis conducted by the head of the State Crime Lab, Arnold Melnikoff. Bromgard sued the state for wrongful conviction, and in a deposition for the case, McGrath said he still believes Bromgard could be guilty. Waterman, who represented Bromgard in the case, also chastised McGrath for not ordering an independent review of Melnikoff’s hair analysis in 250 cases. McGrath shot back at Waterman and other critics of his handling of the case. “First of all, he (Waterman) was well paid for his services to Mr. Bromgard,” McGrath said. “In terms of the review of the lab, keep in mind this guy worked in Montana in 1989, so obviously things have changed dramatically in terms of the operation of the crime lab.” He said his office reviewed every one of Melnikoff’s hair analysis cases. “We came to the conclusion there wasn’t anyone else wrongfully convicted,” McGrath said. Another point of contention is a state law that bars judges from

considering cases they were previously involved in as attorneys. Waterman said that if McGrath is elected, he would have to disqualify himself from any considering case the Justice Department handled during his tenure. That could amount to hundreds of cases, Waterman added. McGrath said he would not have to disqualify himself unless the case was one in which he was personally involved. “We disagree on what the interpretation of those rules is,” he said. While the two candidates differ on many issues, they agree that being chief justice requires leadership and administrative skills, and they both cited the Supreme Court’s backlog as a problem. In a September debate in Billings, McGrath said that 70 cases pending before the court were more than a year old. He said it is “absolutely unacceptable” for a case to be two or three years old before a decision is rendered. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said. “The constitution itself provides that citizens are entitled to a speedy remedy.” McGrath said his experience administering the Department of Justice, with its 750 employees, could help him spot inefficiencies and cut the high court’s backlog significantly. One solution could be designating someone as court commissioner to speed up the paperwork, he added. Waterman argued that the Supreme Court has already begun reducing the backlog. To accelerate the process, he said he would convene a panel to make recommendations. While Waterman lacks McGrath’s administrative experience, he said he plays a key role in managing his law firm: Gough, Shanahan, Johnson & Waterman in Helena. “I think quite frankly as one of senior partners in a major law firm, I think I do have a fair amount of administrative experience,” Waterman said. In the end, voters’ lack of familiarity with Waterman remains his biggest obstacle in the election. Waterman has refused to accept campaign contributions from political action committees, and he has criticized McGrath for accepting such money. McGrath said he has the support of the Montana Game Warden’s Association, the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, NARAL Pro-Choice Montana and Montana Conservation Voters. According to his latest financial report, he’s received PAC money from the locomotive engineers, Dish TV, the state’s public teachers union and the Montana Hospital Association. -30-