NCJ Number
165731
Date Published
1997
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This 1996 annual report of the Montana Judiciary presents information and statistics on the achievements and case processing of Montana appellate and trial courts in 1996.
Abstract
The number of new case filings in the Supreme Court for 1996 was 731, a 21-percent increase over 1995. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court urges the Montana Legislature to consider providing some type of intermediate appellate court system to address the increasing backlog of appellate cases. On case dispositions by opinion for civil cases, tort actions constituted 20 percent of the caseload. Of the other 80 percent of the civil case dispositions, 27 percent related to family law matters. Caseloads continue to increase in the district courts; there were 33,721 new case filings, a 2.6-percent increase over 1995. The new case filings in courts of limited jurisdiction will exceed 300,000 cases in 1996, a significant increase over 1995. Increased complexity of litigation as well as the volume of litigation confront the Montana court system. This annual report also addresses the work of the Supreme Court's boards and commissions, including the Judicial Nomination Commission, the Commission on Admissions Rules Revision, the Commission on Unauthorized Practice, the Commission on Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the Sentence Review Division. Reports are also provided for the disciplinary boards and commissions of the Supreme Court.