Flathead County rescinds requirement that judges must be licensed attorneys

The Flathead County commissioners Tuesday rescinded a requirement that Justice Court judges be licensed attorneys.

The action comes less than a month after they imposed the condition. It affects the two justice of the peace positions that come up for election this fall.

The move was prompted by a request from state Sen. Jerry O'Neil, R-Columbia Falls.

O'Neil, a paralegal who plans to run for one of the judgeships, said the county has a long history of electing capable judges who weren't lawyers. He also maintained that the commissioners don't have the legal authority to set qualifications for justices of the peace.

"The Montana Supreme Court has indicated that it has the ultimate authority to establish what the training of a justice of the peace shall receive," he wrote in a letter to the commissioners. "If the Legislature can't establish the training for a justice of the peace by statute, it's unlikely that the county commission can establish the qualifications by resolution."

Chief Deputy County Attorney Jonathan Smith said the law was ambiguous on this point. Consequently, rather than face the possibility of a lawsuit that might delay the election, he recommended that the commissioners rescind the license requirement.

Several people spoke in support of removing the requirement.

Commissioner Joe Brenneman, however, said he remains convinced that judges should be licensed attorneys, because of the complexity of the issues that arise in Justice Court and the consequences of judges making mistakes.

"The fact that Mr. O'Neil's letter contains substantive errors reinforces that point," he said, referring to a second letter O'Neil wrote that corrected and amended the citations contained in the first letter.

Nevertheless, "we also need to follow the law," Brenneman said, "and I can't find where it says we can set the qualifications for judges."

The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution rescinding the requirement. Their decision to make the local court a Justice Court of record next year remains unchanged.

"You've put a lot of responsibility on my head," O'Neil said after the vote. "If I win the election, I'll have to prove that you don't have to be a graduate of an accredited law school to be a good judge."

O'Neil indicated that he plans to run for the justice of the peace position being vacated by Kalispell attorney Dale Trigg.

Attorneys Lane Bennett and Mark Sullivan also have filed for that seat. Judge David Ortley, also an attorney, is unopposed in his bid for re-election.