Bowen Greenwood for Clerk of the Supreme Court
Republican
By Denise Rivette
Montana Independent News posed the same four questions to all candidates in the Clerk of the Supreme Court race. Republican Bowen Greenwood’ views are presented in their entirety below.
What are the Montana values that will guide your decision-making?
I'm a fourth generation Montanan, born in Helena. I grew up in Billings, and now live in Helena again. The values that guide my work as Clerk of the Montana supreme court include transparency, openness, and evenhandedness. I believe the people of Montana should be able to look inside their court system and know what it's doing. I believe the Court should never give preferential treatment to some litigants over others, based on political considerations.
What skills, knowledge and experience do you possess that make you the better candidate?
I'm running for reelection as Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court. As the incumbent, I'm the only candidate in this race with experience doing this job. I know the Appellate Rules, I know the Court's internal operating procedures, I know how our e-filing and court management systems work. There is no other candidate in this race who does.
What are your top priorities to address during your term if you are elected?
I want to work for conservative change on the Montana Supreme Court. I want to end the practice of some cases receiving preferential treatment based on politics. I have been a voice for the neutral, impartial application of the rules, and I will continue.
What actions will you take to address those priorities?
One of my short term goals is making it easier for Montanans to find permanent links to Court Opinions. Our current system makes that surprisingly difficult. To help make the court transparent and open it up for the people of Montana to understand, I began the practice of emailing out every single opinion to everyone who wants it. I also created a "Cases in the News" feature on the Clerk of Court's website, to help Montanans find cases they've read about.