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Montana Attorney General's Office Records

 Collection
Identifier: RS-111

Scope and Contents

The records of the Attorney General's Office consist primarily of general correspondence (1963-1966) arranged alphabetically by correspondent and subject (including attorney general dockets, and informal and formal opinions) . (Researchers are cautioned that informal opinions of the attorney general are found throughout the entire record Series in addition to those found in the "informal opinions" files.) The correspondence concerns, for the most part, legal matters in which the Attorney General's Office was involved as legal counsel or in response to inquiries. The correspondence files of the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Health, and the Livestock Commission include carbon copies of the correspondence of those agencies and their respective legal counsel, which served to keep the attorney general's staff apprised of their work on behalf of those agencies. The collection also contains interoffice correspondence (1965-1978), consisting of memoranda of the attorney general's staff concerning a variety of legal issues (memoranda also appear in general correspondence files): Press releases (1957-1978); reports (1959-1978), including annual reports of private foundations exempt from income tax, and monthly reports of special attorneys general; speeches (1966, n.d.) of Forrest H. Anderson, Robert Woodahl, and Mike Greely; and miscellany. Artifacts, maps, photographs, and printed material have been transferred to the Museum, Library Map Collection, Photograph Archives, and Library respectively. (Reel-to-reel tapes transferred to Oral History)

Researchers should be aware that information may be found filed under a variety of subject and agency headings. For example, material on "gambling" may be found in correspondence with a particular county attorney, or "investigations," "complaints," etc., as well as under "gambling."

Dates

  • Creation: 1949-1982

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Collection open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Biographical / Historical

The office of Attorney General of Montana was established by Article VII, Section 1 of the 1889 Constitution, which required that the attorney general be elected and serve a four-year term. The framers of the state's first constitution believed that, since the state's Legislative Assembly would be in session only briefly every two years, it was necessary for an elected official responsible not to the governor, but to the electorate, to serve as a check upon gubernatorial power. The attorney general was charged with a number of duties, the most important of which included the handling and presentation before the Supreme Court of legal cases in which the state or a county was interested; supervising and assisting county attorneys; giving his written opinion to the Legislative Assembly, state officers and agencies, county attorneys, and boards of county commissioners upon certain legal questions; and participating as a member of several state boards, including the Board of Examiners, the Board of Education, and the Board of Land Commissioners.

Much of the actual legal research work of the Office is done by assistant attorneys general. All communications received by the Office, requests for information or opinions, and litigations are assigned by the first assistant to the other attorneys. Their work is then reviewed by the first assistant and final approval or disapproval is made by the attorney general. While the assistant attorneys general are not permitted to engage in the private practice of law, special assistants are hired, generally on a part-time basis, and they are permitted to continue private practice if that practice does not create a conflict of interest with state employment. In addition, various state agencies hire legal counsels, often from private firms; these counsels are required to keep the attorney general apprised of the work they were doing for the state. While the attorney general cannot prevent the employment of legal counsel by the various state agencies, he can refuse to give those counsels an appointment as a special assistant, in which case the counsel can not make court appearances on behalf of the state.

The attorney general is sometimes called upon to issue an official opinion, an expression of the legal reasons and principles upon which a decision should be based, reflecting the state's stand on law. Much more frequently, the attorney general issues informal opinions for state agencies and certain others, such as county attorneys and county commissioners. Informal opinions or "letter opinions," are based upon citations of statute or earlier formal opinions. While the attorney general is not permitted by statute to give formal opinions to those outside state agencies and certain political subdivisions, he does at times provide a general legal view of a particular situation to individuals or groups making inquiry. Attorneys general of Montana include Arnold H. Olsen, elected in 1948; Forrest H. Anderson, 1956; Robert Woodahl, 1968; and Mike Greely, 1976.

Extent

25 linear feet

Additional Description

Abstract

These records of the Montana Attorney General's Office consist of interoffice correspondence (1969-1978); general correspondence (1963-1966) arranged by correspondent and subject, including dockets and informal opinions; annual reports (1973-1977) of tax-exempt private foundations; speeches; and miscellany. (Reel-to-reel tapes transferred to Oral History)

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by series.

Physical Location

22:5-5

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquisition information is available upon request.

Subjects

Geographic

Occupation

Topical

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Montana Attorney General's Office Records, 1949-1982
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by MHS Staff
Date
2004
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository

https://mhs.mt.gov/research
Contact:
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)

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