Meagher County Justice of the Peace
Paula Wildman
Location: County Courthouse (15 W. Main)
Mailing Address: PO Box 309, White Sulphur Springs, MT 59645
T: 406.547.3612 x3032
F: 406.547.3961
pwildman@mt.gov
The Justice of the Peace presides over Criminal Misdemeanors, Civil Suits, and Small Claims of limited amounts. The honorable Jerry Churchill took office January 2011 and will hold the office for a four year term. Judge Churchill noted that he is proud to serve Meagher County for this term and will serve to the best of his ability to see that justice is in fact served for both the defendant as well as the citizens of this county.
Interesting Facts:
Montana is one of the states that have non attorney judges serving the lower court. This does not mean that all judges are not attorneys, only that they do not have to be an attorney to serve as a Justice of the Peace. There are 130 judges throughout the state of Montana that serve as Justice of the Peace, City Court Judge, or a Municipal Court Judge. By statute each county has at least one Justice of the Peace who must be elected by the people. To qualify as a Justice of the Peace one must be elected then within the first six months of their term pass an exam that covers the constitution, the bases of law, courts and jurisdiction rules of evidence, judicial ethics, search and seizures, criminal procedures and much more. Each judge is recertified by the Supreme Court every four years and is retested in order to maintain their qualification status.