Viewpoint: Punitive treatment in Missoula Justice Court

Micah Moussbir

I am a lifelong Missoulian and public servant, currently employed as an attorney with the state. I worked with Kelli Sather during my time at the public defender’s office and I appeared in Judge Holloway’s court as recently as this past spring. I have seen the two show compassion towards some of our community’s most marginalized members in very different ways.

At the candidate forum in August, Judge Holloway opined that constitutional issues “rarely” come up in her courtroom. Ms. Sather disagreed and so do I.

At the debate last month, Judge Holloway shared that misdemeanor offenders are not being incarcerated for nonviolent offenses in Missoula County. Again, I disagree.

I have watched the Missoula County Attorney’s Office circumnavigate Municipal Court in order to selectively prosecute individuals charged with nonviolent misdemeanors in Justice Court. These individuals are then held in custody for months on tiny bonds that they can’t afford.

Bond is to ensure that someone returns to court, not to maintain someone’s incarceration status. Excessive bond is per se unconstitutional and a violation of the 8th amendment. Ms. Sather will be guided by what the charged conduct, the impacted parties, and the law requires – not political headwinds.

Ms. Sather has over 25 years of experience as a lawyer, a legal degree, and the judgement to treat each situation and individual with the dignity they deserve. We need an impartial Justice of the Peace who understands the law and the limitations of punitive treatment, especially for nonviolent misdemeanor offenses.