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Fixing the Montana Supreme Court

The Case for Judge Dan Wilson in Montana Supreme Court – Seat 4

Montana Supreme Court Seat 4 campaign mailer for Judge Dan Wilson. Headline: “3 Failures of MT Supreme Court. One Remedy.” Three red X marks precede accusations that the court is “Unaccountable,” “Activist,” and “Captured,” followed by text stating, “The case Attorney General Austin Knudsen made and still stands.” A campaign box reads “Judge Dan Wilson for Supreme Court,” with “Accountability - Transparency - Experience,” the quote “Facts over feelings, and principles above all else,” “30 years serving on every side of the courtroom,” and “Winner of 49 out of Montana’s 56 counties in primary race.” Bottom banner: “Ballots due November 3rd.”

DATE: September 28, 2026
Author: Charles Garner

In 2022, Montana’s Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, wrote to his fellow Montanans in a letter and got straight to the point:

“The Montana Supreme Court is a mess, and it’s having disastrous consequences for our state.” Attorney General Austin Knudsen, 2022

Case by case, he laid out how the MT Supreme Court has long been “controlled by the liberal trial lawyers and their Democrat allies” and had lost its way. That was four years ago. The names on the ballot have changed, but the problems have not, if anything, they have deepened.

We want to remind voters of the same case happening here and now in the 2026 race for Supreme Court Seat 4, where Montanans must choose between District Judge Amy Eddy and Judge Dan Wilson.

What the Attorney General Documented

Knudsen’s indictment came down to three failures, and every one still stands today.

First, a failure of accountability and transparency.

He recounted how leaked emails revealed members of the MT Supreme Court and other judges “routinely took positions on bills” and lobbied against legislation during the 2021 session. Then, when a subpoena sought the documents, the MT Supreme Court blocked it. As he wrote, six of the seven justices refused to recuse themselves from a case in which they had a direct personal interest, ruling “in its own favor to keep their emails from reaching the legislature or the public.” A Court that shields itself from the people has forgotten whom it serves and answers to.

Second, a failure of restraint, legislating from the bench.

Knudsen cataloged justices who “overturned a law that had been on the books for 24 years,” went against legislative intent on restitution, “making it harder for crime victims to be made whole,” and “upended decades of precedent” on time served. These decisions, he argued, put the Court’s policy preferences above the law and, too often, criminals above their victims.

Third, a Court captured by special interests.

He pointed to activist environmental rulings and to the raw money behind it all. In the last contested Supreme Court race, he noted, “the Montana Democratic Party and their trial lawyer buddies spent nearly $1,000,000” to hold their grip on the Court. The same machine is at work again this fall 2026.

Why Court Reform Is on the Ballot Again

Here candor matters. This race is not about the past acts of other justices, it is about the judicial philosophy that produced them, and which candidate will carry it onto the bench.

On that question, Judge Eddy’s own public record places her squarely within the tradition Knudsen warned about. Before she took the district bench, Amy Eddy served as president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, the very constituency the Attorney General identified as holding sway over the Court. And as an attorney, she took part in the 2011 petition asking Montana’s courts to treat the atmosphere as a “public trust” and compel state action on emissions. An early version of the activist environmental reasoning later embraced in the Held decision, precisely the kind of court-made policy Knudsen cataloged.

Her public campaign-finance records still reflect political contributions to Democratic causes and candidates. The causes a candidate has chosen, and the company she has led, tell voters something about the philosophy she will bring to the highest court in the state.

The Remedy – Judge Dan Wilson

For each of the three failures, Dan Wilson is the remedy.

That is why this race is vitally important.

Where the Court has been unaccountable, Wilson has built his service on accountability: he co-chairs Montana’s Judicial Standards Commission, the very body charged with holding judges to account and preserving the integrity of the courts.

Where the Court has worked in the shadows, Wilson calls for sunlight: more open, public oral arguments so Montanans can watch their justices’ reason in the open.

And where the Court has legislated from the bench, his standard is plain:

“Facts over feelings and principles above all else.”
Interpret the law, do not make it.
– Judge Dan Wilson

He brings the record to back it up.

With more than three decades in Montana law, he has seen the justice system from every side of the courtroom: prosecutor, criminal-defense attorney, civil lawyer, justice of the peace, and district court judge.

The Montana Chamber of Commerce endorsed him in 2026 after interviewing both candidates. A fellow district judge has written that Wilson “follows the law, without ideological bias.”

And Montanans have already spoken once: in the June primary when Dan Wilson carried 49 of Montana’s 56 counties. The margin that separated the candidates statewide came down to just a handful of counties, which means this race will be determined, for better or worse, by voter turnout.

The Clock Is Already Running Out

General Knudsen closed his 2022 letter with a line worth repeating:

“I will not stand idly by while the Democrats and their allies try to buy another spot on the Montana Supreme Court.”
Attorney General Austin Knudsen, 2022

Neither should we and this year the clock is shorter than most people realize.

Ballots go in the mail on October 9.

Most Montanans vote by mail, which means much of this race will be decided well before November 3.

So when your ballot arrives, please show up and vote. Be sure to read ALL THE WAY DOWN to the nonpartisan section and mark Dan Wilson for Supreme Court, Seat 4.

Your ballot must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, a postmark is not enough.

A Court can be restored to the people it serves.
It begins with one seat, one ballot,
and a vote carried all the way to the ballot box.

Paid for by Lake County Republican Central Committee

 

References

This appeal draws on quotes from the 2022 letter of Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, adapted and used with his permission.

Knudsen, A. (2022). Letter from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on the Montana Supreme Court [Letter]. Leadership In Action PAC (LIAPAC)

Montana Chamber of Commerce. (2026, May 14). Business brief: MT Chamber endorses in Supreme Court. https://montanachamber.com/2026/05/14/business-brief-mt-chamber-endorses-in-supreme-court-plans-to-host-more-data-center-webinars

Montana Secretary of State. (2022). 2022 general election results: State Supreme Court. https://electionresults.mt.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=SCJ&map=CTY

Judge Eddy’s professional background, her service as president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and her participation as an attorney in the 2011 atmospheric-trust petition is drawn from public record.

Montana Voter Guide. (2026). Judges 2026. https://www.montanavoterguide.com/judges-2026

 

How Then Shall We Vote?

The Best Choice for Montana’s Next Supreme Court Justice

Dan Wilson vs. Amy Eddy

DATE: September 14, 2026
Author: Charles Garner

Montana’s Supreme Court race is a choice between two candidates with very different backgrounds. Dan Wilson, whose career spans work as a prosecutor, defense attorney, civil lawyer, justice of the peace, and district court judge favors a philosophy of constitutional conservatism and judicial restraint.

Amy Eddy currently serves as a district court judge in Montana’s Eleventh Judicial District, before her appointment to the bench she was president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and practiced as a private attorney.

Created with OpenAI Tools by Faith Dawson

The Proper Role of a Judge

The race may be officially nonpartisan, but the main question remains: what qualities should voters look for in a judge? Even without party labels, voters can review candidates’ public records and the breadth of their legal experience.

Dan Wilson maintains that judges should not formulate policy from the bench. He describes his judicial philosophy as constitutional conservatism and stresses that decisions should be based on the Constitution, existing law, precedent, and the facts of each case, rather than personal policy preferences. Wilson sums up this method as “facts over feelings and principles above all else.” In his view, judges should deal only with the cases brought before them, and they ought to interpret the law, not create it.

Dan Wilson for Montana Supreme Court

The contrast is visible in Amy Eddy’s own words. When asked by the Daily Interlake on how she reads Montana’s Constitution, she described a somewhat flexible view of it as a living document: “You have to start with the text of the constitution, the structure of the constitution, but it doesn’t stop there.” (Smalley, 2025)

The voter might ask, if it doesn’t stop there, then where does it stop? That is not a neutral position. Judicial activism is therefore a matter of considerable importance. A living-document reading gives a justice latitude to go beyond the Constitution, and when a court goes beyond the text, it is no longer interpreting the law. It is making it.

Wilson has also publicly criticized courts for deciding constitutional questions that were not properly before them. His standard is direct: decide the case in front of you, from the facts, the Constitution, the law, and precedent. Judges should interpret the law, not make it. That distinction is what separates a jurist from a policymaker, and it is the clearest line between these two candidates.

Wilson’s answer is that interpretation should rest on the Constitution’s text, the law, and precedent. That is a fair legal-philosophy question to put to anyone seeking a seat on the high court, and voters can decide for themselves what they want.

Dan Wilson’s Experience and Record

Beyond his philosophical views, Wilson has more than 30 years of experience in Montana law. During that time, he served as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, civil lawyer, justice of the peace, and district court judge. This variety of experience gives him a wide-ranging view of Montana’s justice system because he has seen it from every side of the courtroom.

Wilson currently serves as co-chair of Montana’s Judicial Standards Commission, following his appointment by the Speaker of the House and confirmation by the Montana Senate. The Commission protects the public from judicial misconduct, safeguards the integrity of the courts, and helps maintain public confidence in the judiciary. Wilson’s selection reflects a measure of trust in his ability to help preserve these standards.

Those who know his work firsthand share that trust. A district judge who served beside Wilson has written that he “follows the law, without ideological bias,” and attorneys and judges who have worked with or appeared before him describe him as fair-minded, diligent, experienced, and respected. In May 2026, after a panel of attorneys and retired judges interviewed both candidates, the Montana Chamber of Commerce endorsed Wilson for his thoughtful, thorough approach to case decisions.

Looking ahead, Wilson has advocated more public oral hearings by the Montana Supreme Court, especially in cases of significant public interest. He maintains that Montanans should be able to watch justices question attorneys and engage openly with important constitutional issues. Given the substantial authority courts exercise, that kind of transparency is worth something.

Amy Eddy’s Background and Record

Eddy has served as a district court judge in the Eleventh Judicial District since 2015 and was retained by voters in 2016. Before taking the bench, Eddy was president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association as a matter of public record. That professional background doesn’t tell voters how she would rule, but it does say something about the world that shaped her judgment, and voters can weigh it for themselves.

Her earlier work as an attorney also included involvement in a 2011 petition asking the Montana Supreme Court to treat the atmosphere as a public trust and require state action on greenhouse-gas emissions. Attorneys represent many clients and causes, and taking a case is not the same as pre-judging one. Still, that legal theory anticipated the kind of reasoning later seen in the Held decision. The 2023 ruling that promoted a state constitutional mandate to enforce climate policy. Future justices may be asked to define how far Held reaches, voters may reasonably consider this part of her professional bent based in her judicial record.

Eddy argues that politics should stay separate from judicial proceedings. Yet, her public campaign-finance records still reflect political contributions to Democratic candidates and causes. Voters should weigh a judge’s donation record as a matter of understanding their long-term goals.

Reports show Eddy drawing significant support from attorneys, while Wilson’s backing includes business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce. Voters can consider where each candidate’s funding comes from and what it may suggest about their close associates.

 A Note for Voters of Faith

George Barna’s 2024 research found that roughly 49 percent of Americans who identify as people of faith were projected to abstain from voting in November and their silence hands the wellbeing of society and its moral compass to everyone else. When the culture drifts, courts can drift with it, unless people of conviction show up. Dan Wilson decides from enduring principle, not the mood of the moment. Faith that stays home changes nothing. Faith that shows up can hold a court.

 Make Your Plan to Vote

  • Montana’s general election is Tuesday, November 3.
  • Ballots mail in early October, if you vote by mail, yours must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks do not count.
  • You can register or update your registration in person through Election Day.
  • Find Dan Wilson in the nonpartisan Supreme Court race, Seat 4.
  • Confirm your county’s exact deadlines at gov before Election Day.

 Conclusion

Ultimately, each candidate’s overall values, legal philosophy, and judicial experience should guide voters’ decisions about Montana’s highest court. Please ponder carefully both candidates to examine who you trust before casting your vote.

 

References

Barna, G., & Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. (2024, October). 104 million people of faith—including 32 million Christian regular churchgoers—projected to abstain from voting in November. georgebarna.com. https://georgebarna.com/2024/10/104-million-people-of-faithincluding-32-million-christian-regular-churchgoersprojected-to-abstain-from-voting-in-november/

Ballotpedia. (2026). Montana Supreme Court election, 2026. https://ballotpedia.org/Montana_Supreme_Court,_2026

Coffman, D. (2024, September 24). Benchmate supports Wilson for Montana Supreme Court [Op-ed]. Western News. https://thewesternnews.com/news/2024/sep/24/benchmate-supports-wilson-for-montana-supreme-court/

Daily Inter Lake. (2015, November 19). Newest district judge takes office. Daily Inter Lake. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2015/nov/19/newest-district-judge-takes-office-6/

Smalley, H. (2025, April 10). Judge Dan Wilson launches new bid for Montana Supreme Court seat. Daily Inter Lake. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/apr/10/dan-wilson-to-run-for-montana-supreme-court/

O’Hair, T. (2026, May 7). Wilson the best choice for Montana’s business climate [Op-ed]. Daily Inter Lake. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2026/may/07/wilson-the-best-choice-for-montanas-business-climate/

Montana Chamber of Commerce. (2026, May 14). Montana Chamber endorses Judge Wilson in Supreme Court race. https://montanachamber.com/2026/05/14/business-brief-mt-chamber-endorses-in-supreme-court-plans-to-host-more-data-center-webinars/

Montana Judicial Branch. (n.d.). Judicial Standards Commission. Montana Supreme Court. https://courts.mt.gov/Courts/boards/JudicialStandardsCommission

Montana Public Radio. (2024, May 15). Q&A: Dan Wilson, candidate for Montana Supreme Court Seat #3 [Radio broadcast]. https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-05-15/q-a-dan-wilson-candidate-for-montana-supreme-court-seat-3

Ragar, S. (2026, May 12). Concerns over partisanship, ‘judicial activism’ shape Montana Supreme Court race. Montana Public Radio. https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2026-05-12/concerns-over-partisanship-judicial-activism-shape-montana-supreme-court-race

Montana Secretary of State. (n.d.). Montana elections: Voter information. https://sosmt.gov

Smalley, H. (2025, May 20). Judge Amy Eddy pledges to steer clear of partisan politics in Montana Supreme Court run. Daily Interlake. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/may/20/judge-amy-eddy-kickstarts-campaign-for-montana-supreme-court

 Regier, A. (2026, May 17). Ruling highlights differences in Supreme Court candidates. Daily Inter Lake. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2026/may/17/ruling-highlights-differences-in-supreme-court-candidates/

 

Indictment – Smartmatic in Hot Water

Smartmatic election software is in broad use – in our country as well. It was reportedly created by a duo from Venezuela with connections to Hugo Chavez according to Patrick Byrne. Interesting.

Example of what happened in Argentina last year: (9) Patrick Byrne on X: “Yesterday in Argentina, a left-wing Peronist Economics Minister who has delivered 140% inflation and a collapse of the Argentina economy, and who got skunked in August’s primary, won in an upset victory. What technology powered the election? Our old friends at Smartmatic! https://t.co/YRv1tuLaHN” / X

Smartmatic Brags About ‘Integrity and Transparency’ Hours After President Indicted for Fraud, Doesn’t Bother to Deny Charges (westernjournal.com)

 

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State of Denial

If you are confronted with people who refuse to believe that our elections are compromised, here is a documentary you can recommend. It shows how lawfare seems to be where we lose out every time. Would that be the case if the findings of the only in-depth full forensic audit had been used by attorneys and our judicial system was what it should be? True evidence is constantly being suppressed. Why? Election workers, poll watchers, lawmakers, and any voter can learn a lot through FireAxe.Academy, even details that were not to be found in Kari Lake’s tool bag in Arizona.

Watch State of Denial here.

Validating Votes

With many forms of maladministration proven in connection with the 2020 and 2022 elections nationwide, it has become evident that lawmakers, poll workers, possible auditors as well as the general public (the voters themselves) can benefit greatly from training on different aspects of the election processes. How do we know if a ballot is authentic, how do we know if our vote will count as intended, how do we know what the machines ballots are put into actually do?

Food for thought:

Join FireAxe.Academy for detailed information on the hundreds of ways your vote can be compromised! A host of short informative videos can enlighten listeners in minutes on, for example, the subjects listed in the above meme.

The video below discusses three very important subjects: 1. Voter rolls, and how to do the work on them right and make it count. 2. Blank ballots. A vigilant voter took on herself to audit ballot statistics in the elections in San Francisco, and discovered that a mass of blank ballots went into the system in 2020, and now we know blank ballots seem to float in systems all over the country. Why? 3. Who has read/write access to voter rolls? What are the implications?

Watch the video here.

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FireAxe.Academy gives you a good idea of evidence that can be suppressed so it never sees the light in courts. Courts must have empirical evidence. Thousands of statements – affidavits – were turned in after the elections in 2020, but what happened to them? Well, if they aren’t of the kind courts must pay attention to – jurat affidavits, they CAN be ignored, obviously. Learn the difference. Notary Essentials: The difference between acknowledgments and jurats | NNA (nationalnotary.org)

 

 

Free and Fair Elections

ASTOUNDING NUMBERS IN OKLAHOMA VOTER ROLL PURGE

Oklahoma Scrubs Voter Rolls, Removing Over 453,000 Registrations to (hoodline.com)

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DECRYPTION KEYS FOUND IN VOTING MACHINES!?

Petition Filed with SCOTUS March 14

Petitioners: KARI LAKE and MARK FINCHEM

“It is like a bank telling the public they have the most secure vault in the world, and then taping the combination on the wall next to the vault door. Even worse, key logging features that would record system activity showing such control can also be manipulated or disabled, thereby rendering any penetration of this system nearly undetectable.”

– Page 13 of Filing

Read the complete filing HERE.

Link to US Supreme Court docket HERE.

Declarations by experts found at State-of-Denial.com.

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Charlie Kirk and Turning Point Action are encouraging us to “Chase The Vote”. Yes, absolutely, we must get the vote out!

You can help by talking to friends, family, and neighbors and discussing how crucial it is for We the People to activate and show up at the polls. We must outvote a system that is working against us, so be mindful of how, when, and where you cast your vote.

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More and more people are becoming aware of strange things happening in elections. It means that we need to vote now MORE THAN EVER before!

From the Western Journal:

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the 2024 election is the most important of most Americans’ lifetimes. As that election nears, we at The Western Journal are committed to cutting through the lies and exposing the truth about the left’s plans to end America as we know it.

They’re going to do everything they can to silence the truth and erase conservatives like you and like us. But they can’t do that if we join together.

* * *

Important to know what any candidate stands for:

Elected officials may be pushing agendas you do not like. How about our water rights?

Think about who promotes the Water Compact.  What is the stance on PL280?

* * *

A recent newsletter from iVoterGuide recommends:

Inform Yourself

How do you know whether the elections in your county are being conducted according to the law? Become a poll watcher to find out. Poll watchers make sure election workers are enforcing and observing the law when ballots are cast and counted. In short, poll watchers provide accountability. To become a poll watcher, you may need to be appointed by a candidate, political party, or issue group.

Inform yourself about best practices for securing elections. What is your state doing to protect election integrity? This is not iVoterGuide’s area of expertise, but you can find an assessment of your state’s laws from the Heritage Foundation’s Election Integrity Scorecard. Then contact your elected officials to request that they do more to secure your elections.

Find out where your candidates stand on election integrity. For example, when iVoterGuide evaluates candidates for state legislature, governor, Secretary of State, and other state offices, we ask whether they believe people should be able to vote without photo identification. You may need to do your own research if your candidates failed to answer our questionnaire or if our voter guide doesn’t cover every election on your ballot (yet!).

Take Action

Tell 10 friends to register to vote. The simplest way to counter election fraud is to overwhelm it with legitimate votes. Point your friends to our article, Now’s the Time to Register to Vote, to get them started!

Serve as an election worker. Did you know that in 2016, two election workers in Texas conspired to illegally cast a ballot for one of their daughters? Thankfully, other election workers noticed and reported the fraud. This is just one example of the need for honest people to serve in these positions. You can find out how to serve through the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Vote!

This is the most basic act of defiance against voter fraud. In response to the question, “Will my vote count?”, a good friend and iVoterGuide staff member said,

“There is a way to secure a 100% guarantee that your vote will not count: stay home and let others make the decisions on who should have power to impact your life and family.”

The fewer people who vote, the easier it is to swing an election. That’s true with legal or fraudulent votes! If you and I stay home, we censor ourselves and fulfill the fraudsters’ wishes. We become the perpetrators of cancel culture by cancelling ourselves! Don’t give in!

Be Bold

Do you believe God is sovereign? I do. Let’s live like Christ truly is on the throne … which He is. “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans 13:1) God created governments, and He appoints rulers, kings, and even presidents.

How big is your God? There is no problem too great for my God! He is not confounded when sinful people try to subvert justice, order, and liberty. He has put us here “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

Let’s not grow weary of doing good (including voting wisely!), even when evil appears very powerful. Proverbs

28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Let’s not flee from our duty when we are in the right.

Stay informed. Stay active. Know what your candidates believe … and vote boldly!