Court explains ruling on assignment of midterm senators

BOB ANEZ/Associated Press Writer

HELENA - The Montana Constitution gives all authority for remapping the state's political boundaries to a special commission, and the Legislature has no business trying to interfere with that process, the Montana Supreme Court said Wednesday.

The unanimous decision provided the high court's legal reasoning for its order issued Jan. 27 rejecting the 2003 Legislature's attempt to take over the assignment of midterm senators to newly drawn legislative districts.

That pairing of districts and ''holdover'' senators is an inherent part of the work that constitutional...