The Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives routinely blocked Montana statehood to retain the status quo balance of power in Congress.

[4] The new constitution also authorized the legislature to establish a right to appeal the decisions of state agencies directly to district courts.

District Courts have original jurisdiction in all criminal felony cases, all civil and probate matters, cases at law and in equity, civil actions involving monetary claims against the state, misdemeanors not falling under the jurisdiction of another court, and special actions or proceedings not otherwise provided for by law.

Nearly all these cases dealt with very narrow interpretative issues, such as the equity jurisdiction of District Courts and the development of extraordinary writs.

[4] However, where an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Montana creates a contract which is to be performed both on tribal land and on state land, that attorney cannot evade the jurisdiction of the District Court by claiming tribal membership (Crawford v. Roy, 577 P.2d 392 (Mont.

But only the legislature, not the executive branch, has the power to create such an appeal, the court said in Nye v. Department of Livestock, 639 P.2d 498 (Mont.

[15] Article VII, Section 8 of the Constitution of Montana provides for the election, rather than appointment of District Court judges.

The state legislature enacted a law in 1909 mandating these elections be nonpartisan, and providing for nomination by citizen petition.

The Montana Supreme Court struck down this law in 1911 after finding that it provided for no means of nominating judges in newly created judicial districts.

2010)., Western Tradition Partnership, a group which promotes free market solutions to environmental problems, sued to overturn the 1935 law.

2012)., which opened the door to vastly increased PAC and political party spending on judicial races in Montana.

American Tradition Partnership spent little money in Montana in 2013, but began spending heavily again in judicial races in 2014.

[19] The American Tradition Partnership ruling led to record spending of $1.6 million in the 2014 Montana Supreme Court races.

[20] The 1889 constitution permitted anyone to run for the office of District Court judge, so long as they were a citizen, had reached the age of 25, were licensed to practice law in the state, and had resided in Montana for at least a year.

[22] Article VII, Section 10 of the Montana constitution requires a District Court judge to forfeit his or her judgeship if they file for an elective public office (other than a judicial position) or are absent from the state for more than 60 consecutive days.

[24] Article VII, Section 8 of the Montana constitution governs vacancies on District Courts.

[25] Subsequent state law provided for the creation of a Judicial Nomination Commission, whose duty was to draw up a list of potential replacements for the governor to choose from.

If the governor declined to make the nomination within 30 days, the Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court was empowered to do so.

Although the constitution was silent on the issue, incumbent elected judges who ran unopposed were automatically re-elected to their judgeship.

This created a situation in which a judge could conceivably resign immediately after the legislature adjourned, and remain on the bench for up to three years.

This clearly defied the will of the 1972 state constitutional convention, which wanted judges elected by voters rather than appointed by governors.

[29] The law established a Judicial Standards Commission (JSC), which was authorized to receive and investigate complaints, allow the accused to defend him or her self, and make recommendations to the Montana Supreme Court.

1982)., the high court ruled that charges against judges had to rise to the level of constitutionally proscribed misconduct in office before the JSC could investigate.

Following the Shea decision, the Montana Legislature clarified the procedural requirements, so that the JSC could engage in an initial investigation without a verified, written complaint.

[32][33] Article VII, Section 6 of the 1972 constitution set District Court judicial terms at six years.

[17] Montana Code Annotated, Title 3, Chapter 1, Part 1, §125 requires each county to provide space to the District Court.

Montana Code Annotated, Title 3, Chapter 5, Part 1, §102 establishes the number of judges in each judicial district.

[35][36] Although some legislators have suggested increasing the use of binding arbitration, even in criminal law, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in Kloss v. Edward D. Jones & Co., 57 P.3d 41 (Mont.

that this would violate a citizen's fundamental rights to a jury trial, due process, and equal protection, among others.

Drug courts provide treatment as well as sanctions, with the goal of treating addiction, reducing recidivism, and improving rehabilitation.