Montana Code 13-36-209. Forfeiture of nomination or office for violation of law — when inappropriate
13-36-209. Forfeiture of nomination or office for violation of law — when inappropriate. Upon the trial of any action or proceeding under the provisions of this title to contest the right of any person to be declared nominated or elected to any office or to annul or set aside a nomination or election or to remove a person from office, the nomination or election of the candidate is not by reason of the offense or omission complained of void and the candidate may not be removed from or deprived of office if under the circumstances it seems to the court to be unjust that the candidate forfeit a nomination or office or be deprived of any office of which the candidate is the incumbent. The decision of the court must be based upon the following:
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-36-209
- Candidate: means :
(a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;
(b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:
(i)solicitation is made;
(ii)contribution is received and retained; or
(iii)expenditure is made; or
(c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(1)it appears from the evidence that the offense complained of was not committed by the candidate or with the candidate’s knowledge or consent or was committed without the candidate’s sanction or connivance and that all reasonable means for preventing the commission of the offense at the election were taken by and on behalf of the candidate;
(2)the offense or offenses complained of were trivial, unimportant, and limited in character and in all other respects the candidate’s participation in the election was free from offenses or illegal acts; or
(3)any act or omission of the candidate arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature and in any case did not arise from any lack of good faith.