Montana inferior courts

Inferior courts in Montana also known as courts of limited jurisdiction, refer to those courts of law, established by the Constitution of Montana or authorized by law, with limited jurisdictions. These courts consist of City Courts, Justice Courts, and Municipal Courts. Inferior courts may be courts of record (in that a transcript of all proceedings is made), or they may not. Appeals from inferior courts are made to Montana District Courts.

Montana has had two constitutions in its history, both of which have authorized inferior courts.

The constitution of 1889 explicitly authorized the creation of justice courts (and justices of the peace), police courts (and police magistrates), and municipal courts. None of these courts were courts of record. Justices of the peace were to be elected, but the constitution left it up to the legislature to decide how police magistrates and municipal court judges were to be named. All three courts had very limited jurisdiction. The 1889 constitution also restricted the creation of inferior courts only to state-incorporated cities or towns.

Montana voters approved a new state constitution in 1972. Article VII, Section 1 of this constitution authorized the state legislature to create Justice Courts as well as whatever other inferior courts it deemed necessary. Section 5 specifically required there to be at least one Justice Court and Justice of the Peace in each county, and for justices of the peace to be elected. It also authorized the legislature to give Justice Courts whatever jurisdiction the legislature deemed fit, although the constitution barred Justice Courts from hearing any felony cases except during preliminary hearings. Section 9 allowed the legislature to define the method of selection for non-justice inferior courts, and to establish the qualifications for office for all inferior courts. Section 10 barred any inferior court judge from running for elective office (other than another judicial position), while Section 11 provided for a new statewide Judicial Standards Committee to hear cases of misconduct and recommend sanctions (up to and including removal from the bench) to the Montana Supreme Court.

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