Justice of the Peace

Honorable Clay Herbst

Court Clerks

Valerie Utley

Maryann Eisenstein

Office Hours

• Monday through Fridays 8 am to 4:30 pm
• Closed weekends and Holidays.

Court appearances

 Open Court: Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. SHARP. Check In at 8:30 AM. 

Questions

Please call the Court at (406)222-4170 or email at Contact for more information.

Court appearances: are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. SHARP. Check In at 8:30 AM. 

Justice Court email address is: Contact

Criminal Cases

• Misdemeanors: Sheriff Department citations, Highway Patrol citations, Fish, Wildlife & Parks citations, GVW citations, and Criminal Complaints 
• Felonies: Initial appearances on all of the above.
• Appearances for defendants in the Detention Center may be held at times other than 9AM on days that are not regular appearance days. 
• If you were in a crash and have received a citation, Judge Herbst requires a personal appearance in court.  If you have any questions, please call 406-222-4170.
  
• Zoom hearings are available for defendants who do not reside in Montana upon request and approval from Judge Herbst.  Written requests can be emailed to Contact.  See below for more information.
• If you do not contest the charge, many tickets can be paid online (https://mobile.citepayusa.com) without seeing a judge. 
• Omnibus Hearings are held at 1:30 PM on certain Mondays. 
• Law and Motion is held at 1:30 PM on certain Mondays.  Zoom Law and Motion is held at 1:30 PM on certain Wednesdays.

Civil

• Civil Complaints UP TO $15,000 
• Transaction must have happened in Park County, Montana.
• Small Claims up to $7000.00 are filed in Justice Court. 
• Must be filed in county where Defendant resides.
• Order of Protections

Remote Appearances (see Remote Appearance FAQ section)

Remote appearance are available through Zoom for defendants who do not reside in Montana upon request and approval from Judge Clay Herbst.  Written requests should be emailed to Contact prior to the date of appearance on your citation(s) or summons.

Self Representation

**Under Montana Law, you have the right to represent yourself, but along with that privilege, comes the obligation to know how to proceed.  It is against the law for anyone who is not an attorney to give legal advice.  Legal advice could be described as, but is not limited to how to proceed; what to file; offering interpretation of the rules; recommending a course of action; predicting a judicial officers' decision; and interpreting the meaning of effect of any Court Order or Judgment.  

Records Request

Public Access Portals are available at no cost:  https://courts.mt.gov/Courts/portals.   

However, any copies requested will cost $1.00 a page and prepayment is required if the case number and documents requested is provided.

There is a $25.00 fee per records request and prepayment is required. 

                  Record Search Request Form

               Exception: Law Enforcement, Legal Services, Government Agencies and Attorneys of record on the case will not be charged for                copies of records. 

NOTE:  That while we will do our best to process requests in a timely manner, it may take up to two weeks for a record search to be completed. 

**COURT EMPLOYEES ARE FORBIDDEN BY LAW FROM GIVING LEGAL ADVICE**