Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT · CHAPTER 4. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES · Part 27. Office of County Attorney
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2716 (2026)

Duties Related To State Matters

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 7
  3. CHAPTER 4
  4. Part 27
  5. 7-4-2716 Duties related to state matters

TITLE 7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 4. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

Part 27. Office of County Attorney

Duties Related To State Matters

7-4-2716. Duties related to state matters. The county attorney shall:

(1) attend the district court and conduct, on behalf of the state, all prosecutions for public offenses and represent the state in all matters and proceedings to which it is a party or in which it may be beneficially interested, at all times and in all places within the limits of the county;

(2) when ordered or directed by the attorney general to do so, promptly institute and diligently prosecute in the proper court and in the name of the state of Montana any criminal or civil action or special proceeding;

(3) defend all suits brought against the state.

History: En. Sec. 4450, Pol. C. 1895; amd. Sec. 1, p. 76, L. 1899; re-en. Sec. 3052, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 4819, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Pol. C. Sec. 4256; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 187, L. 1935; re-en. Sec. 4819, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 17, L. 1965; R.C.M. 1947, 16-3101(part); amd. Sec. 431, Ch. 61, L. 2007.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1987–2024 · leading case: State v. McWilliams, 2008 MT 59, 65 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 143.
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State v. McWilliams, 2008 MT 59, 65 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 143. · cites it 4× “¶28 Similarly, with respect to the check to Curry, the issue was not whether McWilliams defrauded Curry into providing electrical work, rather, the State was obliged to prove only that the check was issued "knowing that it will not be paid by the depository.”
State v. Tichenor, 2002 MT 311, 60 P.3d 454. · cites it 6× “Finally, Tichenor contends that the facts that gave rise to the second stalking count happened before the facts that gave rise to the first stalking count, therefore, there could not have been a second or subsequent offense that would constitute a felony charge.”
Ronek v. Gallatin Cnty., 740 P.2d 1115 (Mont. 1987). · cites it 3× “” Section 7-4-2716, MCA. A determination by the county attorney to bring an action is discretionary, and is his duty under the law.”
State v. Bedwell, 1999 MT 206, 985 P.2d 150. · cites it 3× “The executive branch of government is charged with the duty of ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed. Art. VI, § 4, Mont. Const. More particularly, Montana’s county attorneys — members of the executive branch — are charged with the duty to conduct, on the…”
Obert v. State, 2024 MT 270, 558 P.3d 1110. · cites it 5× “” Section 7-4-2716(1), MCA: “The county attorney shall .”
Montana Deaconess Med. Ctr. v. Johnson, 758 P.2d 756 (Mont. 1988). “See, Sections 7-4-2716, 7-32-2201, MCA. Sound reasoning dictates that the performance of the county’s task necessarily includes the assumption of the associated financial burden.”
Overstreet v. Fetterhoff, 2024 MT 293N, 561 P.3d 930. · cites it 2× “First, we agree that because Overstreet’s complaint against Park County relates to the county attorney’s role of criminal prosecution, the prosecutors acted on behalf of the State, as defined by § 7-4-2716, MCA, thus making the State of Montana—not Park County—the proper…”
State v. Sheppard, 919 P.2d 1057 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 4× “Pursuant to § 7-4-2716(1), MCA, a county attorney is required to attend the district court and .”
Chapman v. State, 2002 MT 310N. · cites it 2× “" Therefore, the County Attorney was properly representing the State at the time he made his motion and general appearance and regardless of whether the Attorney General would have preferred, after the fact, that not be the case.”
Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2716(1): 5 cases
State v. McWilliams, 2008 MT 59, 65 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 143. “¶28 Similarly, with respect to the check to Curry, the issue was not whether McWilliams defrauded Curry into providing electrical work, rather, the State was obliged to prove only that the check was issued "knowing that it will not be paid by the depository.”
State v. Tichenor, 2002 MT 311, 60 P.3d 454. “Finally, Tichenor contends that the facts that gave rise to the second stalking count happened before the facts that gave rise to the first stalking count, therefore, there could not have been a second or subsequent offense that would constitute a felony charge.”
State v. Bedwell, 1999 MT 206, 985 P.2d 150. “The executive branch of government is charged with the duty of ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed. Art. VI, § 4, Mont. Const. More particularly, Montana’s county attorneys — members of the executive branch — are charged with the duty to conduct, on the…”
Obert v. State, 2024 MT 270, 558 P.3d 1110. “” Section 7-4-2716(1), MCA: “The county attorney shall .”
State v. Sheppard, 919 P.2d 1057 (Mont. 1996). “Pursuant to § 7-4-2716(1), MCA, a county attorney is required to attend the district court and .”
Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2716(3): 1 case
Chapman v. State, 2002 MT 310N. “" Therefore, the County Attorney was properly representing the State at the time he made his motion and general appearance and regardless of whether the Attorney General would have preferred, after the fact, that not be the case.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.