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Montana Courts Annual Report of the Montana Judicial System Calendar Year 1993

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Montana Courts Annual Report of the Montana Judicial System Calendar Year 1993 MONTANA COURTS ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MONTANA JUDICIAL SYSTEM CALENDAR YEAR 1993 J. A. TURNAGE CHIEF JUSTICE A PUBLICATION OF THE . OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR ROOM 315, JUSTICE BUILDING 215 NORTH SANDERS HELENA, MT 59620 1993 JUDICIAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Profile of the Montana Judicial System ......................... 1 The Montana Judiciary. A Brief History ........................ 3 The Supreme Court ......................................5 District Courts ........................................ 11' Courts of Limited Jurisdiction ............................... 47 Special Jurisdiction Courts .................................48 Administration of the Judicial System .......................... 49 Advisory Boards and Commissions of the Supreme Court .............. 52 Disciplinary Boards .....................................56 State Bar of Montana ...................................58 University of Montana School of Law ......................... 60 Judicial District by County ................................62 Addendum Supreme Court Caseload Statistics University of Montana Law School "Fact Sheet" Small Claims Court "A Citizen's GuideN.prepared by the Office of the Attorney General. Department of Justice PROFILE OF THE MONTANA JUDICIAL SYSTEM STRUCTURE OF THE COURT SYSTEM The Judicial power of the State of Montana is A vacancy in the office of Chief Water Judge is vested in a three-tiered structure of appellate, filled by appointment of the Chief Justice from a general, and limited jurisdiction courts. These are list of nominees submitted by the Judicial represented respectively by the Supreme Court, Nomination Commission. District Courts, and Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. A vacancy in the office of Workers' Compensation In addition, legislatively created courts exist for the Judge is filled by appointment of the Governor from adjudication of special legal issues. The Workers a list of nominees submitted by the Judicial Compensation Court and Water Court are examples Nomination Commission. of these specialty courts. Vacancies in the office of Justice of the Peace are Selection and Removal of Judges filled by appointment of the County Governing Body. All Judges in Montana are elected in nonpartisan elections. Supreme Court Justices are elected for Vacancies in the office of City or Town Judge are eight-year terms; District Court Judges for six-year filled by appointment of the City or Town terms; and all other judges serve four-year terms. Governing Body. Vacancies in the Supreme Court and District Courts If a vacancy occurs in a Municipal Court, it is filled are filled by election if a term has ended and by by appointment of the Municipal Governing Body. gubernatorial appointment if a vacancy occurred during a term. However, before a vacancy can he Under the Montana Constitution the Supreme Court, filled by gubernatorial appointment, the Judicial upon the recommendation of the Judicial Standards Nominations Commission must first submit a list of Commission, may retire any justice or judge for three to five nominees to the Governor from which disability that seriously interferes with the the Governor must make an appointment. If the performance of his duties, or censure, suspend or Governor fails to appoint within 30 days of remove any justice or judge for willful misconduct receiving a list of nominees from the Judicial in office, willful and persistent failure to perform Nominations Commission, the Chief Justice or his duties, violation of the cannons of judicial ethics acting Chief Justice makes the appointment. Each adopted by the Supreme Court, or habitual person nominated must be confirmed by the State intemperance. Senate. If the Senate is not in session the person nominated serves until the end of the next session of the Legislature. If the nomination is not confirmed by the Senate the office is vacant and another selection and nomination is made. An appointee confirned by the Senate serves until the next succeeding general election. The candidate elected at that election holds office for the remainder of the unexpired teinl. STRUCTURE OF THE MONTANA JUDICIARY One Chief Justice Six Justices Water Courts Workers ' District Courts One Chief Judge compensation 21 Judicial District 6 Water Judges 1 Judge 3 7 Judges Justice of the Peace City Court Municipal Court Court 54 Judges* r--zLeI 75 Judges* "36 Justices of the Peace also serve as City Court Judges THE MONTANA JUDICIARY A BRIEF HISTORY SUPREME COURT Statehood brought several changes to Montana's The Territory of Montana was organized by an Act Judicial System. During Territorial days, Justices of Congress, approved May 26, 1864. Section 9 of and District Judges were appointed by the President the Act vested the judicial power of the State in a of the United States. After 1889, Montanans Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate Courts and turned to a system whereby they elected justices, Justice of the Peace Courts. district, and local judges and judicial officers. They hoped thereby to encourage "more prompt and The first term of the Supreme Court of the accessible administration of justice". Justices, Territory of Montana was held in Virginia City on District and local judges were elected on a partisan May 17, 1865. Hezekiah L. Hosmer who was ballot until 1909 when a brief and largely forgotten appointed June 30, 1864 by President Abraham experiment in nonpartisan judicial elections was Lincoln served as the first Chief Justice. On June established. (Laws of 1909, Chapter 113) This law 22, 1864 Lorenzo P. Williston and Ammi Giddings was enacted with only one opposing vote in the were appointed Associate Justice. Ammi Giddings closing days of the 1909 session. The law declined to serve, but his commission remained in prohibited partisan filings by judicial candidates and force until March 11, 1865 when Lyman E. required their nomination by citizen petition. 1910 Munson was appointed to replace him. was an "off" year for judicial elections; only the Chief Justice and two District Judges were to be In the early Territorial period, Justices of the chosen. Chief Justice Brantly, known as a populist Supreme Court each presided over one of the Republican won a third term receiving 39% of the tenitory's judicial districts. This arrangement votes in a field of four candidates. usually meant that when a case was appealed to the Supreme Court, one of the Justices personally had Voters evidently missed party labels since the total tried the case at the District Court level. This vote cast in the 1910 nonpartisan contest was system changed in 1886 when Congress provided notably small. Fewer than half of those who voted for the appointment of a fourth Justice and provided for Clerk of the Supreme Court on the partisan for disqualification on appeal of a Justice who had ballot voted for the Chief Justice on the nonpartisan tried a case in District Court. ballot. The experiment was terminated in 1911 when the Supreme Court on a complaint of a In the initial years of the Court, decisions about Republican candidate for Butte Police Judge held cases were rarely given in writing. In January, the legislation unconstitutional. The 1935 1872, the Territorial Legislature provided for Legislature (Laws of 1935 Chapter 182) made written reporting of Supreme Court decisions. judicial elections nonpartisan for a second time, but the effect on voter participation was not so dramatic The July, 1889 term of the Territorial Supreme as in the one-election experiment of 1910. Court was the last term held before Montana became a State on November 8, 1889. When the Article VIII of the 1889 Constitution established a Territorial Supremc Court adjourned sinc dic on three-member Supreme Court with members elected October 5, 1889 -- the Territorial period ended and to six-year terms. the modern era of statehood began. The 1919 Legislature increased the membership on During the first three decades of Statehood the the Supreme Court to five members. Supreme Court remained at three Justices but the caseload required additional resources in order to In 1921 the Legislature approved the second Court keep current. The 1903 Legislature provided for Commissjon and directed the Supreme Court to the appointrnent by the Supreme Court of a three appoint "from among the duly elected, qualified and member Court Commission "of legaI learning and acting District Judges of the State of Montana, from personal worth" to assist the Court -- at a salary of any of the various counties or districts three (3) of $4,000 a year for Commissioners. The term of such judges to act for such period of time as may office for the Court Commission was four years, be designated in the order appointment as during which time the Commissioners were Commissioners of the Supreme Court". prohibited from engaging in the practice of law. When the 1905 Legislature failed to provide an The Supreme Court remained at five members until appropriation for the Commissioners' salary, they the 1979 Legislature authorized two additional all resigned. Justice positions to assist in handling the overburdened Court calendar. THE MONTANA SWREME COURT Left to right, Justices William E. Hunt, Sr., Fred I. Weber, John C. Harrison, Chief Justice J. A. Turnage, Justices James C. Nelson, Karla M. Gray, and Terry N. Trieweiler. DISTRICT COURTS traditional structures of the Montana Judiciary. It did, however, make a number of modifications. The 1889 Constitution established eight judicial For instance, terms of Supreme Court Justices were districts with one District Judge in each district extended from six to eight years and District Court elected for a four-year term. The number of Judges terms went from four to six years. judicial districts has fluctuated over the last century. Stmcturally more significant, the new Constitution The growth in the number of counties beginning in adopted a version of merit recmitment for judicial 1911 led to the creation of twenty judicial districts officers that has been described as a unique hybrid by 1919. The number of judicial districts shrank of the "Missouri Plan". While the Governor to 16 in 1932, expanded to 19 in 1977, 20 in 1984.
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