Supreme Court candidate Lawrence VanDyke sent a press release today where he asked the Montana Supreme Court to quickly step in to dismiss as meritless a challenge to his candidacy.
"The challengers are asking the courts for a strained interpretation of Montana’s basic constitutional requirement," said Rob Cameron, VanDyke's attorney, in the press release. "Lawrence meets the qualifications to run for Justice."
According to his release, VanDyke has been continually licensed to practice as an attorney in Montana and has been a member in good standing with the Montana bar since 2005. The Montana Constitution specifies in Article 7, Section 9 that the qualifications of state district court judges and supreme court justices are as follows:
"A citizen of the United States who has resided in the state two years immediately before taking office is eligible to the office of supreme court justice or district court judge if admitted to the practice of law in Montana for at least five years prior to the date of appointment or election."
VanDyke's release says he grew up in the Gallatin Valley and received his masters in engineering at MSU before attending Harvard Law School and graduating with high honors. VanDyke currently serves as the Montana Solicitor General, one of the top legal positions in the state, according to the release.
Many have observed that the lawsuit looks like a political move by Mike Wheat's supporters attempting to derail VanDyke’s campaign. Regardless, VanDyke argues in his release that the specious allegations need to be addressed swiftly and conclusively to protect the integrity of the nonpartisan election process for justices.
"A lawsuit like this is not the sort of thing that voters want or deserve, and you won't see it out of my campaign. I look forward to getting this suit behind us, allowing the voters to compare my experience with that of my opponent, and letting them decide this race," said VanDyke in his prepared statement.
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