Montana Supreme Court Rules County Attorney May Seek Ruling on ICE Data Sharing
BOZEMAN, Montana — The Montana Supreme Court ruled on November 6 in a power dispute between the Gallatin County Attorney and the state attorney general, holding that County Attorney Audrey Cromwell has the right to ask a court for a declaratory judgment on criminal justice information sharing.
The court also held that Attorney General Austin Knudsen has no supervisory authority over county attorneys acting as county legal advisers, and that his order asserting such authority and purporting to direct the county attorney's legal opinions is unenforceable. The dispute began in April, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested documents from Gallatin County; Cromwell then filed her petition after Knudsen moved to direct her office's legal opinions directly, and the two sides ended up in court.
The core question is whether counties may provide confidential criminal justice information to ICE without a court order, and whether ICE counts as a criminal justice agency. The court has not yet ruled on that question; it ordered the parties to file briefs by December 7, 2026, after which it will decide whether counties may share such information with federal immigration authorities.
(Source: Montana Supreme Court)
Source: Montana Supreme Court
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：蒙大拿州议会大厦，位于 Helena（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: The Montana State Capitol in Helena (file photo). Via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
