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Board of County Commissioners of Lewis and Clark County v. Montana First Judicial District Court9/26/2000
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
Argued and Submitted: June 22, 2000
On July 13, 1999, we accepted original jurisdiction over this dispute between the Lewis and Clark County Commissioners and the Judges of Montana's First Judicial District Court. The dispute concerns the county employee status, supervision, and control of the three court reporters for the First Judicial District Court.
We address the following issues:
. Are the First Judicial District's Court Reporters subject to the § 7-5-2108, MCA, requirement that full-time salaried county employees must work a minimum of 40 hours per week, and, if so, what record keeping is required to document hours worked by the Court Reporters, including overtime, annual leave, and sick leave?
. Are the Court Reporters subject to the requirement that Lewis and Clark County employees must spend their work week at their "workstation," and, if so, what is the Court Reporters' "workstation"?
. Are the District Judges subject to county budgeting deadlines in setting the salaries of their Court Reporters?
The First Judicial District Court is a state district court of general jurisdiction, the boundaries of which include Lewis and Clark and Broadwater Counties. Honorable Thomas C. Honzel, Honorable Dorothy McCarter, and Honorable Jeffrey M. Sherlock are the duly-elected District Judges of the First Judicial District. All three Judges have offices in Lewis and Clark County; Judges Sherlock and McCarter also alternate every other year in handling Broadwater County's smaller caseload.
Three court reporters serve the First Judicial District. Each court reporter has been appointed by one of the Judges of the District as allowed by statute.
The judge of a district court may appoint a reporter for such court who is an officer of the court and holds his office during the pleasure of the judge appointing him. He must subscribe the constitutional oath of office and file the same with the clerk of the court. In districts where there are two or more judges, each judge may appoint a reporter.
Section 3-5-601, MCA.
Between 1991 and 1997, Lewis and Clark County Commissioners became concerned that the reporting of work hours, sick leave, and annual leave by the First Judicial District's Court Reporters was insufficient. On several occasions, Commissioners and the District Judges discussed this subject, but no permanent resolution was reached.
In April of 1997, the Montana Legislature amended § 3-5-602, MCA, to increase the amount of salary allowed for district court reporters. The statute, which became effective on October 1, 1997, provides in relevant part:
(1) Each reporter is entitled to receive a base annual salary of not less than $28,000 or more than $35,000 and no other compensation except as provided in 3-5-604, unless the judge decides to solicit bids for the work performed by the reporter, in which case the salary must be for the amount specified in the bid accepted by the judge. The salary must be set by the judge for whom the reporter works. The salary is payable in monthly installments out of the general funds of the counties composing the district for which the reporter is appointed and out of an appropriation made to the supreme court administrator as provided in subsection (2). Section 3-5-602(1), MCA.
During the 1997 county budgeting process, the Commissioners offered the Judges the choice of either having their Court Reporters classified as county employees subject to the same benefits, regulations, policies, and procedures as other county employees, or having them classified as independe
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