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Judge: County’s judicial system in crisis since 1995

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POLSON – Crisis management has been the norm at the Lake County courthouse since 1995, according to 20th District Court Judge Deborah Kim Christopher.

She spoke at the Pachyderm Club meeting on Friday and talked about the challenges she and others in the judicial and law enforcement fields have faced through the years.

Christopher served as Lake County attorney from 1995 through 2000 prior to becoming a district court judge. She was elected to her current position in 2000 and began serving in 2001.

She spoke of the lack of space in the courthouse, and noted the last time there was a significant physical change was when an annex was built in 1975.

The 20th district was created in 1997 and at that time Judge C.B. McNeil carried the load of two judges, she said. McNeil retired and was replaced by James A. Manley in late 2013.

The current situation, which sometimes results in Christopher hearing cases in a conference room, is dangerous, she said, adding that people don’t have as much respect when they’re not in an actual courtroom.

There were 2,078 felony cases in Lake County in 2016, she said, noting that a judge is supposed to have no more than 800 cases. (She shares the caseload with Manley).

“We’re having a rough time doing our job,” she said.

Although Lake County needs a second courthouse, she noted that it’s a statewide problem that has resulted in civil cases taking up to two years or more to be adjudicated.

The number of statewide felonies has increased from 7,755 in 2009 to 10,707 in 2015, which has only exacerbated the problem.

“Montana needs 21 new district court judges. There is no way that is happening,” she said. “The most the Legislature is going to ask for is five.”

If Public Law 280 goes away in Lake County, that will relieve a lot of the burden in the district court in Polson, she said. But the effect it will have in other ways is not good.

“This reservation and where we live is going to change significantly,” she said. “I don’t see the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office coming in too often.”

The Lake County commissioners last week approved a resolution to withdraw from the federal law, but can’t do it unilaterally. However if the state and federal government agree, then the FBI office in Missoula would handle felonies on the reservation.

“I’ve seen it on other reservations. I don’t want to live in those places. You don’t want to live in those places,” she said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to bring this together. I just wish the racial part could be taken out of it.”

Christopher said the county has a good working relationship with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“We’re incredibly blessed on this reservation,” she said.

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