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Montana Senate Judiciary hears proposal to move district judge to Yellowstone County; local clerks and lawyers urge study
Summary
Sponsor introduced a plan to reassign one judicial position to Yellowstone County to help Billings; the State Bar, county clerks and local residents warned the change could burden six rural counties and urged a comprehensive study rather than an immediate reassignment.
An unidentified sponsor opened the Senate Judiciary hearing on Senate Bill 284 by saying the bill would reallocate judgeships based on a judicial workload study and would transfer a position to Yellowstone County to address a shortage in Billings.
The sponsor said the court-administrator study shows a combined judge demand of about 1.1 judges across the Tenth and Fourteenth Judicial Districts and described the measure as “low hanging fruit” intended to move one judge where caseloads are highest. The sponsor acknowledged drafting errors in the bill that would renumber districts and said an amendment would be needed to ‘‘reserve’’ one district slot rather than renumber existing courts.
Opponents told the committee the bill's approach is premature and could harm rural…
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