The Montana Court system is composed of District Courts, Justice Courts, City Courts, Municipal Courts, the Montana Water Court and the Montana Worker's Compensation Court.
The District Courts form the apex of Montana Court system that have a general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. Criminal cases mostly heard here are felony criminal cases and misdemeanor ones. Civil cases like general civil claims, probate matters and naturalization cases are taken up here. District courts have exclusive jurisdiction over civil claims regarding money damages against the State. Each of these courts has a Small Claims Court division that handles most general civil claims with disputes up to $ 3,000, exclusive of costs. The Justice courts have few similar attributes with a limited jurisdiction over any types of cases. Criminal cases heard by Justice Courts include felony preliminary proceedings, most misdemeanors. Justice Courts share jurisdiction with District Courts for certain types of misdemeanors. Civil cases heard by Justice Courts include most general civil claims with disputes over less than $7000, exclusive of costs. Justice Courts do not have the authority to hear certain types of cases, including disputes over title to real estate and certain claims against the State.
The City Courts are the ones which handle cases of criminal violations of city or town ordinances. Civil cases heard by City Courts include civil municipal ordinance violations, certain tax collection cases and certain cases brought against a city or town. Further moving down, there are cases which are supervised and handled by the Municipal Courts. Criminal cases heard by Municipal Courts are limited to criminal violations of city or town ordinances. Municipal Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over these cases. Civil cases heard by Municipal Courts include civil municipal ordinance violations, certain tax collection cases and certain cases brought against the city or town though with much limited jurisdictions when compared with others. The Montana Court has additional divisions which makes its law body a slight different from other states. Basically the Montana Water court and Montana Worker's Compensation court are the two main courts that provide exclusive jurisdiction over some esteemed cases inside the State.
The Montana Water Court gives jurisdiction over cases that involve water rights claims. Cases typically handled by the Water Court include claims based in state law, as well as claims based on Indian and Federal water rights. The Montana Water Court handles cases from around the state out of one office location only. On the other hand, the Montana Workers' Compensation Court handles cases arising under the Montana Workers' Compensation Act and the Montana Occupational Disease Act. The Workers' Compensation Court has exclusive jurisdiction over certain contractor exemptions and reemployment preferences. This court also reviews final orders from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry and imposes civil penalties for violations of certain workers' compensation laws. With varied jurisdictions available in the State, one can be ensured of getting a better and proper verdict from the Montana Court system.
Montana Court Records
The Montana court records are now available at a fast and easy way with the help of internet. Back in the year 1988, the School of Journalism at the University of Montana created the Montana Freedom of Information Hotline to assist residents in gaining access to public records in Montana from public agencies. With the granting of permission, websites are found which boasts of readily available databases of civil and criminal court records required for various back ground checks and verification. According to the Montana Judicial Branch, access to public records in Montana pertaining to court records specifically is governed by two fundamental rights guaranteed by the Montana Constitution: the Public's Right to Know, Article II, Section 9, and the Right of Individual Privacy, Article II, Section 10." This document instructs individuals to exercise great care when including any information of a personal nature in court documents. For hiring employees in a reputed organization or a personal one or to get particular details whether any vacant land or plot is under a dispute or not, one can easily rely on the information available at a stone throw distance. To equip oneself with the online available records of Montana Courts helps us to remain acquainted with the ongoing criminal activities in the society and thus prepare to take the required measures to combat such problems.
