U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
Montana · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Ninth Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the District of Montana is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Ninth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Donald W. Molloy (current) · Dana Lewis Christensen (current) · William Walter Mercer (current) · Susan Pamela Watters (current) · Brian Matthew Morris (current) · George M. Bourquin · Charles Nelson Pray · Charles C. Lovell · William Daniel Murray
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Richard F. Cebull | G.W. Bush (R) | 2001–2013 |
| Sam E. Haddon | G.W. Bush (R) | 2001–2025 |
| Jack D. Shanstrom | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1990–2020 |
| Charles C. Lovell | Reagan (R) | 1985–2023 |
| Paul Gerhart Hatfield | Carter (D) | 1979–2000 |
| James Franklin Battin | Nixon (R) | 1969–1996 |
| Russell Evans Smith | L.B. Johnson (D) | 1966–1990 |
| William James Jameson | Eisenhower (R) | 1957–1990 |
| William Daniel Murray | Truman (D) | 1949–1994 |
| Robert Lewis Brown Sr. | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1945–1948 |
| James Harris Baldwin | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1935–1944 |
| Charles Nelson Pray | Coolidge (R) | 1924–1963 |
| George M. Bourquin | Taft (R) | 1912–1958 |
| Carl L. Rasch | Taft (R) | 1910–1911 |
| William Henry Hunt | T. Roosevelt (R) | 1904–1910 |
| Hiram Knowles | B. Harrison (R) | 1890–1904 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Kathleen L. DeSoto Chambers | 2019–present |
| Timothy J. Cavan | 2016–present |
| John T. Johnston | 2015–present |
| Carolyn S. Ostby | 2002–present |
| Richard W. Anderson | 1991–present |
| Robert M. Holter | 1988–present |
| Keith Strong | 2007–2015 |
| Jeremiah C Lynch | 2006–2019 |
Bankruptcy court
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1890. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.