Statistics for 2026
By justice →Opinions issued
171
Cases opened
614
Cases closed
536
Net change
+78
docket growing
Median days on appeal
372
filing to opinion
Median, submission to opinion
125
submitted to opinion
Dispositions
appeals decided by opinion in 2026
Affirmed
148
67.6%
Reversed
47
21.5%
Affirmed in part, reversed in part
17
7.8%
Opinion issued in an original proceeding
3
1.4%
Opinion issued in an election original proceeding
2
0.9%
Opinion issued denying a writ of supervisory control
1
0.5%
Opinion issued in a DA case, outcome unknown
1
0.5%
Appeals by judicial district
where the case came from, and how it came out
Appealed fromOpinionsAffirmedReversedAffirmed in part
First
32
26 · 81.3%
6 · 18.8%
0 · 0%
Thirteenth
27
21 · 77.8%
5 · 18.5%
1 · 3.7%
Fourth
26
16 · 61.5%
7 · 26.9%
2 · 7.7%
Eighth
25
18 · 72%
4 · 16%
2 · 8%
Eighteenth
18
10 · 55.6%
7 · 38.9%
1 · 5.6%
Eleventh
18
14 · 77.8%
2 · 11.1%
2 · 11.1%
Nineteenth
13
9 · 69.2%
4 · 30.8%
0 · 0%
Twenty-first
11
6 · 54.5%
4 · 36.4%
1 · 9.1%
Twentieth
7
5 · 71.4%
1 · 14.3%
1 · 14.3%
Second
6
4 · 66.7%
1 · 16.7%
1 · 16.7%
Fifth
6
4 · 66.7%
1 · 16.7%
1 · 16.7%
Sixteenth
5
1 · 20%
2 · 40%
2 · 40%
Sixth
4
2 · 50%
1 · 25%
1 · 25%
Ninth
4
4 · 100%
0 · 0%
0 · 0%
Tenth
3
2 · 66.7%
1 · 33.3%
0 · 0%
Seventh
3
3 · 100%
0 · 0%
0 · 0%
Montana Water Court
2
0 · 0%
0 · 0%
2 · 100%
Twelfth
2
1 · 50%
1 · 50%
0 · 0%
Fourteenth
1
1 · 100%
0 · 0%
0 · 0%
Third
1
1 · 100%
0 · 0%
0 · 0%
Subject and posture
how the year’s opinions divide
OpinionsFiling → opinionSubmitted → opinionFastest and slowest
Affirmed
Reversed
Other
Five-justice panel
184
431d
126d
15d — Montana Mining Assn. v. A. Knudsen
1182d — State v. L. Harris
Opinions issued in 2026
171 opinions
AU
majority
CO
concurrence
DI
dissent
filled wrote it · outlined joined it
State v. K. Garding
2026 MT 200
DA 24-0732
· Aug 25, 2026 · Affirmed
LK
CS
BB
JS
JR
IG
KB
E. Kragh v. Mad
2026 MT 206N
DA 26-0098
· Aug 25, 2026 · Affirmed
IG
KB
LK
BB
JR
State v. T.W. Hatfield
2026 MT 202
DA 24-0293
· Aug 25, 2026 · Reversed
IG
CS
KB
JS
JR
State v. M. Partridge
2026 MT 204N
DA 24-0482
· Aug 25, 2026 · Reversed
IG
CS
KB
LK
BB
JS
JR
West Dev. v. Town of W. Yellowstone
2026 MT 203
DA 25-0324
· Aug 25, 2026 · Affirmed
JR
LK
KB
JS
IG
Marriage of French
2026 MT 205N
DA 25-0587
· Aug 25, 2026 · Affirmed
KB
JS
BB
IG
JR
State v. C. Lane
2026 MT 199N
DA 23-0545
· Aug 18, 2026 · Reversed
JR
CS
KB
BB
IG
Mcnain Holdings v. Wilderness Preserve
2026 MT 193
DA 25-0686
· Aug 18, 2026 · Reversed
This case grew out of a timeshare-style vacation deal gone sour. In 2015, two couples—the McNains and the Blakes—bought fractional interests in a "Wilderness Club" resort near Eureka, Montana, each paying $75,000 for a share of a three-bedroom villa with the understanding that Wilderness Preserve US LP would...
JS
KB
LK
BB
IG
N. Nunes v. State
2026 MT 198N
DA 25-0394
· Aug 18, 2026 · Affirmed
LK
CS
KB
IG
JR
State v. B. Ackerman
2026 MT 196N
DA 25-0342
· Aug 18, 2026 · Affirmed
LK
CS
KB
BB
JR
Parenting and Adoption of A.M.S
2026 MT 194
DA 25-0483
· Aug 18, 2026 · Affirmed
IG
CS
JS
BB
JR
State v. R. Jore
2026 MT 195N
DA 24-0581
· Aug 18, 2026 · Affirmed
Robert Jackson Jore appealed a Lake County district court order revoking his suspended sentence for felony DUI (fourth or subsequent offense) and sending him to Montana State Prison for three years. His only argument on appeal was that the court should have credited him with 276 days of "elapsed time" (someti...
IG
KB
LK
JS
JR
Nocr v. MT Dept. of Revenue
2026 MT 197N
DA 25-0364
· Aug 18, 2026 · Affirmed
This case involves a dispute over whether an alcohol license applicant missed its deadline to challenge a state agency's denial. Travis Peterson, who owns Meadowlark Brewing and Meadowlark Spirits in Billings, wanted to expand his ability to serve alcohol on-site. Montana law exempts certain long-established fraternal...
CS
JS
LK
KB
JR
Sims v. Vermace
2026 MT 190N
DA 25-0613
· Aug 11, 2026 · Affirmed
This case grew out of a bitter property-line dispute between neighbors in rural Missoula County. Justin Vermace and Lynnette Sims disagreed over where their properties met, and the conflict escalated over time: Vermace installed a gate that turned out to encroach on Sims's land, confronted Sims and a surveyor, confront...
LK
JS
BB
IG
JR
State v. J. Carlson
2026 MT 192N
DA 25-0873
· Aug 11, 2026 · Affirmed
Jason T. Carlson was convicted by a jury in Fergus County Justice Court of fishing without a license. When he tried to appeal that conviction to the District Court, he missed the filing deadline: under § 46-17-311(2), MCA, and the Montana Uniform Municipal Court Rules of Appeal, a defendant must file a written notice o...
JS
CS
KB
LK
JR