The bill amends Section 3-1-611 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to clarify the circumstances under which a judicial officer must recuse themselves from a proceeding due to a conflict of interest. It allows any party involved in a case to request recusal if the judicial officer has received significant contributions from an opposing party or their legal representation within the last six years. The bill specifies the thresholds for contributions that would necessitate recusal and requires the moving party to provide sufficient evidence to support their request.

A key addition to the law is the prohibition of the "rule of necessity" doctrine, which previously allowed judicial officers to avoid recusal by claiming they were the only available judge. The new language explicitly states that a judicial officer cannot invoke this doctrine if there are other judicial officers available who have less significant conflicts of interest. This change aims to enhance judicial impartiality and ensure that conflicts of interest are appropriately managed in the judicial system.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 3-1-611
SB0030_1(1): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(2): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(3): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(4): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(5): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(6): 3-1-611
SB0030_1(7): 3-1-611
SB0030_1: 3-1-611
SB0030_X(1): 3-1-611
SB0030_X(2): 3-1-611
SB0030_X(3): 3-1-611
SB0030_X(4): 3-1-611
SB0030_X(5): 3-1-611
SB0030_X: 3-1-611