Montana

Montana Supreme Court By The Numbers:

Former prosecutor

Former public defender

Both a former prosecutor & public defender

Both a former prosecutor & civil rights lawyer

  • 7 total seats
  • 0 current vacancies
  • 4 prosecutors
  • 4 public defenders
  • 1 Justice is both a former prosecutor & public defender
  • 1 Justice is both a former prosecutor & civil rights lawyer
  • 0 Justices have other indigent defense experience
  • 1 civil rights lawyer

How Members of the Montana Supreme Court are Selected:

Nonpartisan Election, Retention Election

Justices are selected and re-selected in nonpartisan elections to eight-year terms. Unopposed incumbents must stand for a retention election to win another term. Interim selections to fill vacancies that occur between elections are made by governor appointment and require a majority confirmation vote in the state senate.

Selection method sources:

Ballotpedia, Judicial Election Methods By State; Brennan Center for Justice, Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map