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</div><div>=</div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Helena District Judge DeeAnn Cooney</b> has only been on the bench since Jan. 1, but already she’s presiding over one of the most high-profile political corruption cases the state has seen in decades.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On one side of the <a title="http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/12/22/wittich-motl-tussle-continues/77776142/" href="http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/12/22/wittich-motl-tussle-continues/77776142/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">long-running litigation</a> is <a title="http://politicalpractices.mt.gov/default.mcpx" href="http://politicalpractices.mt.gov/default.mcpx" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl</a>, the state’s top political watchdog and campaign ethics enforcer.</span></p><div class="inline-asset inline-image layout-horizontal subscriber-hide tnt-asset-presentation-mugshot tnt-inline-asset tnt-inline-relcontent tnt-inline-image tnt-inline-relation-child tnt-inline-presentation-default tnt-inline-alignment-default tnt-inline-width-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; width: 171.493px; float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><figure class="photo layout-horizontal hover-expand" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; cursor: pointer; position: relative;"><span class="expand hidden-print" data-toggle="modal" data-photo-target=".photo-b19b3aa5-6bcd-5666-8a43-6970fb6fa396" data-instance="#gallery-items-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead-photo-modal" data-target="#photo-carousel-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; opacity: 0; z-index: 1; position: absolute; top: 10px; left: 10px; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 5px 10px; border-radius: 5px; font-size: 18px !important;">
</span></figure></div><div id="inasset-video-ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="blox-ad-position-png_video_ad1" data-tnt-ads="{"vendor":"blox","type":"position","display":"default","region":"png_video_ad","fold":"above","slot":1,"width":640,"overline":"Advertisement","js":{"video":"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/bozemandailychronicle.com\/shared-content\/art\/tncms\/templates\/libraries\/flex\/components\/video\/resources\/scripts\/video.512a6903eae08e033c76afdce2a0eac7.js"},"refresh":false}" class="blox-ad tnt-ads-container " style="box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 1px;" /></div><div class="hidden-print dfp-premium v4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center " style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center !important; min-height: 1px;"><div id="ad-instory-top" class="tnt-ads dfp-ad" data-google-query-id="CJOe5LePz-MCFUJ6YgodeHkAFw" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto 40px; min-height: 250px; min-width: 300px;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/94837440/bozeman/bdc/news/politics_3container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; border: 0pt none;" /></div></div></div><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" class="tncms-region hidden-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On the other side is <a title="http://www.artwittich.us/" href="http://www.artwittich.us/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">Bozeman Rep. Art Wittich</a>, the former Republican Senate majority leader whom Motl has accused in a lawsuit dating back to 2014 of violating state campaign laws by accepting illegal corporate campaign contributions, a charge Wittich vehemently denies.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Notable about Cooney’s role presiding over this case is the fact that both she and Motl were appointed to their current jobs by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, one of Wittich’s chief political rivals.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>Notable, too, is the fact that one month after appointing Cooney to the district court bench, <a title="https://governor.mt.gov/Newsroom/ArtMID/28487/ArticleID/2895" href="https://governor.mt.gov/Newsroom/ArtMID/28487/ArticleID/2895" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">Bullock appointed her husband</a>, Mike Cooney, to serve as his lieutenant governor.</b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">That connection hasn’t been lost on close observers of the Motl vs. Wittich lawsuit, though with less than two months to go before the trial is set to begin, neither party in the case has raised the issue.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wittich declined to comment for this story.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Motl said only that he expects Cooney will serve as the judge throughout the course of the trial.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“There aren’t any disqualification rules that suggest there’s anything improper,” Motl said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Judge Cooney, through her clerk, declined to comment for a story involving an ongoing case she’s presiding over.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bullock appointed Cooney on Dec. 1 to replace Judge Jeffrey Sherlock, who <a title="http://helenair.com/news/crime-and-courts/judge-sherlock-hanging-up-his-robe-after-years-on-bench/article_a80da496-47d0-5079-a432-41d3808c44d7.html" href="http://helenair.com/news/crime-and-courts/judge-sherlock-hanging-up-his-robe-after-years-on-bench/article_a80da496-47d0-5079-a432-41d3808c44d7.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">retired</a> after more than 27 years on the bench. Sherlock had two years remaining on the term he was elected to in 2012. Cooney will serve out that term until the November election, at which point voters will decide if she gets to keep the job.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bullock’s spokesman said his decision to appoint DeeAnn Cooney to the district court bench had nothing to do with the Wittich lawsuit.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The governor did not consider this case, or any other case, as he made his decision for Judge Cooney’s appointment,” Bullock spokesman Tim Crowe said in an email.</p><div class="inline-asset inline-image layout-horizontal subscriber-hide tnt-inline-asset tnt-inline-relcontent tnt-inline-image tnt-inline-relation-child tnt-inline-presentation-default tnt-inline-alignment-default tnt-inline-width-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; width: 490px; float: right; clear: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><figure class="photo layout-horizontal hover-expand" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; cursor: pointer; position: relative;"><span class="expand hidden-print" data-toggle="modal" data-photo-target=".photo-1c945509-44f3-5a75-b0ee-4b531fc7c97c" data-instance="#gallery-items-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead-photo-modal" data-target="#photo-carousel-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; opacity: 0; z-index: 1; position: absolute; top: 10px; left: 10px; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 5px 10px; border-radius: 5px; font-size: 18px !important;"><svg class="tnt-svg tnt-expand tnt-w-14" aria-hidden="true" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="expand" role="img" viewbox="0 0 448 512" data-fa-i2svg="" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 180V56c0-13.3 10.7-24 24-24h124c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v40c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H64v84c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H12c-6.6 0-12-5.4-12-12zM288 44v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h84v84c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h40c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12V56c0-13.3-10.7-24-24-24H300c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12zm148 276h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v84h-84c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h124c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24V332c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12zM160 468v-40c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H64v-84c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H12c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v124c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h124c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z" /></svg></span><div class="image" data-toggle="modal" data-photo-target=".photo-1c945509-44f3-5a75-b0ee-4b531fc7c97c" data-instance="#gallery-items-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead-photo-modal" data-target="#photo-carousel-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><div itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
</div></div><figcaption class="caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: initial; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em; text-shadow: none; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; text-shadow: none;">Helena District Court Judge DeeAnn Cooney presides over court in this 2016 photo.</p></span><span class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-top: 5px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-size: 12px;"><span itemprop="author" class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Photo from Montana Free Press via Phil Drake of the Great Falls Tribune</span></span></figcaption></figure></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cooney is the fourth judge to be assigned to the Motl vs. Wittich lawsuit since it was filed in early 2014.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wittich requested the first judge, Kathy Seeley, be substituted.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Montana law allows either party in a legal case to make a one-time substitution of the judge.</p><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_middle" class="tncms-region hidden-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The next judge assigned to the case, Mike Menahan, then disqualified himself, perhaps because he formerly served as a Democratic representative in the House. The case then went to Sherlock, who presided over the complex and politically charged litigation for more than a year before he retired.</p><div class="inline-asset inline-image layout-vertical subscriber-hide tnt-inline-asset tnt-inline-relcontent tnt-inline-image tnt-inline-relation-child tnt-inline-presentation-default tnt-inline-alignment-default tnt-inline-width-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; width: 171.493px; float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><figure class="photo layout-vertical hover-expand" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; cursor: pointer; position: relative;"><span class="expand hidden-print" data-toggle="modal" data-photo-target=".photo-6c7da3db-043e-5794-b5d2-f5e13d508c27" data-instance="#gallery-items-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead-photo-modal" data-target="#photo-carousel-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s; opacity: 0; z-index: 1; position: absolute; top: 10px; left: 10px; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 5px 10px; border-radius: 5px; font-size: 18px !important;"><svg class="tnt-svg tnt-expand tnt-w-14" aria-hidden="true" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="expand" role="img" viewbox="0 0 448 512" data-fa-i2svg="" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 180V56c0-13.3 10.7-24 24-24h124c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v40c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H64v84c0 6.6-5.4 12-12 12H12c-6.6 0-12-5.4-12-12zM288 44v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h84v84c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h40c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12V56c0-13.3-10.7-24-24-24H300c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12zm148 276h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v84h-84c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v40c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h124c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24V332c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12zM160 468v-40c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H64v-84c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12H12c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v124c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h124c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z" /></svg></span><div class="image" data-toggle="modal" data-photo-target=".photo-6c7da3db-043e-5794-b5d2-f5e13d508c27" data-instance="#gallery-items-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead-photo-modal" data-target="#photo-carousel-565bd2fe-7c03-566c-ab7a-7927c1c63ead" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><div itemprop="image" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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</div></div></figure></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a title="http://www.umt.edu/law/faculty/directory/default.php?ID=3218" href="http://www.umt.edu/law/faculty/directory/default.php?ID=3218" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">Anthony Johnstone</a>, a professor of constitutional and election law at the University of Montana School of Law, said there’s nothing in the <a title="https://courts.mt.gov/portals/113/supreme/new_rules/rules/jud-canons.pdf" href="https://courts.mt.gov/portals/113/supreme/new_rules/rules/jud-canons.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">rules governing Montana judges</a> that would disqualify Cooney from the case.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“There’s generally no question of impropriety when the person who appointed you also appointed one of the parties in the case,” Johnstone said. “That’s true throughout our legal system.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Johnstone, who prior to joining the law school faculty <a title="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/solicitor-johnstone-leaving-to-teach-at-law-school/article_a512ca5c-882b-585c-a415-c3fb92ff7d55.html" href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/solicitor-johnstone-leaving-to-teach-at-law-school/article_a512ca5c-882b-585c-a415-c3fb92ff7d55.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(65, 117, 170); text-decoration-line: none;">served as Montana solicitor</a> under then-Attorney General Steve Bullock, said Cooney and Motl, once appointed, are not answerable to the governor in any way.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Johnstone likened it to the federal courts in which federal judges, who are appointed by the president, regularly preside over cases brought by U.S. attorneys, who are also appointed by the president.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“That is why the appointment process is so important going forward,” Johnstone said. “Judges don’t have to answer to that person going forward, they have to answer to the law, and in Montana, they have to answer to the electorate.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Motl has not requested a substitute judge in this case, and he said he doesn’t plan to.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The state expects the trial will be before Judge Cooney,” Motl said.</p></div><div>=</div>