In 1895, Montana adopted a version of the Field Civil Code--a massive law originally drafted by New York lawyer David Dudley Field in the early 1860s. The Civil Code (and its companion Political, Penal, and Procedural Codes) were adopted without debate, without legislative scrutiny, and without Montanans having an opportunity to grasp the enormity of the changes the Codes brought to the Montana legal system. In sponsoring this debate over whether to repeal the Civil Code, the Montana Law Review is finally giving Montana the opportunity to examine the merits of the Civil Code that she was denied 105 years ago
