United States District Court for the District of Montana

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District of Montana
Ninth Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 3
Judges: 3
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Brian Morris
Active judges: Dana Christensen, Brian Morris, Susan Pamela Watters

Senior judges:
Sam Haddon, Charles Lovell, Donald Molloy


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 U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming). The district operates out of courthouses in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula. It is one of 94 United States district courts. Appeals from the District of Montana go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the District of Montana, out of the court's three judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Dana Christensen

Barack Obama (D)

December 6, 2011 -

Stanford University, 1973

University of Montana Law, 1976

Brian Morris

Barack Obama (D)

December 17, 2013 -

Stanford University, 1986

Stanford University, 1992

Susan Pamela Watters

Barack Obama (D)

December 18, 2013 -

Eastern Montana College, 1980

University of Montana School of Law, 1988


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

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.

  • Democrat appointed: 3
  • Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Charles Lovell

Ronald Reagan (R)

June 14, 2000 -

University of Montana, 1952

University of Montana School of Law, 1959

Donald Molloy

Bill Clinton (D)

August 16, 2011 -

University of Montana, 1968

University of Montana School of Law, 1976

Sam Haddon

George W. Bush (R)

December 31, 2012 -

Rice University, 1959

University of Montana School of Law, 1965


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior 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.

  • Democrat appointed: 1
  • Republican appointed: 2

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

John Johnston

January 5, 2015 -

Western Montana College, 1985

University of Montana School of Law, 1988

Timothy Cavan

December 1, 2016 -

Montana State University-Billings, 1981

University of Montana School of Law, 1984

Kathleen DeSoto

August 3, 2019 -

Santa Clara University, 1989

University of Montana School of Law, 1999

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information on the judges of the District of Montana, see former federal judges of the District of Montana.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of Montana (click for larger map)

The District of Montana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The court is located in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2023.

Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.


United States District Court for the District of Montana caseload stats, 2010-2022
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,094 1,196 827 3 0 365 45 7 10 42 9
2011 1,084 1,036 745 3 4 361 40 7 9 48 10
2012 1,260 1,237 868 3 0 420 40 7 9 48 9
2013 1,274 1,277 871 3 20 425 34 7 8 48 9
2014 1,338 1,233 970 3 0 446 45 7 10 44 8
2015 1,182 1,170 978 3 0 394 36 8 9 48 8
2016 1,228 1,221 967 3 0 409 33 8 9 56 9
2017 1,236 1,160 1,032 3 0 412 34 8 9 58 9
2018 1,377 1,405 1,012 3 0 459 33 9 11 56 9
2019 1,283 1,251 1,048 3 0 428 57 8 10 62 10
2020 1,257 1,156 1,152 3 0 419 48 9 10 62 10
2021 1,237 1,305 1,080 3 0 412 44 9 11 73 11
2022 1,268 1,227 1,113 3 0 423 57 8 11 84 13
Average 1,240 1,221 974 3 2 413 42 8 10 56 9

History

The District of Montana was established by Congress on February 22, 1889, with one post to cover the entire state. Over time two additional judicial posts were added for a total of three current posts[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of Montana:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
February 22, 1889 25 Stat. 676 1
September 14, 1922 42 Stat. 837 2 (1 temporary)
May 31, 1938 52 Stat. 584 2 (temporary post expired)
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 3

Federal courthouse

Five separate courthouses serve the District of Montana.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[8][9]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[10]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[9]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[11]


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. District Court – NH, "Magistrate Judges of the District Court," accessed April 27, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "District Court for the District of Montana," accessed April 28, 2021
  8. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  11. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"


Montana courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana

State courts:

Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court

State resources:

Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana

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