The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Judge Perry Miller is resigning as Justice of the Peace for Blaine County effective December 31 of 2023. It's a post he's held for 29 years. He will also resign his positions as City Judge for both Harlem (13 years) and Chinook (20 years).

Miller suffered a stroke last summer and despite health improvements he said, "My eyes won't properly convert what I'm reading so I have double vision. I also tire more easily." Miller added, "After last Thanksgiving I decided I needed to retire. It was not when I planned to retire but if I can't give 125 percent to my job it's time to leave."

I met Judge Miller when I moved to Chinook 10 years ago this month. I've done feature stories about three of his boys (he and his wife, Pauly, have six sons, two daughters, 20 grandkids and six great grandkids) and wrote about some of his community projects, like leading the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, overseeing the annual Fourth of July games for kids and hosting the Memorial Day services at Kuper Cemetery.

I'd read many of Kody Farmer's stories in the "Journal" about Judge Miller the wrestling coach. But truthfully, I didn't know much about his work as a judge. Here's some of what I learned about Montana's Courts of Limited Jurisdiction and the nearly one third of a century Perry Miller served the local courts in our county and towns.

About Courts of Limited Jurisdiction and the judges who serve in them

Montana has 56 Justice Courts (like Blaine County's Justice of the Peace Court), 84 City Courts (like Harlem's and Chinook's City Courts) and 13 Municipal Courts (city courts for more populous Montana cities). Judges of these limited courts, except for the Municipal Courts, are defined as "lay" judges-a law degree is not required for the Justice and City Courts.

But there are requirements for all limited court judges: they must pass, at 70% or better, a judicial certification examination each year of up to 300 questions about judicial functions and they must attend two Supreme Court schools each year under the direction of the Montana Supreme Court. Failure to score adequately on the test or not attend the mandatory educational education results in removal from the bench. A new judge must pass the judicial certification examination within six months of taking the bench. All limited court judges serve four-year terms.

The total caseload in the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction for the past ten years has averaged 280,000 cases per year. Collectively the limited courts address cases involving "misdemeanor offenses, civil cases for amounts up to $15,000, small claims valued up to $7,000, landlord/tenant disputes, local ordinances, forcible entry and detainer, protection orders, certain issues involving juvenile and other matters." At the last official count there were 111 judges for these limited courts on Montana.

Judge Miller shared that Montana is one of about five states that still have Justices of the Peace who are lay judges. Soon to turn 80, I recall where I spent my childhood in rural southern Illinois the Justices of the Peace often ran their court in a room of their house or in the back room of their business. Modern Courts of Limited Jurisdiction have come a long way in their operation and the training of the people who run them since the inception of their frontier forebears. Lay judges were about the only legal system back in the day. Today there are standards that they must meet to even take and hold the position. The official Montana Justice website notes that the courts of limited jurisdiction are where most Montanans seeking justice encounter the state's judicial system.

Elected as Justice of the Peace in November '94 general election and grew in to the job

Perry Miller and his family moved to Montana in 1967. Perry graduated from Chinook High School. He joined the Marine Corps in 1976 and logged 25+ years of military service, a combination of active duty with the Marine Corps, later as a commissioned officer in the Montana Army National Guard. In 2001 he completed his military obligations. In 1993 Perry began working as a substitute judge for Ralph Oehmcke, who was the Blaine County Justice of the Peace. Oehmcke retired and encouraged Perry to run for the office. Perry won a "tough primary" as well as a close general election in 1994. He's now in his eighth term as the Blaine County Justice of the Peace.

I was curious to know what sorts of experiences had helped Judge Miller grow in to the job. He shared several but a couple really seemed important as he described them. In 2003 Judge Miller was appointed by the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court to serve on The Commission on Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. The Commission is charged with identifying educational needs of limited court judges and supervises the curricula that result in judicial certification. Perry is still on the Commission and was chair for 13 years during the time he served.

It was from this commission that the two weeks required training was created to help better prepare existing and new judges for the limited courts. Judge Miller served for many years as a "training judge" for the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction throughout the state of Montana. It was in this position, meeting and orienting newly elected or appointed limited court judges, he fully recognized the importance of education.

He shared a story where he approached his supervising judge, a local District Court judge, about a particularly complicated case. "Right away," Perry said, "the judge said "I will have to hear the appeal if this case is challenged. I suggest you educate yourself about the issues and do your best to make the right decision."" Perry shared, "That judge made me a better judge. He emphasized the point that the better educated I was in the law the better decisions I would likely make. I never forgot that lesson, I always was trying to increase my knowledge of the law and how it should be applied." He added, "Educating myself and taking the courses made available to me paid off," He added, "In my nearly thirty years on the bench I've had decisions appealed less than five times in 30,000 cases."

I asked Judge Miller about contributions he made to better the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. He had a concrete example that has been adopted in many other jurisdictions. Early on Judge Miller was surprised to learn that there was no good system in place to verify if an offender had in fact completed or complied with their just sentence, for example, taking care of assessed fines, served their required jail time, or followed through on programs a judge assigned, like going to counseling or taking special courses. Utilizing the staff already in place he created a court compliance officer position. This person took care of the tracking/monitoring system and reduced the number of offenders and reoffenders who had not followed through on what the court required of them. This system made convicted offenders accountable to the people.

The advice Judge Miller will give his successor

Karensa Calvert Photo

Asked about advice for his successor the first thing he mentioned, not surprisingly, was the importance of better educating oneself and taking programs offered to be a better judge. He also shared that for most people a judge they see in a court of limited jurisdiction will likely be their only encounter with the judicial system. "It's important," he explained, "to remember their legal issue is probably the most important thing in their life at the moment. Give them the time and respect they deserve."

He added a couple more bits of advice: Be patient (goes back to showing respect to the person with a legal issue); don't make snap judgments and don't be afraid to make mistakes. For some reason I'm thinking the new person who will succeed Judge Miller has already heard this advice directly from the retiring