Havre, MontanaHavre Appeals
Havre Appeals Lawyers: Montana Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Civil Appeals from Hill County and the Hi-Line
Boland Aarab PLLP.
A civil case decided in Havre doesn’t have to end there. Judgments from the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Havre are appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, and federal judgments from the Great Falls Division go to the Ninth Circuit. The deadline is short: generally 30 days after entry of judgment, or 60 days when a government is a party. We have won a Hi-Line appeal. We took a Phillips County jury’s verdict to the Montana Supreme Court and had it reinstated.
Need to appeal, or to defend a verdict, from a Hi-Line court? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where do appeals from Havre go?
State court. The Twelfth Judicial District Court sits at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street, Havre, and serves Liberty, Hill and Chouteau Counties (§ 3-5-101, MCA). The same statute places Blaine and Phillips Counties (Chinook, Harlem and Malta) in the Seventeenth District, and Toole County (Shelby) in the Ninth. Appeals from all three districts go straight to the Montana Supreme Court in Helena. Montana has no intermediate court of appeals.
Federal court. Every Hi-Line county, including Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Toole and Phillips, is in the Great Falls Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, which sits at the Missouri River Courthouse in Great Falls (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)). Appeals from that court go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Lower courts. Civil cases decided in the Hill County Justice Court are generally appealed to the district court, not to the Supreme Court. Those deadlines are especially short.
Tribal courts. Cases decided in the Chippewa Cree or Fort Belknap tribal court systems are appealed within those systems, under tribal law, not to the Montana Supreme Court. Whether a state or federal court may later review a tribal court’s jurisdiction is a separate and narrow question.
What does a Hi-Line appeal look like? Voegel v. Salsbery
A woman was rear-ended by a pickup on the Hi-Line. A Phillips County jury in Malta, in the Seventeenth Judicial District, heard the case and returned a $168,500 verdict for her. The verdict was then thrown out. We appealed, and the Montana Supreme Court reinstated the jury’s verdict (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
The lesson for any Hi-Line case: a rural jury’s decision deserves respect, and the record made at trial is what protects it. We try cases knowing an appeal may follow. That means making the right objections, offering the right jury instructions, and building a record the Supreme Court can rely on.
What happens after a judgment in Havre?
Watch the clock. In Montana, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of judgment. The deadline is 60 days when the State, the United States, or a local government such as Hill County or the City of Havre is a party. Where notice of entry of judgment must be served, the clock starts when it is served (M. R. App. P. 4(5)(a)). Timely post-trial motions, such as for a new trial or judgment as a matter of law, restart that clock (M. R. App. P. 4(5)(a)(v)). In federal court, the deadline is generally 30 days, or 60 when the United States is a party (Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)).
Get the transcript. The trial must be transcribed by the court reporter, and the record assembled from the Clerk of District Court’s file in Havre. We order both early.
Know what can be raised. The Montana Supreme Court generally won’t consider an issue raised for the first time on appeal (Unified Industries, Inc. v. Easley, 1998 MT 145, ¶ 15). If you are still before trial in Havre, now is the time to bring in appellate counsel.
Montana law that applies
For a fuller treatment of standards of review, post-trial motions and stays, see our Montana appeals lawyer page. The short version: deadlines are strict, the record controls, and the standard of review often decides the appeal before any argument is made.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
Appeals are decided on the record, not by where a lawyer’s office is. Ours is in Great Falls, next to the federal court for the Hi-Line, and we handle trials and appeals statewide. We travel to Havre when a case needs trial support or post-trial hearings, and we brief and argue in Helena and before the Ninth Circuit. We do not have a Havre office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We have won a Hi-Line appeal. Our appeal in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137, reinstated a Phillips County jury’s verdict.
- We have a long appellate record. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977 (appellate results).
- We argue in the Ninth Circuit. Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit, and our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
- We try cases too. The firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
Related Havre pages: insurance bad faith · car accidents · Havre and Hill County lawyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to appeal a judgment from the district court in Havre? Generally 30 days after entry of judgment, or 60 days if the State, the United States or a local government is a party. Timely post-trial motions can change the start date, so calculate the deadline carefully.
Is there a court of appeals between Havre and the Montana Supreme Court? No. Appeals from Montana district courts go directly to the Montana Supreme Court.
Can the Supreme Court reinstate a jury verdict that the trial judge set aside? Yes. In Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137, the Court reinstated a Phillips County jury’s verdict after it had been thrown out.
We lost in the federal court in Great Falls. Where does the appeal go? To the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, generally within 30 days of judgment.
Should I hire appellate counsel before trial? Often, yes, in a significant case. Most appeals are won or lost on the objections and instructions made at trial, and the Supreme Court generally won’t hear new issues.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
