The United States District Court for the District of Montana (in case citation

Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

s, D. Mont.) is the United States District Court whose jurisdiction is the state of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 (except the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho...

). The court is located in Billings

Billings, Montana

Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...

, Butte

Butte, Montana

Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...

, Great Falls

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...

, Helena

Helena, Montana

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

 and Missoula

Missoula, Montana

Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...

.

Cases from the District of Montana are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...

 (except for patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act

Tucker Act

Through the Tucker Act , the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits....

, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...

).

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana is Michael Cotter.

History

The District of Montana was organized on February 22, 1889, by 25 Stat. 676, following Montana's admission to statehood. Congress organized Montana as a single judicial district, and authorized one judgeship for the district court, which was assigned to the Ninth Circuit. A temporary second judgeship was added on September 14, 1922, by 42 Stat. 837, and was made permanent on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584. On July 10, 1984, by 98 Stat. 333, the third judgeship was authorized.

Judges

On August 16, 2011, a vacancy exists due to the decision of Donald W. Molloy

Donald W. Molloy

Donald W. Molloy is a senior United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Montana.Born in Butte, Montana, Molloy received a B.A. from the University of Montana in 1968 and a J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1976. He was in the United...

 to assume senior status. On May 4, 2011, President Obama nominated Dana L. Christensen

Dana L. Christensen

Dana L. Christensen is a lawyer in Montana who has been nominated to serve as a United States district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Montana.- Early life and education :...

 to fill the seat. His nomination is currently pending.

Former Judges

Judge	Appointed by	Began active service	Ended active service	Ended senior status	End reason
James Harris Baldwin James Harris Baldwin James Harris Baldwin was a United States federal judge.Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Baldwin received a B.L. from the University of Virginia in 1900, and read law to enter the bar...	Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...			–	death
James Franklin Battin James Franklin Battin James Franklin Battin was a Republican U.S. Representative from the U.S. state of Montana, and later a United States federal judge....	Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...				death
George M. Bourquin George M. Bourquin George M. Bourquin was a United States federal judge.Born in Warren County, Pennsylvania, Bourquin read law to enter the bar in 1894. He was in private practice in Helena, Montana from 1894 to 1899, and then in private practice in Butte, Montana until 1904...	William Howard Taft William Howard Taft William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

}||||||death
|-
| Robert Lewis Brown, Sr.

Robert Lewis Brown, Sr.

Robert Lewis Brown, Sr. was a United States federal judge.Born in Phillipsburg, Montana, Brown received an LL.B. from State University of Montana in 1916. He was a County attorney for Granite County, Montana from 1916 to 1918. He was in private practice in Philipsburg from 1918 to 1924...

||Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

||||||–||death
|-
| Paul G. Hatfield

Paul G. Hatfield

Paul Gerhart Hatfield, was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served briefly as United States Senator from Montana in 1978, and was later a United States federal judge.-Early life:...

||Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

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|-
| William Henry Hunt

William Henry Hunt (judge)

William Henry Hunt was a state and federal judge and a territorial governor of Puerto Rico.-Early law practice:...

||Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

||||||–||reappointment
|-
| William James Jameson

William James Jameson

William James Jameson was a United States federal judge.Born in Butte, Montana, Jameson received an A.B. from the University of Montana in 1919 and an LL.B. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1922. He was in private practice in Billings, Montana from 1922 to 1957...

||Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

||||||||death
|-
| Hiram Knowles

Hiram Knowles

Hiram Knowles is a former United States federal judge.Born in Penobscot, Maine, Knowles attended Antioch College and received an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1860. He was in private practice in Keokuk, Iowa from 1860 to 1862, then in Dayton, Missouri in 1862 and in Humboldt County, Nevada from...

||Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

||||||–||retirement
|-
| William Daniel Murray

William Daniel Murray

William Daniel Murray was a United States federal judge.Born in Butte, Montana, Murray attended Columbia University, and received a B.S. from Georgetown University in 1932, and an LL.B. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1936. He was a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant during World War...

||Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

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|-
| Charles Nelson Pray

Charles Nelson Pray

Charles Nelson Pray was a U.S. Representative from Montana.-Early life:Born in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York, Pray attended the public schools in Salisbury and Middlebury, Vermont and graduated from Middlebury High School...

||Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

||||||||death
|-
| Carl L. Rasch

Carl L. Rasch

Carl L. Rasch was a United States federal judge.Born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Rasch received a Ph.B. from Cornell College in 1889 and an LL.B. from Chicago College of Law in 1890. He was in private practice in Helena, Montana from 1891 to the present...

||William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

||||||–||resignation
|-
| Russell Evans Smith

Russell Evans Smith

Russell Evans Smith was a United States federal judge.Born in Butte, Montana, Smith received an LL.B. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1931. He was a marshal and law clerk to the Montana Supreme Court from 1931 to 1933. He was in private practice in Cut Bank, Montana from 1933 to...

||Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

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|}

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Montana Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of Montana Official Website
• U.S. District Court of Montana, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
  Federal Judicial Center
  The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States....
  
  .