Missoula County Clerk of District Court

Missoula County Clerk of District Court The Clerk of Court’s office maintains all District Court records, including criminal and civil cases.

The office also issues marriage licenses and maintains an accurate list of eligible jurors to pull jury panels for District Court.

07/25/2024

In the aftermath of last night's extraordinary storm, we are prioritizing safety and hope all are well.

Due to Missoula's compromised infrastructure, including roads and power outages, the Clerk of Court office will be closed to the public today, with the exception of scheduled court hearings, which will continue as planned.

During a recent filed trip by a UM journalism class, Clerk of Court Amy McGhee shares a bit of her passion for historica...
12/28/2023

During a recent filed trip by a UM journalism class, Clerk of Court Amy McGhee shares a bit of her passion for historical records.

University of Montana professor, Nadia White, regularly brings students by our office to get a brief history lesson on Missoula County court records. Among other valuable information, students learn the types of cases heard by our judges, how to access and research records, and also given an invite to observe any public hearing.

If you would like to schedule a similar field trip, please feel free to reach out to our office via email [email protected].

*pictures were posted with permission from the students

Let's talk jury.Before Montana was officially a state, and merely just a territory, the 1879 legislature directed the Cl...
08/11/2023

Let's talk jury.

Before Montana was officially a state, and merely just a territory, the 1879 legislature directed the Clerk of Court in each of the 14 counties to keep records of jurors.

On display in our office, and available for public inspection, is a juror ledger with entries dating back to August of 1895. This book, pictured below, contains an incredible snapshot of Montana history. Because of the size of Missoula County, jurors would sometimes travel (presumably by horseback) hundreds of miles to serve on a jury.

Fast forward to 1990, District Court judges would issue an Order, directing the Clerk of Court (Jury Commissioner) to draw a specific number of jurors to serve on trials.

Our present day process is a bit different. The Office of the Court Administrator compiles a list of eligible Missoula County residents for the Jury Commissioner. That list contains people that are either registered voters or holders of State IDs or driver's licenses. The list is imported into a software program where a specific number of people (currently around 16,500) are "carved out" to be included in that year's jury pool.

Each year the Court Administrators for both Justice and Municipal Court also request a specific number of people from the full combined list to make up their jury pools.

Just today, we sent out summonses for the first jury trial date for the new jury term which begins September 1st.

If you have additional questions about jury service, please don't hesitate to call our office.

Did you know there are 5 different ways to be legally married in Montana?The first, and most popular, is to have a marri...
08/08/2023

Did you know there are 5 different ways to be legally married in Montana?

The first, and most popular, is to have a marriage license issued to be completed by an officiant at your ceremony.

The second way to be married is to "declare" yourselves married. This is a great option for parties who do not wish to be married by solemnization (ceremony). Parties go through the same process as getting a license issued, but instead, a Declaration is prepared and filed. Parties will leave the Clerk's office legally married.

A third way to be "married" is to prepare and record with the Clerk and Recorder, an affidavit of Common Law Marriage. If this is of interest to you, you can download and print the affidavit at www.courts.mt.gov.

The fourth and fifth ways of becoming married in Montana would be to have a single or double proxy marriage performed. This means you are not physically present, but have a stand-in at your ceremony. Currently, Flathead County is the only county where you can receive a double proxy marriage license.

The Clerk of District Court is responsible for issuing all of the marriage licenses for Missoula County, and marriage license "season" is in full swing here in the Clerk's office. There is no need to make an appointment to get a license issued, however, please note our office is currently closed to the public Friday afternoons from 12-5pm.

To get started, everyone needs to complete our online marriage application, which can be found at https://webapps.missoulacounty.us/marriageapplication/index.php.

If you are wanting to have a ceremony at the courthouse, please call and make an appointment with Justice Court. They can be reached at 406-258-3470.

Coming soon to a mailbox near you!It's that time of year when we send out everyone's favorite piece of mail - jury notic...
06/23/2023

Coming soon to a mailbox near you!

It's that time of year when we send out everyone's favorite piece of mail - jury notices.
Don't freak out! If you are one of the more than 16,000 people to get one of these pink postcards in your mailbox, it does not mean you are summonsed for jury duty.
Getting one of ours (or one from Justice/Municipal Court), simply means you are in the pool to be randomly selected to serve on a jury during the next jury term. Our term runs September - August.

If you know of times you are not available to serve on a jury during the term, please reach out to our office by calling 406-258-4780 to receive an affidavit of excusal.

Due to staffing shortages, we have found it necessary to modify the hours in which we are open to the public. The short...
06/22/2023

Due to staffing shortages, we have found it necessary to modify the hours in which we are open to the public.
The shortened public hours will allow us to focus on managing the heavy work load along with training new clerks.

Our office phone number is located outside our office to handle any Temporary Orders of Protection or emergency filings that may come up during the time we are closed. There will also be a drop box located outside our office receive any non-emergent filings.

Our hope is that we will be fully staffed and trained and be able to revert back to "normal" hours later this year.

Thank you for understanding, and please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Address

200 West Broadway
Missoula, MT
59802

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+14062584780

Website

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