Lieutenant governor advocates giving governor judicial appointment power
The Governor's Office on Tuesday made its pitch to a Senate committee on why it should take over direct appointment of judges after a vacancy on the bench and do away with the nominating process that's been in place for 50 years. Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras argued on behalf of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Juras said giving the governor direct appointment power over state district and Supreme Court judges would merely pull back the curtain on partisanship in the appointment process, which she claimed was already well underway in the Judicial Nominating Co...
Source: helenair.com