Ray Dayton Reprimanded Suspended

Ray Dayton, a District Court judge in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana, was reprimanded and suspended without pay for 30 days by the Montana Supreme Court after making inappropriate sexual comments about a witness in a pending case. The witness had alleged she was being stalked by a defendant. The Judicial Standards Commission found Dayton made the remarks in a courthouse hallway in August 2022, where they were overheard by courthouse employees. Dayton acknowledged the conduct violated judicial standards and agreed to the sanctions, saying the comment was made "in jest" in what he believed was a private conversation with a colleague and that he was unaware others were listening. Montana Chief Justice Mike McGrath responded that Dayton's comments "were offensive to women and highly derogatory toward a witness" in the case.