Montana Supreme Court Clerk: Appeal Basics (Montana)

The Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court publishes this guidance describing the filing process for people representing themselves before the Court. It explains that the Court primarily reviews two kinds of proceedings: timely appeals from final orders or judgments of Montana District Courts, and petitions for writs brought as original proceedings. It gives an appeal from a district court denial of postconviction relief as its worked example, and states that under the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure a Notice of Appeal or Cross-Appeal must be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, with a copy served contemporaneously on the clerk of the originating district court and on all parties. The deadline is 30 days from entry of judgment in civil causes and 60 days in criminal causes. Petitions for writs, with habeas corpus given as the example, must be submitted under Rule 14. Every filing needs an originally signed and dated certificate of service, and the $100 fee for civil appeals and original proceedings can be waived with a notarized affidavit.