Montana Attorney General Records

Montana Attorney General Records, 1947-1979, undated

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Montana. Attorney General's Office
Title: Montana Attorney General Records
Dates: 1947-1979, undated (inclusive)
19471979
Quantity: 6.4 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number: RS 294
Summary: This collection consists of records from the office of the Montana Attorney General related to cases handled by the office. The records consist of a variety of materials including legal briefs, correspondence, and motions.
Repository: Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Attorney General of Montana is an elected official, established by Article VII, Section 1 of the 1889 Constitution, and again in Article VI, Section 1 of the 1972 Constitution. The Attorney General is elected for a term of 4 years and is defined as the legal officer of the state. Also stipulated in the law concerning this position, there are certain things the holder of this office may not do, including represent citizens in private legal matter, address complaints against private attorneys, hold authority of Montana judges, and direct or supervise departments other than the Department of Justice. However, the Attorney General is allowed to issue formal opinions in certain situations, and once issued these opinions gold the force of law unless they are overturned by a district court. The Attorney General is also a member of the Montana Land Board and Board of Examiners.

In addition to the Attorney General, the office is also comprised of assistant attorneys who, as a unit, function as the lawyers for the State of Montana. The attorneys have a broad knowledge base in a variety of legal subjects and handle a wide variety of legal cases involving the State of Montana. This team of attorneys provides representation for state agencies in lawsuits, the State of Montana in complex civil litigation, and assists local county attorneys in the prosecution of criminals. The team draws upon their legal areas of interest and expertise when needed. These areas include the death penalty, internet crime against children, consumer protection, Native American jurisdiction issues, federal reserved water rights, and constitutional challenges filed against state laws.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection consists of records from the office of the Montana Attorney General related to cases handled bt the office. The case files (1947-1979) represented in the records range from the state litigating cases against illegal gambling operations to a class action lawsuit in which the state was a complainant, to a case dealing with reapportionment of representatives and the state being the respondent. The largest of all of these files is the class action lawsuit the state participated in against several pharmaceutical manufacturers in the matter of price fixing of the antibiotic tetracycline.

Also represented are what the office called "service files" (1977-1978), which are the files compiled by the office in the execution of its role of attorney for the various departments within the state government. The service files document complaints made against the departments, as well as how these complaints were handled by the office. At times the office took the lead in representing the departments, but others were handled by in-house attorneys. The rest of the records comprise the subject files (1967-1974). These files cover a variety of topics, including an easement request from the Montana Power Company, and several other similar files related to the Attorney General's seat on the state Land Board, another file regrarding the subject of purchasing, and yet another related to the sentence of an inmate in the Montana State Prison.

The materials consist of agreements, correspondence,environmental impact statements,invoices, legal briefs, legal motions, news clippings, printed materials, photographs, receipts,reports, and transcripts.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This collection is organized in three series: Case Files, 1947-1979; Service Files, 1977-1978; and Subject Files, 1967-1974. Each series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Location of Collection

32:8-5

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Related Materials

Related Collections

Researchers should note that there are multiple collections with records from the office of the Montana Attorney General in the Montana State Archives at the Montana Historical Society.

Office of the Montana Attorney General Montana Attorney General's Office Records UPRS 7 (62:2-5) Office of the Montana Attorney General Montana Attorney General's Office Records 1890-1910 ( inclusive) RS 348 (34:5-7) Office of the Montana Attorney General Montana Attorney General's Office Records 1957-1982 ( inclusive) RS 111 (22:5-5) Office of the Montana Attorney General Montana Attorney General's Office records 1893-1969 ( inclusive) RS 76 (19:2-6)

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Case FilesReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1 / 1-2	Harvey vs. State	1970-1973
1 / 3	State ex rel Arnold H. Olsen vs. J.E. (Baldy) Kelly	1955
1 / 4	State ex rel James Nepstad, Respondent vs. Russell L. Danielson, C.L. Duffy, and Roy G. Riley, Sherrif of Big Horn County, Appellants	1966-1972
1 / 5	State ex rel Olsen vs. Crown Cigar, Copper Kings, 1st Floor #43,986	1947-1950
1 / 6	State ex rel Olsen vs. John M. Lloyd	1955
1 / 7	State vs. 30 Club, Et. Al.	1950
1/ 8-9	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Associated Cases and Research Materials	1969-1975
1 / 10-13	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. – Briefs	1971
1 / 14-15	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. – Claims	1972-1973
1 / 16-17	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Claims Correspondence	1969-1971
2 / 1	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Claims Correspondence	1969-1971
2 / 2-3	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Economic brief	undated
2 / 4-5	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Federal Trade Commission and USDA Drug market information	1979
2 / 6-7	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File I	1969
2 / 8-9	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File II	1969-1971
2 / 10	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File III	1970-1972
2 / 11-12	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File IV	1970-1972
2 / 13-14	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File V, Appeal	1971-1972
2 / 15-16	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File VI, Appeal	1972-1974
3 / 1	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - File VI, Appeal	1972-1974
3 / 2-3	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Legal Briefs and Motions	1973-1975
3 / 4	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Orders from Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation	1969-1971
3 / 5-13	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Pharmaceutical Invoices	1970-1978
4 / 1-3	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Pharmaceutical Invoices	1970-1978
4 / 4	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - Settlement Notes	1969, undated
4 / 5	State vs. Chas. Pfizer, et al. - State of Montana Motions	1973, undated
4 / 6	State vs. Deshner	1971
4 / 7-16	Wold, et al. vs. Anderson, Murray	1969-1971
4 / 17	Wold, et al. vs. Anderson, Murray - House Report on Reapportionment	1965

Service FilesReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
5 / 1-3	Service File: Department of Administration	1977-1978
5 / 4	Service File: Department of Agriculture	1978
5 / 5	Service File: Department of Business Regulation	1978
5 / 6	Service File: Commissioner of Higher Education	1977-1978
5 / 7	Service File: Department of Community Affairs	1977-1978
5 / 8	Service File: Eastern Montana College	1978
5 / 9	Service File: Deparment of Fish and Game	1977-1978
5 / 10	Service File: Office of the Governor (Thomas L. Judge)	1978
5/ 11	Service File: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences	1977-1978
5/ 12-13	Service File: Department of Highways	1977-1978
5 / 14	Service File: Highway Patrol Bureau	1977-1978
5 / 15	Service File: Department of Institutions	1977-1978
5/16-19	Service File: Department of Labor and Industry	1977-1978
5/20	Service File: Department of Military Affairs	1978
5/21	Service File: Montana State University	1978
5/22	Service File: Department of Natural Resources and Conservation	1977-1978
5/23	Service File: Personnel Appeals Division, Department of Labor and Industry	1977-1978
5/24	Service File: Office of Public Instruction	1977-1978
6/1	Service File: Department of Professional and Occupational Licensing	1977
6/2-3	Service File: Public Services Commission	1977-1978
6/4-13	Service File: Department of Revenue	1977-1978
6/14	Service File: Department of Social & Rehabilitative Services	1977-1978
6/15	Service File: University of Montana	1978

Service FilesReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
7/1	Board of Examiners Annual Report	1974
7/2	Butte West Unit Area	1972
7/3	Deaf and Blind School	1967-1970, undated
7/4	Montana Power Company -- Bitterroot Valley	1972
7/5	Montana Power Company Easement Request	1972, undated
7/6	Montana Reclamation Act Draft	undated
7/7	Purchasing	1972
7/8	Re: Schenk, Franklin, MSP #22520	1969
7/9	Zweifel International	1971-1972

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents