U.S. District for Montana Chief Judge Brian Morris sparked scrutiny after speaking at a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) event advancing Biden’s “sustainability goals.” The judge spoke at a podium emblazoned with a sign reading “President Joe Biden” and “Investing in America.”
Ethics rules typically prohibit judges from participating in partisan events to avoid the appearance of politics affecting their decisions. Constitution-supporting Supreme Court justices such as Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, for example, have been charged in the national press with conflicts of interest due to not theirs but their wives’ free speech and participation in the political process.
The Montana event touted the administration’s allocation of $24 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds to the Mike Mansfield Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Butte, Montanna, located in Morris’ district. These funds are allocated for purchasing materials allegedly made with lower greenhouse gas emissions and what GSA calls “sustainability performance improvements.”
“My grandmother and [grandfather] raised their seven children in a duplex [up the street]. And here we are, their grandson now comes to work every day in this courthouse down the block as a judge,” Morris said. “Shows you what kind of country we can have when we live up to our highest ideals. This is a great joy for me.”
Morris’ appearance sparked pushback on X, where Aaron Flint, host of the statewide show Montana Talks, questioned the ethics of a federal judge appearing at a “partisan event.”
Flint’s tweet comes after local journalist Josh
