Montana Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments at UM

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On Friday, the public will have a rare opportunity to view the state’s highest court as it entertains arguments on an important case.

I spoke with University of Montana Director of Strategic Communications Dave Kuntz for details of the Montana Supreme Court in Missoula.

The Montana Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments at UM in Missoula

“For a few years now, each spring, the University of Montana law school, the Alexander Blewitt III School of Law, brings the Supreme Court to Missoula to the campus of the University to host oral arguments in a case in front of the court,” began Kuntz. “This year, that will happen at the Dennison Theater on the UM campus on Friday, April 4, at 9:30 a.m.”

Kuntz explained why the court would be empanelled here in Missoula for a day.

The Public Can View the Hearing at the UM Dennison Theater

“It really provides our students, employees here at the university, but also the general public here in western Montana, the ability to access the court without having to drive to Helena,” he said. “This is a great opportunity, especially for those young folks who are here on campus studying law, and someday will likely be the lawyers arguing for the court and even these Supreme Court justices themselves.”

Kuntz provided a brief description of the case to be heard before the court.

“The case is Montana v Smith, and it's a case that has been appealed up to the Supreme Court,” he said. “It is going to look at some alternative arguments that were heard in district courts regarding the exclusion of evidence. I'm sure a lot of listeners know that the Supreme Court of Montana takes appellate cases that come from the district court level, where defendants or prosecutors think that the district court perhaps didn't follow precedent or made a mistake, and so it does provide some due process to those who are who are seeking a solution from the court. So it's a great opportunity.”

Kuntz Also Referenced Justice Anthony Johnstone

Kuntz said another point in Missoula’s favor is the fact that a member of the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lives and teaches here.

“Justice Anthony Johnstone is one of the highest ranking judicial officers in the entire country, and lucky for us, he still maintains his home here in Missoula, and does a lot of interacting, instill some teaching with a lot of our students at the University of Montana Blewitt Law School, and so that provides our law students access to some areas of expertise that very few law schools in the country have access to.”

There is no admission charge for the public to view the oral arguments before the Montana Supreme Court.