Montanans For Justice To Fight Activist Initiative Montanans For Justice: Vote No On CI-98 registered as a ballot committee to provide education on the role of an independent judiciary in our constitutional democracy in assuring Montanans constitutional rights to fair and impartial justice. Montanans for Justice was formed to oppose CI-98, the judicial recall initiative, a threat to an independent, impartial and fair system of justice for Montanans. The ability to recall elected public officials, including elected judges, for failing to do their jobs is a good, populist idea. That's why Montana statutes already provide for the recall of elected public officials, and have for decades, for physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense. Additionally, Montana already has a constitutional provision for disciplining and removing judges through a judicial standards commission. And, Montana judges face an election to get into office and/or to continue in office. CI-98, however, goes beyond the recall of judges who are not doing their jobs, and provides for petitions and recall elections of judges for any reason of voter dissatisfaction. CI-98's purpose is to threaten or punish judges for doing their jobs - making tough decisions in accordance with our Montana Constitution and statutes - by subjecting them to costly recall elections. In most cases, there will be at least one party that is dissatisfied with the outcome of the case, that is the nature of a system that must decide between competing legal rights. CI-98 allows any dissatisfied party to initiate a recall petition and election. Under CI-98 a recall election, at taxpayer expense, can take place every 75 days. CI-98 is backed by the same vocal, out of the mainstream, anti-government extremists, and out of state business interests that are pushing CI-97 and I-154. The financial backer of CI-98 is Montanans in Action - but their spokesman, Trevis Butcher, won't say where the over $1 million dollars they have spent this year for initiative campaigns, including CI-97, CI-98 and I-154, comes from. Our constitutional democracy has depended upon independent and neutral judges that protect our constitutional rights to fair and impartial justice for all Montanans. CI-98 is wrong for our constitutional democracy and it is wrong for Montanans. Retired Supreme Court justices William Hunt Sr. and John Harrison are co-chairs of the Montanans For Justice ballot steering committee. Other steering committee members include: Larry Anderson, treasurer, of Great Falls; John Parker, deputy county attorney, state representative and member of the House Judiciary Committee, also of Great Falls; Al Smith, deputy treasurer of Helena, Jim Manley of Polson; Mike Lamb of Helena; and, Karl Englund of Missoula.