Montana Supreme Court

The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decisions of Montana's trial courts of general jurisdiction and certain specialized legislative courts, only having original jurisdiction in a limited number of actions. The court's chief justice and six associate justices are elected by non-partisan, popular elections. The Montana Supreme Court meets in the Joseph P. Mazurek Building in Helena, Montana, the state's capital, an international style building completed in 1982 and named in the honor of former Montana attorney general, Joseph P. Mazurek.

History

Montana Territorial Supreme Court

On May 26, 1864, the United States Congress passed the Organic Act, which formed the Montana Territory and established the Territorial Supreme Court. The court consisted of one chief justice and two associate justices, all of whom were appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate; the court's first members were chosen by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. The Montana Territorial Supreme Court held its first session in Virginia City, Montana, on May 17, 1865.

Each justice presided over one of the territory's three judicial districts, which meant that cases the Territorial Supreme Court heard on appeal were usually first tried in the Montana District Court by one of the justices. This arrangement was altered in 1886 when the Congress passed legislation that disqualified any justice who had previously participated in a case from hearing it on appeal; a fourth justice was also added to the court by the same act.