Changes at Justice Court

Office becomes court of record, adds judge

Flathead County will have two full-time justices of the peace, beginning in January.

Both judges are up for re-election. Incumbent David Ortley filed for re-election Wednesday; part-timer Dale Trigg said he does not plan to run for office. Filing is open until March 23.

Besides expanding the part-time position, Flathead County commissioners Friday made the office a court of record. That imposes a new requirement that justices are attorneys, Ortley said.

In 2003, the Montana Legislature passed a provision for justice courts to become courts of record, Ortley said. Without that designation, defendants in Justice Court could automatically appeal cases to district court and have a second trial. Now, cases can be appealed only if an error in law occurred at the Justice Court level.

Under similar requirements, the Kalispell Municipal Court also requires its judge to be a lawyer.

Both judges will be paid $65,000, according to a resolution signed Friday by the county commissioners.

The change, recommended by Ortley, will cut his salary.

For years after a second judge position was eliminated in Flathead County, a sole judge was paid the salary of 1 1/2 judges, because of the caseload. Shifting the office to two full-time judges means that Ortley's position will be cut from a salary of about $79,000. The current part-time position, which was added last year, will be increased from about $53,000.

"This is the career I've chosen," Ortley said, explaining why he will run for re-election for a job at which his income will be cut.

Flathead County has the third-busiest justice court in the state, Ortley said.

"We're understaffed," he said. "With two [full-time] judges, it will enable us to better serve the people who use the court."

The office has changed dramatically in the six years that Ortley has held the job, both in types of cases and willingness of people to bring their disputes to court. He thinks that is caused by the media, which present the idea that if people have disputes, they should go to court.

Even so, he said traditional venues for settling problems - such as at a fence between neighbors - have disappeared, and people should feel comfortable to use the county court when they need to.

As a result, the caseload in Justice Court has grown by 10 percent to 20 percent a year, Ortley said.

Even so, he finds his job "Extremely rewarding. I like what I do."

He has served four years on the Supreme Court's Commission on Courts of Limited Jurisdiction and is working on his master's degree.

Ortley, 50, and his wife, Lori, have four children.

He worked in a law firm in Minnesota. He was a public defender in Flathead County before being appointed justice of the peace in 1999, and then was elected to the job.