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Patricia O'Brien Cotter
Patricia O'Brian Cotter was an associate justice on the Montana Supreme Court. She was elected to this court in November 7, 2000, and she was retained in 2008. Cotter retired upon the end of her term, December 31, 2016.[1]
Education
Justice Cotter received a B.S. in political science from Western Michigan University in 1972 and a J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 1977.[2]
Career
- 2001-2016: Associate justice, Montana Supreme Court
- 1985-2000: Partner, Cotter & Cotter
- 1984-1985: Attorney with John Hoyt
- 1977-1984: Attorney in private practice[2][1]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 1992: Public Service Award, Montana Trial Lawyers Association
- 1998: Public Service Award, Montana Trial Lawyers Association[1]
Associations
- 1993-1999 Chair, Amicus Committee, Montana Trial Lawyers Association
- 1996-1998: Chair, Montana's lawyers representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
- 1998: Member, Executive Committee for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference[1]
Elections
2008 election
Cotter was retained to the supreme court with 81% of the vote in 2008.[3]
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.
Cotter received a campaign finance score of -1.2, 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.[4]
See also
External links
- Montana Courts, "Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter"
- Project Vote Smart, "Justice Patricia O'Brien Cotter (MT)"
Footnotes
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
