Three separate legal battles moved forward this week, and taken together they sketch a portrait of a state whose major policy questions are increasingly being sorted out by judges rather than legislators. A Missoula District Court judge heard arguments over House Bill 121, the 2025 bathroom law whose outcome, as this outlet noted, could directly affect Helena facilities. The Montana House Majority Leader said he expects to file a lawsuit after Attorney General Austin Knudsen's term limits ruling threatened to knock Republican primary winners off the November ballot — a collision between the AG's office and legislative leadership that is anything but routine. And a state commission is putting finishing touches on its final report examining whether Montana adequately funds its public schools, a document that could set the table for its own legal challenge if the findings are unfavorable. For Lewis and Clark County residents, the practical upshot is uncertainty: facilities policies, ballot eligibility, and school budgets all hinge on proceedings that haven't concluded. Watch the courthouse calendars as much as the legislative calendar between now and November.