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House bill to allow routine remote appearances by public defenders draws mixed testimony; magistrates worry about client contact
Summary
House Bill 116, carried by Rep. Valerie Moore for the Office of the Public Defender, would encourage courts to allow routine remote appearances for scheduling and administrative hearings to reduce travel time and speed appointments of counsel in rural counties.
Representative Valerie Moore opened House Bill 116, an agency bill brought by the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), telling the Senate Judiciary Committee it would encourage courts to allow remote appearances for routine, administrative proceedings — such as scheduling and certain arraignments — to reduce travel time and the delays OPD reports in assigning counsel.
OPD witnesses described roughly 16,000 hours of travel time logged by the office last year and said the agency’s limited staff and contractor supply make it difficult to appear in person in many rural counties. "We don't want to leave Rural Montana behind," an OPD witness told the committee, and the agency said the bill would not mandate remote appearances where a court lacks the necessary technology or where the judge finds it inappropriate.
Magistrates, represented by Rebecca Myers of the Montana Magistrates Association, opposed the bill and said statutory authority already permits courts to order remote appearances. Myers raised specific concerns about initial appearances and the defendant’s ability to meet privately with counsel, argued that magistrates sometimes consider every hearing substantive, and noted practical problems with technology and confidential platforms for private attorney‑client communication.
OPD witnesses said many courts already use jail video systems and that the bill’s text was narrowly scoped to hearings that typically do not take live testimony or determine final outcomes. OPD said it is drafting practice standards for remote appearances to address dressing, conduct and confidentiality, and that the agency would prefer in‑person representation whenever feasible but needs a change in the default for routine administrative hearings to reduce delays and travel costs.
Committee members asked whether an incentive or an encouragement approach would be preferable to a statutory change; sponsors and OPD said the bill flips the default for the limited list of hearing types unless the judge orders otherwise. The bill sponsor asked for a due pass; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript.
