× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Questions of judicial ethics and fairness, along with the influences of campaign spending on courts, dominated the discussion at a Montana Supreme Court election forum in Missoula on Monday night.

Although only one seat on the ballot is contested, all four candidates appeared at the University of Montana School of Law to speak to a few dozen people, primarily students. Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Justice Jim Shea are unopposed but appear on the ballot for retention votes. Longtime Cascade County District Judge Dirk Sandefur and former adjunct professor of law Kristen Juras are competing for an 8-year term on the court after Patricia Cotter announced she would not be seeking re-election.

Shea, a former judge for the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court who was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock to fill a vacant seat, opened the forum by calling for increased public interest in judicial elections. He noted that in 2014, when two seats were contested, 40,000 Montanans who cast a ballot “just skipped the Supreme Court races.”

“It’s like the third largest city in Montana just staying home,” he said. “We are the third co-equal branch of government in this state and there are only seven of us on the Supreme Court. These are important races.”