InMontana, there is one federal district court, a state supreme court, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Montana's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Montana's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also:Judicial selection in Montana andMontana judicial elections

Selection of state judges in Montana occurs largely throughnonpartisan elections, though certain limited jurisdiction courts deviate from that method.^[1][2]

Theseven justices of theMontana Supreme Court are selected in nonpartisan elections to eight-year terms. When their term expires, they must run for re-election (orretention if they are unopposed) if they wish to remain on the court. Like the supreme court justices, the46 judges of theMontana District Courts are chosen innonpartisan elections. They serve six-year terms. Policies on re-election and the filling of interim vacancies are shared with the supreme court.^[1][3]

Judges of theMontana Water Court are each appointed to a four-year term by a majority vote of a committee composed of district court judges.^[4] Judges of theMontana Workers' Compensation Court are each appointed to a six-year term by the governor after being selected by a commission.^[5]

To read more about judicial elections in Montana,click here.

Federal courts

Thefederal district court in Montana is theUnited States District Court for the District of Montana.

Appeals from this court goes to theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Active judges

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 2
• Republican appointed: 1

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by thepresident of the United States and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, clickhere.

Bankruptcy courts

There is onefederal bankruptcy court in Montana. This court has subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy court in Montana is:

• TheDistrict of Montana Bankruptcy Court.

State supreme court

See also:Montana Supreme Court

Founded in 1889, theMontana Supreme Court is the state'scourt of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court isMike McGrath. In 2018, the court decided 695 cases.^[6] The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and the only appellate court, so it resolves all appeals from the lower courts. It also has original jurisdiction over some cases.^[7]

The following judges sit on the court:

Trial courts

District courts

See also:Montana District Courts

Montana District Courts

There are 56 district courts in Montana organized into 22 judicial districts. According to the Montana Judicial Branch's website, the district courts "process all felony cases, all probate cases, most civil cases at law and in equity, certain special actions and proceedings, all civil actions that may result in a finding against the state for the payment of money, naturalization proceedings, various writs, and some narrowly-defined ballot issues." They also may hear certain appeals from the lower courts of limited jurisdiction.^[8]

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

See also:Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

The courts of limited jurisdiction include 61justice courts, 84city courts and sixmunicipal courts.^[9]

Water court

See also:Montana Water Court

The Water Court has exclusive jurisdiction over water rights.^[10]

Workers' compensation court

See also:Montana Workers' Compensation Court

The Workers' Compensation Court mediates workers' compensation disputes in Montana.^[11]

Youth court

The Youth Court has jurisdiction over referred juvenile cases.^[12]

Drug Treatment Courts

Montana Drug Treatment Courts are limited jurisdiction district courts that specialize in drug or alcohol related cases.^[13]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Montana
• Montana judicial elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Montana Judicial Branch

Footnotes

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