11/12/2024

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: OP 24-0650

OP 24-0650

LINDSAY HILL-WILLIAMS, Petitioner, v. ORDER TWENTY-SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, STILLWATER COUNTY, HONORABLE MATTHEW WALD, presiding, FILED NOV 1 2 2024 Respondent. Bowen Greenwood Clerk of Supreme Court Stete of Montana

Petitioner Lindsay Hill-Williams, via counsel, filed a petition for writ of supervisory control over the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court, Stillwater County, in that court's Cause No. DR-15-13.

Petitions for extraordinary writs, including writs of supervisory control, are governed by M. R. App. P. 14. Rule 14(9)(b) requires that a petition for writ shall conform to the requirements of M. R. App. P. 11, except that the petition shall not exceed 4,000 words if proportionately spaced. See also Rule 11(4)(c) (providing that petitions for writ shall not exceed 4,000 words or 12 pages). In addition to the 4,000-word limitation, Rule 11(3)(b) requires that filings be double-spaced and the pages shall be numbered.

Furthermore, Rule 11(4)(c) requires a certificate of compliance that, in relevant part, states the document's line spacing and includes the word count.

In this case, Petitioner's counsel filed a certificate of compliance that does not provide the line spacing or word count, but indicates the petition is "in compliance with the word limit." However, the petition clearly exceeds 4,000 words, is not double-spaced, and has no page numbering. The text of the petition—excluding the table of contents, table of citations, certificate of service, certificate of compliance, and appendix, pursuant to Rule 11(4)(d)—is approximately 5,800 words and the document, again excepting the exclusions provided in Rule 11(4)(d), is 17 pages long.' As Petitioner has not complied with the applicable Rules of Appellate Procedure, in accordance with M. R. App. P. 14(7), IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the petition for writ of supervisory control is DENIED and DISMISSED.

The Clerk is directed to provide immediate notice of this Order to all parties of record in the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court, Stillwater County, Cause No. DR-15-13 and the Honorable Matthew Wald, presiding.

DATED this I t day of November, 2024.

Justices

Petitioner's electronic filing is a low-quality scan, with faded, blurred text and it is thus difficult to ascertain a precise word count.