Michael E. Wheat
Michael E. Wheat is a former justice on the Montana Supreme Court. Wheat was appointed to this position by Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer, taking office on January 5, 2010.[1] He was appointed to a seat which became vacant after the mid-term retirement of former justice John Warner. By law, Wheat was required to run in the next election to retain his seat. He ran in the November 2010 election and won the right to complete the term.[2]
Wheat was again retained by voters in 2014. [3] In July 2017, he announced he would retire from the bench at the end of 2017. He was succeeded by Ingrid Gustafson.[4][5]
Education
Wheat received his undergraduate degree in political science in 1975 and his J.D. in 1978 from the University of Montana.[6]
Military service
Wheat previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Career
- 2010-2017: Justice, Montana Supreme Court
- 2002-2010: Senator, Montana State Senate
- 1981-2010: Attorney in private practice
- 1978-1981: Deputy county attorney[6]
Supreme court bid
Wheat was one of 11 attorneys who submitted an application to the Montana Judicial Nominating Commission for the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Three nominees were selected by the commission: Carlo J. Canty, John S. Warren and Wheat. Governor Schweitzer appointed Wheat to the vacancy on January 5, 2010.
Elections
2014
See also: Montana Supreme Court elections, 2014
See also: Montana judicial elections, 2014
Wheat ran for re-election to the Montana Supreme Court.
General: He defeated Lawrence VanDyke in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 59.1 percent of the vote.Though Montana judicial elections are nonpartisan, Wheat is a former Democratic state senator.[7][8][9]
Endorsements
- Montana Conservation Voters[10]
2010
- Main article: Montana judicial elections, 2010
Wheat was elected to the Montana Supreme Court. He won the November 2010 general election, which allowed him to serve out the remainder of Warner's unexpired term.[11][12]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Wheat received a campaign finance score of -1.16, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.87 that justices received in Montana.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[13]
See also
External links
- Montana Judicial Branch, "Montana Supreme Court"
- Missoulian, "Bozeman's Mike Wheat appointed to Montana Supreme Court," December 23, 2009
- Re-elect Mike Wheat Supreme Court Justice campaign website
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justice Biographies, Justice Mike Wheat," accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ The Billings Gazette, "Lawyer, ex-legislator sworn in as justice," January 5, 2010
- ↑ Judicial selection in Montana
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Billings judge Ingrid Gustafson named to Montana Supreme Court," December 14, 2017
- ↑ KTVQ.com, "Montana Supreme Court Justice Mike Wheat retiring," July 27, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Montana Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justice Biographies, Justice Mike Wheat," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Filing List: Non-Legislative," accessed March 20, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Primary Election Results," June 4, 2014 97.6% of precincts fully reporting
- ↑ Ravalli Republic, "Judge orders VanDyke off ballot," April 25, 2014
- ↑ Montana Conservation Voters, "2014 MCV Endorsed Candidates," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ Helena Independent Record, "Finalists selected for state SupCo nominees," December 2, 2009
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Unofficial election results," November 2010
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
