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Livingston City Court, Montana

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Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This page is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.



The Livingston City Court resides in Montana. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

Jurisdiction

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]

The Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in Montana are Justice Courts, City Courts and Municipal Courts. There are 61 Justice Courts, 84 City Courts and 6 Municipal Courts. Although the jurisdiction of these courts differs slightly, collectively they address cases involving misdemeanor offenses, civil cases for amounts up to $12,000, small claims valued up to $7,000, landlord/tenant disputes, local ordinances, forcible entry and detainer, protection orders, certain issues involving juveniles, and other matters. The total caseload of these courts is about 5 times greater than that of the District Courts in Montana. Courts of Limited Jurisdiction are the courts in which most Montanans seeking justice will encounter the justice system.[2]

Selection method

See also: Judicial selection in the states
See also: Nonpartisan election

Judges of the Montana City Courts are each elected to four-year terms.[3] The elections for this court are nonpartisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a U.S. citizen and a county resident for one year.[4]

Judicial elections in Montana

See also: Montana judicial elections

Montana is one of seven states that use nonpartisan elections to initially select judges and then use retention elections to determine whether judges should remain on the bench. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.

Nonpartisan election

In the nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes advance to the general election. If only two candidates file for one judicial seat, both candidates advance to the general election.[5]

Retention election

If an incumbent is running unopposed, the incumbent judge will appear on the ballot for retention.[6]

The ballot for a retention election reads: "Shall (insert title of officer) (insert name of the incumbent officer) of the (insert title of the court) of the state of Montana be retained in office for another term?" Voters must then answer with either "Yes" or "No."[7]

See also



External links

Footnotes