The "real world" Montana Judicial System has three basic levels: the City and Justice Courts, District Courts and the Supreme Court. The 21 District Courts have jurisdiction over most civil and criminal cases that involve state law, plus they rehear some cases originating in City and Justice Courts. The Montana Supreme Court is the only appellate court in the state. There is no intermediate appeals court. Decisions made by trial courts are generally appealable to the Supreme Court.
Many people are familiar with trial courts from television and movies. However, while the decisions of the Montana Supreme Court are often newsworthy events, in general it (and other appeals courts) have little public contact, and their proceedings are not well understood&emdash;even though the hearings of oral arguments are open to the public.
Basically, if a trial court decides against either party in a civil case, that party may appeal, contending that legal errors were made during the previous court proceedings. In a criminal case, the State generally cannot appeal a finding of not guilty, but a defendant may appeal a conviction. In Montana, all cases resulting in a death penalty sentence are automatically reviewed by the Montana Supreme Court.
An appellate court, such as the Montana Supreme Court, is quite different from a trial court. Appellate courts review a trial court's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and procedures employed, but it does not engage in independent fact-finding (for example, there are no witnesses called or physical evidence presented).
Attorneys submit a written brief and sometimes also present oral arguments. At the appellate level, attorneys argue points of law. The appellant's counsel attempts to demonstrate that the trial court either made a mistake or violated a legal principle, and that therefore the Court should overturn the previous decision. The respondent's counsel argues that the decision of the trial court was correct.
Upon consideration of the case, the Montana Supreme Court may uphold the decision of the trial court, or they may find that the court erred in some manner and choose to reverse the previous decision. In some cases, the Supreme Court may send the case back to the District Court for a new trial.
The Justices of the real Montana Supreme Court currently are asked to review over 700 of the more than 30,000 cases filed annually at the District Court level. The Court considers, in some manner, every case which is appealed to it. The Court issues written opinions in over 300 cases per year. The vast majority of cases are decided based solely on review of written briefs. Oral arguments are heard on about 40 cases per year.
Very rarely, a case decided by the Montana Supreme Court can be taken into Federal District Court (in essence starting over at the Federal level), and then could be appealed to the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court. Violation of a federal constitutional right is generally the basis for a Federal appeal. Unlike the Montana Supreme Court, which has to consider all cases appealed to it in some form, the U.S. Supreme Court has the power to determine which among the many appeals it receives each year it will decide (or in legal language, to grant certiorari).
