Montana's highest court, the supreme court, consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. District courts are the courts of general jurisdiction. Justice of the peace courts are essentially county courts whose jurisdiction is limited to minor civil cases, misdemeanors, and traffic violations. Montana has seven supreme court justices elected on nonpartisan ballots for eight-year terms and 37 district court judges elected for six years.
Montana's total crime rate in 2001 stood at 3,688.7 per 100,000, including a total of 3,187 violent crimes and 30,175 crimes against property in that year. The state rarely enforces the death penalty; only eight convicted persons have been executed since 1930, and two since 1977. Six persons were under sentence of death in 2003.
In June 2001 there were 3,250 inmates in state and federal correctional facilities, an increase of 6.9% over the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 359 per 100,000 inhabitants.