Lawsuit Seeks to Remove Supreme Court Candidate

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A lawsuit by five delegates to Montana's 1972 Constitutional Convention seeks to remove state Solicitor General Lawrence VanDyke as a Supreme Court candidate.

Plaintiffs' attorney Gene Jarussi of Billings says VanDyke does not have the five years of active status with the State Bar of Montana required for eligibility.

VanDyke went on inactive status in 2007 and reinstated it in 2012, when he became solicitor general under Attorney General Tim Fox.

The Montana Constitution says a candidate is eligible if he has lived in the state for two years and was admitted to practice law in Montana at least five years prior to the election or appointment.

VanDyke tells The Great Falls Tribune (http://gftrib.com/1m2luG4 ) he meets those qualifications because he has been a member of the state bar since 2005.