IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

ORDER 

RE: RULES OF THE SUPREm COURT 

-- - - 

PER CURIAM: 

Pursuant to the power placed in this Court by 

Article VII, Section 2, of the Constitution of the State of 

Montana, the Court has undertaken a study with reference to 

the disqualification and substitution of judges. The Court 

now proposes to adopt the following rule: 

DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGES 

Any justice, judge, or justice of the peace must 

not sit or act in any action or proceeding: 

1. To which he is a party, or in which he is 

interested; 

2. When he is related to either party by consaguinity Lor affinity within the sixth degree, computed accordiny 

to the rules of law; 

3. When he has been attorney or counsel in the 

action or proceeding for any party or when he rendered or 

made the judgment, order or decision appealed from. 

SUBSTITUTION OF JUDGES 

A motion for a substitution of a judge may be made 

by any party to a District Court proceeding. In a civil. 

case, each adverse party is entitled to two substitutians of 

a judge. In a criminal case, the state and each defendant 

is entitled to one substjtution of a judge. 

A motion for substitution of a judge shall. be made 
by fii.ing a written motion for substitut.ii?n reading as 

follows: "The undersigned hereby moves for substit.ution of 

another judge for Judge - -. - in this cause." The 

clerk of court shall immediately give notice thereof to all 

parties and to the judge named in the motion. Upon f iiing 

this notice, the judge named in the motion shall have no 

further power to act in t-he cause other than to call in 

anot.her judge, which he shall do forthwith, and to set the 

calendar. 

Where more than one di.syualificat.ion is made, the 

judge most recently disqualified shall have the power to 

call in a successor judge, 

When a case is filed in a multi-judge district:, it 

shali be the duty of the clerk of court to stamp the name of 

the judge to which the case is assiqned on the face of the 

summons, order to show cause, or inforniation and all copies 

therenf. 

Whenever a judge is assi.gned a case for ten, consec~~t i1.w days and the atccirneys of record on both sides have 

knowiedge of the assj.gnment for that period of time, and 

if dr~rinq thi~s time no motion. for subst.itution of a judge 

i.s fi ltd against him, all rights to move for substi tution of 

a judge shall be deemed waived by all parties, unless the 

presiding judge disqual.ifies himself thereafter in which 

case the right to move for substitution of a judge is reinstated 

and the ten-day period starts running anew. 

Whenever an acceptance of jurisdi-ction is filed 

by a new judge, it shall be the duty of the clerk of court to 
n1ai.L a copy of the acceptance of jurisdi-c-tion to the origi.nal 

jud~ewhc first had jurisiiiction of the case, and a copy by 

certified mail with return rec:eipt requested to each attorney 

of record. Service to an attorney may be made by delivery 

of a copy personally tc) the attorney, or by obtaining a 

written receipt from the attorney. Proof of service shall 

be stapied to the acceptance (if jurj.sdiction i.n !-.he file. 

The c:Lerk of court sha1.l contact tile new judge accepting 

jurisdi-ction and rcyues t that judge to comrnunica te will1 tile 

judqe having jurisdictiion in the first instance, so that 

calendaring can be expeditiously handied. 

When a new trial. is ordered i.n any case, whietlher 

by order of the Distri.ct Court or the Supreme Court, each 

adverse party shall be entit-led to file one motion for substitution of a judge in the manner provided herein, whet:her 

or not. that party has previ.nusly filed niotions for subst.i.i;ution of a judge. Such motions must be filed: 

a. If t-he new trial has been ordered by the Distrj-ct Court, within ten days after the time for appealing 

the order has elapsed. 

b. If the new trial has been ordered by the 

Supreme Court, within ten days after notice of receipt of 

the remittitur has been received by the respective parti"es 

from the clerk of the District Court. 

DISQUALIFICATION FOR CAUSE 

Whenever a party to any proceeding in any Court: 

makes and files a timely and sufficient affidavit that a 

judge or justice of the peace before whom the matter is 

pending has a persona.1 bias or prejudice either against. him 

or in favor of any adverse party, such judge or justice of 

the peace shall proceed no further therein, but in the case 
of a district judge, another district judge shall be assigned 

by tlze chi.ef justi.ce of the Supreme Court to hear such dis- 

~1ualifi.cation prticeeding and in the case an affidavit is 

against a justice of the peace, police or municipal judqe, 

any di.strict judge may appoint. another justice of the peace, 

police or municipal judge to hear such proceeding. The 

affidavit shall stat.e the facts and the reasons for the belief that bias or prejudi-ce exists, and shall be filed not 

less than twenty days before the original. date of trial, or 

good cause shai.1. be shown for failure to file i.t wi.thin such 

time. It shall be accompanied by a certificate of counse3 

of record stating that it has been made in good faith. 

None of the provisions of this rule shall appiy t.0 

any person in any cause involving a direct contempt of 

court. . 

When a person :i.s charged with indirect contempt. of 

cour-t, he shall be enti tled tci file one motion for substit-ution of a judge in the manner prov.ided herein, whether or 

not that party has previou:;ly filed motions for substilrution 

of a judge. Such a moti.on must be fi.led. withi.n t.en days of 

tile charge of indirect contempt of court. In that event, 

the judge of the court against which the contempt i s aiieqed 

to have been cornmitt-ed shall notify the chief justice of the 

Supreme Court who shall appoint another district judqe to 

hear and decide the charge. 

This rule supersedes and is to be used to khe exclusion of sections 93-901, 93-2906 (4)' 93-2907, 93-6602 (2) 

and 95-1709, R.C.M. 1947. Pursuant to Ar+icle VII, Section 

2, of the 1972 Montana Constit.ution. 

It is the intention of the Court to make this rule 

effective on t-he 1st day of July, 1981, and it is to apply 

to all actions filed on ur after that date. 
in order that members of the bench and bar may 

have an opportunity to familiarize themselves wi.th the ru1.e 

IT IS ORDERED that a copy of this order be pub]-ished in The -- 

Montana - - . Lawyer . . . . published by the Statc Bar of Montana. 

Should any member desire t~ express his views thereon, the 

Co~lrt will be pleased to accept any such comments, in writing, 

fiLed in six copies with the chief justice on or before 

the 1st day of June, 1981. 

DATED this day of """q 1981 . s' 

Ckilef Justice .# 

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