Sanders County District Court, Montana
Court-Level Rules, Filing Procedures & Policies
- Rules last changed:
Limits & Logistics
Document Limits
Adjournments
- Unopposed motions to continue or vacate a law-and-motion-calendar hearing must be filed with the Clerk by noon the preceding day; otherwise, the matter remains on the final calendar and the parties must appear.
Page & Word Limits1 rule
Except for initial pleadings, pleadings and briefs are limited to 20 pages, excluding attachments, or alternatively 6,500 words with the specified certification; additional pages require leave and good cause, and serial motions to evade the limit may be summarily denied.
- Pleading or brief except initial pleadings
- Up to 20 pages or 6,500 words
Excluded from the limit
- •Attachments
- •Caption
- •Signature block
- •Certificates
- •Table of contents
- •Table of authorities
- •Appendices
- •Exhibits
Court's wording
Pleadings/briefs, except initial pleadings, in all cases shall be limited to 20 pages, not including attachments. Additional pages may be filed only with leave of the Court and with good cause showing. Serial motions filed for the purpose of evading the 20-page limitation may result in summary denial of all such motions. Filings may alternatively be limited to 6,500 words (excluding the caption, signature block, certificates of service or compliance, any tables of contents or authorities, and any appendices or exhibits) if accompanied by a certification of compliance which states the word count and the document’s line spacing and states either: (1) the document is proportionately spaced, together with the typeface and point size; or (2) the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch. A party may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief. The certification is not included in calculating the document’s length.
Document Format Requirements4 rules
Briefs must follow Montana Uniform District Court Rule 1 and use a font no smaller than 11 point; a nonconforming pleading will not be filed by the Clerk and will be returned.
Court's wording
Please refer to Montana Uniform District Court Rule 1, except that the font size shall be no smaller than 11 point. Any pleading filed in any action which does not conform to Rule 1 of the Montana Uniform District Court Rules shall not be filed by the Clerk and shall be returned to the party submitting it.
Proposed orders accompanying such e-filed motions must be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format.
Court's wording
All such motions filed via e-filing shall include a proposed order that is submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format and that replaces the traditional signature block with the following: “ELECTRONICALLY SIGNED AND DATED BELOW.”
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, plaintiffs/petitioners shall use numbers to identify their exhibits, and defendants/respondents shall use letters.
A copy of the Plea Agreement provided to the Judicial Assistant for this purpose must be in Word format; the parties may instead provide another notice of their desire to waive.
Court's wording
If a case is eligible for waiver of the Pre-Sentence Investigation, and the parties agree to seek waiver and go directly to sentencing at Change of Plea, the parties must inform the Court of that intent by providing the Judicial Assistant, via email, a copy of the Plea Agreement (in Word format) setting forth such requested waiver, or other notice of a desire to waive, no later than 24 hours prior to sentencing.
Document Filing Requirements20 rules
All motions filed, except for contested dispositive motions (e.g., motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions), shall include a proposed order which contains a cc: at the bottom of the Order which includes the full name of each attorney/party to be served.
- Document
- Motion
Must include
- •Proposed order
A filing using the 6,500-word alternative must include a compliance certification stating the word count and line spacing, plus the required typeface details; the filer may rely on the word-processing system’s count, and the certification is excluded from the document’s length.
- Document
- Certification of compliance
Include
- •Word count
Court's wording
Filings may alternatively be limited to 6,500 words (excluding the caption, signature block, certificates of service or compliance, any tables of contents or authorities, and any appendices or exhibits) if accompanied by a certification of compliance which states the word count and the document’s line spacing and states either: (1) the document is proportionately spaced, together with the typeface and point size; or (2) the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch. A party may rely on the word count of the word processing system used to prepare the brief. The certification is not included in calculating the document’s length.
All such motions filed via e-filing shall include a proposed order that is submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format and that replaces the traditional signature block with the following: “ELECTRONICALLY SIGNED AND DATED BELOW.”
Unless other arrangements are made with the Clerk, if self-addressed, stamped envelopes are not included, the Clerk of Court must reject the filing.
The date of both shall be provided for in the Scheduling Order.
Within ten days after the conference, the plaintiff/petitioner or counsel for plaintiff/petitioner shall submit to the Court a certification that the lawyers’ resolution conference was held and shall advise whether or not the case was settled.
proposed orders shall include copies and self-addressed, stamped envelopes for all parties of record unless other arrangements are made with the Clerk.
The settlement master must file a report of the master-supervised settlement conference and its result within five days after the conference.
Court's wording
Upon completion of the master-supervised settlement conference, the settlement master shall immediately contact the Judge’s Judicial Assistant to advise that the case has settled so that any action on court hearings or pending motions can be vacated and within five days file a report of the conference and its result.
If a document is presented during trial/hearing, copies of the document must be presented to the Judge and to opposing counsel.
For bail furnished as a bond or other permitted form, the actual bail documents must be delivered to the District Court Clerk.
Court's wording
If the bail furnished was a bail bond or other bail as permitted by 46-9-401, MCA, the Justice of the Peace or Municipal Judge must deliver the actual documents furnished as bail to the Clerk of District Court.
The County Attorney must deliver to the Justice of the Peace a duplicate copy of such request;
The County Attorney must file a written request asking the Justice of the Peace to transfer bail to the District Court.
Court's wording
The County Attorney must, contemporaneously with the filing of the motion in District Court, file a written request with the Justice of the Peace asking that the bail be transferred to the District Court;
If the bail furnished was cash bail, the Justice of the Peace or Municipal Judge must present a proper check, warrant or draft for the full amount of the bail.
The Justice of the Peace must promptly endorse the bail information on both copies and transfer the bail; the duplicate request must be filed with the District Court Clerk.
Court's wording
The Justice of the Peace must forthwith endorse upon the original request and the duplicate copy the proper information regarding the nature of the bail and must forthwith transfer the bail to the District Court as provided in a. or b. above. The duplicate copy of the request must be filed with the Clerk of District Court.
The amount and nature of the bail furnished must be endorsed upon the order whereby the Justice of the Peace or Judge transfers the case to the District Court;
An execution for support or maintenance must be supported by an affidavit stating the specified facts and detailing the delinquency.
Court's wording
Executions will not be issued unless supported by an affidavit affirmatively showing that the parties have not entered into any arrangements not contemplated by the decree of dissolution, that they are not living together, that payments were required to have been made at the office of the Clerk of Court and that the payments are delinquent. Details of the delinquency must be specifically set forth therein.
If a case is eligible for waiver of the Pre-Sentence Investigation, and the parties agree to seek waiver and go directly to sentencing at Change of Plea, the parties must inform the Court of that intent by providing the Judicial Assistant, via email, a copy of the Plea Agreement (in Word format) setting forth such requested waiver, or other notice of a desire to waive, no later than 24 hours prior to sentencing.
All motions with proposed orders shall include copies of the proposed Order and self-addressed, stamped envelopes for all parties of record unless other arrangements are made with the Clerk. Unless other arrangements are made with the Clerk, if self-addressed, stamped envelopes are not included, the Clerk of Court must reject the filing.
- Document
- Motion
Must include
- •Proposed order
Pro se motions other than contested dispositive motions must include a proposed order with a cc: listing the full name of each attorney or party to be served.
- Document
- Motion
Must include
- •Proposed order
Court's wording
All motions filed by pro se parties, except for contested dispositive motions (e.g., motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions), shall include a proposed order which contains a cc: at the bottom of the Order which includes the full name of each attorney/party to be served.
The Court will not receive letters or other communication from counsel or parties that do not indicate on their face that copies have been sent to opposing counsel.
Filing & Service rules
Electronic Filing Rules
When e-filing, the filer must select the closest or actual document name from the drop-down list in every prompt.
When e-filing, the closest/actual name of the document being e-filed will be selected by the e-filer from the drop down list in all of the prompts.
Page 3 | RULE 5 – PLEADINGS AND BRIEFS
Filing Timing and Cure Windows
The certification about the lawyers’ resolution conference and whether the case settled is due within ten days after the conference.
Within ten days after the conference, the plaintiff/petitioner or counsel for plaintiff/petitioner shall submit to the Court a certification that the lawyers’ resolution conference was held and shall advise whether or not the case was settled.
Page 3 | RULE 6 – SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES
The settlement master must file the conference report and its result within five days after the conference.
Upon completion of the master-supervised settlement conference, the settlement master shall immediately contact the Judge’s Judicial Assistant to advise that the case has settled so that any action on court hearings or pending motions can be vacated and within five days file a report of the conference and its result.
Page 4 | Report of the Settlement Master
Bail must be delivered to the District Court Clerk when the case-transfer papers are filed.
At the time the papers transferring the case to the District Court are filed with the Clerk of District Court, the bail must also be delivered to the Clerk of District Court.
Page 5 | RULE 9 – CASH AND BAIL BONDS
The County Attorney must file a written request to transfer bail with the Justice of the Peace at the same time the motion is filed in District Court.
The County Attorney must, contemporaneously with the filing of the motion in District Court, file a written request with the Justice of the Peace asking that the bail be transferred to the District Court;
Page 5 | RULE 9 – CASH AND BAIL BONDS
The Justice of the Peace must promptly endorse the bail information on both copies and transfer the bail to the District Court.
The Justice of the Peace must forthwith endorse upon the original request and the duplicate copy the proper information regarding the nature of the bail and must forthwith transfer the bail to the District Court as provided in a. or b. above.
Page 5 | RULE 9 – CASH AND BAIL BONDS
In a criminal proceeding, the Order for Leave to File an Information must be signed and filed within 10 days for defendants in custody and within 30 days for defendants not in custody.
In a criminal proceeding the Order for Leave to File an Information must be signed and filed within 10 days for defendants in custody and within 30 days for defendants not in custody.
Page 9 | RULE 19 – LEAVE TO FILE INFORMATION
The parties must notify the Court of their intent no later than 24 hours before sentencing.
If a case is eligible for waiver of the Pre-Sentence Investigation, and the parties agree to seek waiver and go directly to sentencing at Change of Plea, the parties must inform the Court of that intent by providing the Judicial Assistant, via email, a copy of the Plea Agreement (in Word format) setting forth such requested waiver, or other notice of a desire to waive, no later than 24 hours prior to sentencing.
Page 9 | RULE 18 – PLEA AGREEMENTS
Service and Proof of Service Rules
If attorneys appear by Zoom, the attorney(s) appearing remotely shall email any exhibits to opposing counsel and that Department’s Judicial Assistant two working days in advance of the hearing to ensure receipt.
If attorneys appear by Zoom, the attorney(s) appearing remotely shall email any exhibits to opposing counsel and that Department’s Judicial Assistant two working days in advance of the hearing to ensure receipt.
Page 4 | RULE 7 – SPECIFIC TRIAL/HEARING CONDUCT
After an Order of Protection is filed, the Clerk of Court’s office must immediately deliver it to County Dispatch.
Once Orders of Protection, including Temporary Orders of Protection, are filed they will immediately be delivered to County Dispatch by the Clerk of Court’s office.
Page 6 | RULE 12 – DOMESTIC PRE-TRIAL ORDERS & SUPPORT, & TOP/OP MATTERS
Pro se parties must provide proof of service on all documents filed with the Court; except for documents requiring personal service after filing, the Clerk must reject filings without proof on the document or in a document filed with it.
Pro Se parties must provide proof of service on all documents filed with the Court. Other than documents that require personal service after filing, the Clerk shall reject any filing that does not include on the documents itself or a document filed with it, proof of service on the other parties in the matter.
Page 11 | RULE 21 – PRO SE PARTIES
After a motion is fully briefed and any requested or court-ordered oral argument has been held, the movant may file and serve a Notice of Submittal.
When any motion has been fully briefed and oral argument has been held (if requested or Ordered by the Court), the movant may advise the Court by filing and serving a “Notice of Submittal.”
Page 3 | Notice of Submittal
Filing Fees and Waivers
Financial obligations and fees in a Plea Agreement will not be waived unless the parties expressly reserve the issue for the Court to decide at Sentencing.
Financial obligations and other conditions agreed upon in a Plea Agreement constitute a contract and will not be waived by the Court. Parties, however, can agree to expressly reserve the right in a Plea Agreement to leave the issue of waiving specific fees or all fees for determination by the Court at Sentencing.
Page 9 | RULE 18 – PLEA AGREEMENTS
Sealing & Redaction Procedures
The records and files in juvenile and adoption actions and sealed files shall not be withdrawn, examined, or inspected by anyone except upon order of the Court.
The records and files in juvenile and adoption actions and sealed files shall not be withdrawn, examined, or inspected by anyone except upon order of the Court.
Page 4 | Juvenile (Delinquent Youth and Youths in Need of Care), Adoption, and Sealed Matters
Complete transcripts filed as exhibits to briefs, affidavits, or other pleadings must be filed under seal when filed with the Clerk of Court.
Any complete transcripts filed as an exhibit to a brief, affidavit, or any other pleading is also filed under seal at the time of filing with the Clerk of Court.
Page 8 | RULE 16 – OFFICIAL RECORD OF COURT PROCEEDINGS
Court reporter transcripts submitted to the Clerk of Court are filed under seal without further court order.
Court reporter transcripts submitted to the Clerk of Court are ordered filed under seal with the Clerk of Court without further order of the Court.
Page 8 | RULE 16 – OFFICIAL RECORD OF COURT PROCEEDINGS
The Court-order restriction on access to juvenile records has an exception for the listed juvenile-case participants.
An exception would be in juvenile matters for the County Attorney, Youth Court Officer, Juvenile Probation Officer, the attorney for the juvenile, and the youth.
Page 4 | Juvenile (Delinquent Youth and Youths in Need of Care), Adoption, and Sealed Matters
Adjournment & Extension Requirements
Unopposed motions to continue or vacate a law-and-motion-calendar hearing must be filed with the Clerk by noon the preceding day; otherwise, the matter remains on the final calendar and the parties must appear.
All unopposed motions to either continue or vacate a hearing on the law and motion calendar must be filed with the Clerk of Court by Noon the day before law and motion. Failure to timely file such motions will result on the matter being listed on the final law and motion calendar and the parties are required to appear on the law and motion day.
Page 1 | RULE 2 – LAW AND MOTION DAYS AND SCHEDULING
Chambers Communication Rules
After the master-supervised settlement conference, the settlement master must immediately contact the Judge’s Judicial Assistant if the case settled so hearings or pending motions can be vacated.
Upon completion of the master-supervised settlement conference, the settlement master shall immediately contact the Judge’s Judicial Assistant to advise that the case has settled so that any action on court hearings or pending motions can be vacated and within five days file a report of the conference and its result.
Page 4 | Report of the Settlement Master
If attorneys appear by Zoom, the attorney(s) appearing remotely shall email any exhibits to opposing counsel and that Department’s Judicial Assistant two working days in advance of the hearing to ensure receipt.
If attorneys appear by Zoom, the attorney(s) appearing remotely shall email any exhibits to opposing counsel and that Department’s Judicial Assistant two working days in advance of the hearing to ensure receipt.
Page 4 | RULE 7 – SPECIFIC TRIAL/HEARING CONDUCT
A party who believes a potentially violent situation might arise must notify the assigned Judge and court bailiff sufficiently in advance.
In any type of case where a party believes that a potentially violent situation might arise, that party, through counsel or pro se, shall notify the assigned Judge and court bailiff sufficiently in advance so that appropriate security measures can be taken.
Page 5 | RULE 10 – COURT SECURITY
Substantive issues in pending or anticipated cases may not be discussed ex parte with the Court unless all opposing counsel are present or notified, or have given prior approval or stipulation.
There will be no ex parte discussion with the Court of substantive issues involved in pending or anticipated cases without the presence of or notice to all opposing counsel, or without prior approval or stipulation by such counsel.
Page 8 | RULE 15 – COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COURT
Communications to the Judge must go through the Judicial Assistant or Law Clerk; direct emails or calls are prohibited unless responding to the Judge’s direct email or call.
Communication to the Judge will go through their Judicial Assistant or Law Clerk (eg. visit, email, or telephone call). Direct emails or telephone calls to the Judge are prohibited, unless you are responding to the Judge who emailed or telephoned you directly.
Page 8 | RULE 15 – COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COURT
If a case is eligible for waiver of the Pre-Sentence Investigation, and the parties agree to seek waiver and go directly to sentencing at Change of Plea, the parties must inform the Court of that intent by providing the Judicial Assistant, via email, a copy of the Plea Agreement (in Word format) setting forth such requested waiver, or other notice of a desire to waive, no later than 24 hours prior to sentencing.
If a case is eligible for waiver of the Pre-Sentence Investigation, and the parties agree to seek waiver and go directly to sentencing at Change of Plea, the parties must inform the Court of that intent by providing the Judicial Assistant, via email, a copy of the Plea Agreement (in Word format) setting forth such requested waiver, or other notice of a desire to waive, no later than 24 hours prior to sentencing.
Page 9 | RULE 18 – PLEA AGREEMENTS
Pro se parties may not discuss substantive issues in pending or anticipated cases ex parte without opposing counsel or parties present or notified, unless there is prior approval or a stipulation; violations may result in sanctions.
There will be no ex parte discussion with the Court of substantive issues involved in pending or anticipated cases without the presence of or notice to all opposing counsel/parties, or without prior approval or stipulation. A violation of this rule may result in sanctions against the offending party.
Page 11 | RULE 21 – PRO SE PARTIES
The ex parte prohibition also applies to Judge’s staff; staff may not give legal advice, but may field calls and visits as appropriate to help a pro se party understand court procedures.
The same prohibition against ex parte contact with the judge applies to the Judge’s staff. Court staff may not offer legal advice. This does not prohibit Court staff from fielding calls and visits as they may deem appropriate to assist a pro se party in understanding the Court’s procedures.
Page 8 | RULE 15 – COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COURT
The prohibition on ex parte contact also applies to the Judge’s staff, and Court staff may not offer legal advice.
The same prohibition against ex parte contact with the judge applies to the Judge’s staff. Court staff may not offer legal advice.
Page 11 | RULE 21 – PRO SE PARTIES
Letters and other communications to the Court must indicate on their face that copies have been sent to counsel or parties in the matter, or the Court will not receive them.
The Court will not receive letters or other communication from parties that do not indicate on their face that copies have been sent to counsel/parties in the matter.
Page 11 | RULE 21 – PRO SE PARTIES
Court staff may field calls and visits as they deem appropriate to help a pro se party understand Court procedures.
This does not prohibit Court staff from fielding calls and visits as they may deem appropriate to assist a pro se party in understanding the Court’s procedures.
Page 11 | RULE 21 – PRO SE PARTIES