KYJKnow Your Judge v0.6.5by SwansLake
Judge directoryMatthew Cuffe

Active Trial judge

Matthew Cuffe

Montana 19th Judicial District Court

Montana

Identity verifiedOfficial profile locatedOfficial sources collectedPresentation intelligence
01

Overview

Identity and service

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

Judicial role
District Judge
Service status
Active
Court level
Trial
Jurisdiction
State
02

Before you appear

Preparation checklist

  1. 01

    Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.

  2. 02

    Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.

  3. 03

    Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

Scope note

Statewide and courtwide guidance is labeled by scope and is not evidence of a personal preference. Division, judge-specific, or case-specific orders may control.

03

Presentation rules

What the public sources say

CourtwideExplicit
Motion Practice

Unless a rule or statute provides otherwise, file and serve documents, briefs, proposed orders, proposed judgments, and other communications before presenting them to the court.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 3
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
no document, including briefs, proposed orders and proposed judgments, or other communications, may be presented to the court at any time unless it is first filed with the court and served on all parties.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pretrial

Unless the court orders otherwise, expect a pretrial conference in every contested civil case.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 5(a)
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a pre-trial conference shall be held in all contested civil cases.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pretrial

No later than seven days before the pretrial conference, the plaintiff must convene all parties to prepare the proposed pretrial order and present it for signature at the conference.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 5(b)
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Not later than seven days prior to the pre-trial conference, Plaintiff shall convene a conference of all parties for the purpose of preparing a pre-trial order.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pretrial

Identify each trial exhibit and any objection in the pretrial order. An exhibit offered at trial without a stated pretrial-order objection will be admitted.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 5(c), Exhibits
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Any exhibit offered at the trial to which no objection was made in the pre-trial order will be admitted into evidence.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pretrial

List in the pretrial order the witnesses who may be called, except rebuttal witnesses.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 5(c), Witnesses
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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The following witnesses and no others will (may) be called to testify except on rebuttal.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Trial Preparation

Deliver proposed jury instructions and verdict forms to the court in duplicate, and serve every opposing party, at the time fixed in the pretrial order.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 7(a)
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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All proposed jury instructions and verdict forms must be delivered to the court in duplicate and a copy served upon all opposing parties at the time fixed in the pre-trial order.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Trial Preparation

Identify each proposed jury instruction's source and cite supporting authority at the bottom.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 7(b)
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
Each proposed instruction shall identify at the bottom its source and cite supporting authorities, if any.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Trial Preparation

Unless the court orders otherwise, file and serve proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law at least seven days before a trial or hearing where Rule 52 requires them.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 8
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
all parties shall file with the court, and serve upon all opposing parties, at least seven days prior to the scheduled trial or hearing, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Trial

Every exhibit filed or offered in evidence remains in the clerk's custody unless the court orders a copy substituted or permits withdrawal.

Page
web page
Section
Uniform District Court Rule 12(a)
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
Every exhibit placed on file or offered in evidence shall be held in the custody of the clerk.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

04

Courtroom technology

Published equipment guidance

No technology specification indexed

Technology availability is separate from procedural permission and evidentiary admissibility.

05

Published opinion footprint

Decisions and citations

Opinion data is not yet indexed for this profile

This does not mean the judge has no published opinions or no caseload. KYJ will only show opinion counts after transparent, source-linked CourtListener matching is available.

06

Sources

Public documents behind this profile

07

Change history

How this profile entered KYJ

Current profile indexed

Identity imported from Montana Judicial Branch. 9 presentation-related claims migrated with source provenance.