Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Criminal Cases
* CITY County or State vs. Ima Crook
Misdeameanor – Any crime punishable by less than a
year in jail and/or fines.
Goes to
Justice or Municipal Court (Records kept by the court)
1. Arrest – Police must have probably cause to make
an arrest. They can make an arrest without a
warrant. Reporting: be careful to say someone has
been arrested “in connection” with a crime, not
“arrested for” a crime.
2. Booking -- Suspect is fingerprinted, photographed
and questioned for basic information. This is when
a person is being held “in connection” with a
crime.
3. Arraignment – A suspect is quickly taken before a
Justice of the Peace or Municipal Court judge to
hear the charges against him or her. Bail is set
and a plea is entered. If a guilty plea is entered,
the judge may pronounce sentence. A trial is
ordered for those pleading not guility.
4. Trial
5. Sentence
6. Appeal?
District Court
1. Suit filed – The plaintiff files a complaint alleging the
wrongdoing and requesting relief, usually money.
2. Answer or Countersuit – The defendant responds, usually
seeking dismissal of the claim. They may file a suit of their
own.
3. Pretrial motions – Both side present legal arguments as to why
the case should or should not proceed. Many motions pertain
to the collection of evidence and what evidence will be
admitted in the case. Judge decides.
4. Trial and verdict – Judge and or jury weigh the facts and make
a decision based on the weight of the evidence. They may
share the blame.
5. Award – Judge and/or jury may award actual and punitive
damages. Big awards are almost always reviewed on appeal.
6. Appeal?
Courts in Montana
* Montana Supreme Court
Unlike most state’s, Montana’s supreme court hears direct
appeals from all District Courts, as well as Workers Comp and Water
Court. It must take all such appeals and resolve them. Most other
states have an intermediate appellate court that settles many such
cases.
Karla Gray, Supreme Court chief justice since 2000
Six associate justices on the MT Supreme Court
* Clerk of The Supreme Court – Ed Smith
The clerk keeps all Supreme Curt records and maintains the
docket.
* District Courts (map: http://www.courts.mt.gov/dcourt/default.asp)
There are 56 District Courts in Montana. These courts are
administratively structured into 22 judicial districts and were served by
43 District Court Judges in 2006.
The United States District Court for the District of Montana is the
United States District Court whose jurisdiction is the state of Montana
(except the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is
under the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District
of Wyoming). The court is located in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena,
and Missoula.
To file a civil case (lawsuit) in federal district court, a person must have
a reason why a federal court, instead of a state court, should
adjudicate the dispute. That’s where the saying, “to make a federal
case” of something comes from.
By law, the bases for federal jurisdiction (the power to hear and decide
a case) are:
Cases from the District of Montana are appealed to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Eg. Civil case involving the Fair Housing Act of the Civil Rights Act
Settlement discrimiption:
http://www.fairhousing.com/index.cfm?method=page.display&pagena
me=advocate_august03_page6