Forward Montana v. State

Held that plaintiffs were entitled to attorney’s fees for challenging two statutory provisions added to Montana’s campaign finance bill, which would have violated Montana constitution’s single subject rule and rule on amendments. The first amendment would have required judges to recuse themselves from cases in which any of the attorneys donated $90 or more to their campaigns during the past six years; the other barred political committees from registering voters on public college campuses. The court ruled that the litigation vindicated important constitutional interests, the legislature willfully disregarded constitutional limits and its own rules when enacting bill, and the State offered no substantive or constitutional interests in defense of legislation.