For the first time in legal history, Ayn Rand has been explicitly used in justification for a vote taken on a Supreme Court.
" Ayn Rand correctly observed that the right to life is the source of all rightsand the right to property is their only implementation. Without property rights, no other rights are possible. These principles are embodied in the Montana Constitution in Article II, Sections 3 and 29. I invite the majority to read them. The fundamental rights to acquire, possess, and protect property are not even given lip service by this Court. Under the majoritys opinion, the State suffers no consequences for the exercise of coercive and unreasonable power in destroying these businesses. There is no serious effort to balance benefits and burdens. It may be too early to start asking, Who is John Galt? but more decisions like this will seriously impact all private property and business owners in this State.