Late December, 2023, Jim Doyle was sworn in as the new Blaine County Justice of the Peace. He replaced outgoing Judge Perry Miller who resigned due to health issues. No stranger to the Justice Court office, Doyle was most recently the Justice Court Administrator. He has been with the Justice Court for nearly twenty-seven years. Doyle was selected and approved as the new judge from applicants who applied to fill the vacancy. His selection was made and approved by the Blaine County Commissioners. He will also fill the post of City Judge for both Chinook and Harlem, posts Perry Miller also filled for a number of years.

I sat down recently with Judge Jim Doyle at the end of his first official day as the judge of the Blaine County Justice Court. Here's some of what I learned about Judge Doyle, at the time most likely the newest judge in the Montana judicial system.

The roles of the Justice Courts and City Courts in Montana

Legally Justice Courts and City Courts are known as courts of limited jurisdiction and by law "deal with misdemeanor offenses (carrying less than a year of jail time), 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 juveniles and other matters."

Blaine County's Justice Court is one of 56 such courts in Montana. There are also 84 City Courts, like those of Harlem and Chinook. At last count there were 111 judges for courts of limited jurisdiction in Montana. Judges for these courts are described as "lay" judges meaning they do not have to have a law degree. However, within six months of taking the bench new justices of courts of limited jurisdiction must score above 70 percent on a certification examination of 250-300 questions. Failure to pass the test disqualifies a new judge. Doyle said study materials for the qualifying test are already on their way to him.

By law all justices of courts with limited jurisdiction serve four-year terms. Because he is completing the current term of Judge Miller, to continue in office Doyle will be required to file and run for the judicial post in the 2024 election cycle. Jim Doyle and his nuclear family located to Blaine County from Wyoming

Jim Doyle, his wife, Tammy, and two young daughters came to Blaine County from Wyoming in the fall of 1988 to work in a family business. Jim was born in Casper, grew up in Riverton and graduated from high school there in 1979. Jim and Tammy Doyle have six grandkids. One of their two married daughters lives in Havre and the other in Wright, Wyoming.

In 1990 Jim Doyle joined the Blaine County Sheriff's Department as a Detention Officer and a Dispatcher. He applied for and was selected to fill the vacated position of Court Clerk in Judge Miller's Justice Court in 1997. Until his recent appointment to the bench Doyle worked for twenty-six and a half years, first as the court clerk and then as court administrator during Judge Miller's twenty-nine years on the bench.

Average Montanans most likely to interact with a Court of Limited Jurisdiction

Over the past ten years the state judicial system calculates that Courts of Limited Jurisdiction handle an average of 280,000 cases per year. That includes everything from handling traffic violations and other misdemeanors to issuing search warrants and orders of protection. It's said that if a citizen of Montana has to deal with the judicial system statistically it will likely be a Court of Limited Jurisdiction. These courts handle a wide variety of issues and lots of cases.

As Judge Doyle and I visited it was nearing the close of his first official day as the new Judicial Court Judge. I asked him to describe his first day. He smiled and said, "It was a pretty typical day with a lot of different things happening." He began to tick off some of the things that occurred on his first day: processing traffic violations (five or six from the Montana Highway Patrol) and one each from the county sheriff's office and one from the Chinook police; remotely arraigning a prisoner being held in jail in Glasgow on two pending cases; hearing from people contesting traffic violations, both in person and over the phone; issuing a protection order (an order issued by the court to limit the behavior and contact of someone who threatens to harm another person) and officiating a wedding. I ask how often weddings were performed in the office and Judge Doyle chuckled and said, "Not often but we do perform them as requested."

In light of the varied activities handled through the office, I asked the new Justice Court Judge what experiences he felt he was bringing to his new role. He explained that as the Clerk he was involved to some extent in just about every aspect of the office. He added, "I've served as judge pro tempore (substitute judge holding court) when Judge Miller was absent. I've worked with the Compliance Officer to assure offenders were following orders of the court. I was responsible for the SCRAM monitoring program (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor), a program requiring DUI offenders with a second or more conviction to be monitored with a GPS bracelet or through a house arrest program. Despite being here nearly twenty-seven years, I will still be learning things."

As the former Justice Court Clerk Doyle filed and monitored cases using Montana's statewide case management system. He kept the court docket for scheduling appearances, maintained jury pools and called juries as needed and over saw the finances of the office. One of his first jobs as judge will be hiring a new clerk to replace the vacancy his own move created. "And," he added, "I'll be reviewing for the test I need to take and pass to continue in the position."

The new judge is also a community volunteer who saved a stranger's life

I'd been wanting to ask Jim Doyle about a recent award he won for saving a victim's life in Great Falls. I first met Jim when I was doing a story about the need for more volunteers to staff the local ambulance services and had seen him with the ambulance crew on many occasions. Jim shared that not long after moving to Chinook he saw a note posted announcing a First Responder Course. He said, "I'd always wanted to take a class like that." In 1992 he joined the Chinook Ambulance Crew and is still an active member.

Last spring Jim and wife Tammy were at the checkout in a store in Great Falls when she said, "I think that guy over there needs help." A man was on the floor. Jim checked the man and found no pulse and immediately began CPR. Shortly a store employee brought an AED (an Automated External Defibrillator). Doyle said, "I shocked him once." When the Great Falls Emergency Services arrived the victim had a spontaneous pulse and survived the attack." Doyle added, "I don't like to talk about the incident but I was happy to be there to help."

As our visit came to an end Judge Doyle looked around his new office that was basically bare. Obviously, he had some items and materials to transfer from his old office and rearrange things as he moved forward in his new job. It seems he is well prepared and eager to keep things moving forward.