Sheriffs support Cory Swanson for chief judge

To achieve this goal, we are proud to endorse Cory Swanson for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. Swanson is the best candidate because he will be fair in criminal cases, keep politics out of the courts, and uphold the rule of law.

Swanson served as Broadwater County’s district attorney for a decade and developed a strong reputation among law enforcement as a tough but fair prosecutor. He has a deep understanding of our state’s law and has proven to be an effective leader. No candidate in this race has more experience in Montana’s courts than Cory Swanson.

We are confident that this positive record will continue all the way to the state's highest court. And it couldn't come at a better time.

Nationally, public confidence in the justice system is declining. Activist judges, who have a political agenda and routinely override the laws, have created instability and left many Americans unhappy. The problem gets even worse as more and more policy disagreements end up being resolved in the courts, rather than through the legislative process.

From a law enforcement perspective, it is frightening to see activist judges and woke prosecutors in America's major cities turning a blind eye to many crimes. Widespread drug abuse, property crimes, and violent attacks on innocent people are reaching shocking levels in some cities. And too many activist judges are content to release criminals back onto the streets to reoffend.

We see the same signs in the courts of Montana. We all know of cases where high-quality investigations led to the conviction of some of our most dangerous criminals. The Montana Supreme Court then reviewed the case, changed the rules of the game, and overturned the jury's guilty verdict based on these new rules of investigation.

Law enforcement officers have a tough job, made even tougher by activist judges who send the message that they simply don’t trust officers who put their lives on the line every day they put on their badges and guns. Worse yet, criminals have become emboldened, leading to more brazen crimes in our communities.

Judicial activism is not just about one side winning a political fight and the other side losing. It is also about judges who do not respect the law, but who change it as they please. This has the effect of reducing public confidence in our courts and ultimately making us believe that every American has the same rights and access to justice as everyone else.

Many Montanans are ready to have an independent judiciary that will uphold the law and justice, use common sense in reviewing the hard work of everyone involved in the law enforcement and prosecution process, and will demonstrate a conservative – not activist – judicial temperament in the courtroom. If keeping politics out of the courtroom interests you, we encourage you to join us in supporting Cory Swanson for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court.