Tester Statement on Montanan Anthony Johnstone’s 9th Circuit Nomination Clearing Senate Judiciary Committee

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after passage of Anthony Johnstone’s nomination to be a Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals through the Senate Judiciary Committee on an 11-10-1 vote. The nomination now awaits a vote by the full Senate.

“Anthony Johnstone has a proven record of applying the law without bias and standing up for our constitution, which will make him an excellent judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has served the people of Montana with fairness and integrity, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue to do the same at the Federal level. With broad bipartisan support from a wide variety of stakeholders in Montana and across the country, I’m looking forward to confirming Mr. Johnstone’s nomination soon on the Senate floor.”

Johnstone began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for Judge Sidney Thomas on the Ninth Circuit. He went on to serve as the State Solicitor and Assistant Attorney General at the Montana Department of Justice, and for more than a decade, he has taught at the University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law.

Read Johnstone’s letters of support here:

• Former Montana Attorneys General Steve Bullock (Democrat) and Tim Fox (Republican)
• Retired Montana Supreme Court Justices
• Former Republican Montana Solicitor General
• Montana Faith Leaders
• Chippewa Cree Tribe
• Little Shell Tribe Of Chippewa Indians Of Montana
• Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation
• Fort Belknap Indian Community
• Blackfeet Nation
• Current And Former Students
• Academics Support
• Former Judge Sidney Thomas Clerks
• Yale College Classmates
• Chicago Law School Classmates