court

David Paoli writes, "Montanans do not want, let alone need, politics in the courtroom. Montanans want and need the courtroom to be a sanctuary in which facts, law, and justice are all that matters."

Montana Judges could be required to take child abuse and domestic violence trainings if a bill in the Montana Legislature passes the House.

Republicans on a state legislative committee have come out with their final list of proposed bills, intended as a response to conflicts over the proper role of the judicial branch.

Throughout the two-day conference, prosecutors discussed creative approaches to prosecuting low-level offenses, new research on violent crime reductions, community outreach programs, and victim advocacy.

Jim Elliott writes, "The Courts are not supposed to be there to support the Legislature or the Governor, no matter which political party may be in power."

Jim Nelson writes, "They don’t like the idea of direct lawmaking by us, because ours is a power over which they have virtually no control."

After twice rejecting legislation this year that aimed to allow groups of Montanans to form their own grand juries, most lawmakers have not warmed to the idea in the seven months since those bills were tabled.

The state of Montana was billed nearly $95,000 in total by the three expert witnesses the Attorney General’s Office utilized in the Held v. Montana climate change trial, two of whom the state never called to testify.