St. John v. City of Lewistown

¶37 This case demonstrates how far the courts have permitted annexation procedure to depart from the requirements of the statutes with regard to the issue of contiguity. In my view, the courts have gotten ahead of the Legislature on this issue and legislated provisions that have significantly altered, and certainly watered down, the Legislature’s contiguity requirement.

¶38 Below, the unshaded area, at the top left of the map, indicates the area currently within the City of Lewistown. The two shaded areas are the properties that the City is seeking to annex in this case, which I will refer to…