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Meet the Candidates: Montana Supreme Court Justice

By KFBB News Team
By Andrea Fisher

Story Created: Nov 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM MDT

A recently released poll conducted at MSU-Billings shows most voters are undecided in the race for a Montana Supreme Court seat. Those who picked a candidate were evenly split between attorney Beth Baker and District Court Judge Nels Swandal.

At stake is an eight-year term on the state's highest court.

The next justice will likely be asked to resolve disputes on hot-button issues such as medical marijuana, benefits for gay couples and corporate political spending.

Judge Swandal has experience as a public defender, park county attorney and served in the army for 30 years. He says if elected, he'll hold public meetings every other year to promote understanding of the judicial system and accept public input about previous court decisions.

Attorney Beth Baker has 25 years of experience in a courtroom setting in both public service and private practice. She worked for the Attorney General's office as Assistant Attorney General, and serves as the vice president of a charitable organization that funds and supports legal aid.

Both candidates tell us that the Supreme Court is not a place to set policy, but to protect individual rights.

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