Montana court rules against media in closed meeting case

By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court says the chairman of a legislative committee who convened a meeting of a majority of the Republican members of the committee — but not a majority of the committee itself — did not violate Montana’s open meeting laws when he barred the media from attending. In a 6-1 ruling issued Tuesday the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by District Court Judge Mike Menahan, in which he said he was unwilling to redefine quorum as a “majority of the majority.” Justice Laurie McKinnon dissented, saying the meeting actually violated Montana’s constitutional right to observe the deliberation of public bodies. The Associated Press and other media outlets had filed a complaint.