Mike McGrath (Montana)
Mike McGrath was a judge of the Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice. He assumed office in 2009. He left office on December 31, 2024.
In Montana, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. McGrath first became a member of the court through a nonpartisan election. He was elected as chief justice in 2008 and was re-elected in 2016. To read more about judicial selection in Montana, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[1] McGrath received a confidence score of Mild Democrat.[2] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
McGrath earned his B.A. in business administration from the University of Montana in 1970 and his J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1975.[3] He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to 1972.[4] McGrath began his legal career as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow in Reno, Nevada in 1975 and became assistant attorney general in Montana in 1976 and Lewis and Clark County attorney in 1982. He served as the attorney general of Montana from 2001 to 2009, when he was elected chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court. McGrath is the former chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) and president of the Montana County Attorneys' Association.[4][3]
Elections
2024
- See also: Montana Supreme Court elections, 2024
Mike McGrath did not file to run for re-election.
2016
McGrath ran for re-election as chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court. No candidates filed to run against him, so he stood for retention in the November 8 election.[5]
Election results
November 8 general election
| Montana Supreme Court, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Mike McGrath | 81.76% | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||
June 7 primary
| Montana Supreme Court Primary, Chief Justice Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mike McGrath Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 237,577 |
| Total Votes (686 of 686 precincts reporting: 100%) | 237,577 | |
| Source: Montana Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Campaign finance
In his campaign finance report of May 23, McGrath reported $59,395.58 for the primary, with expenditures of $101.75.[6]
2008
Chief Justice Karla M. Gray retired from the court, leaving an open seat. Mike McGrath (Montana) was elected to the court with 75.1% of the vote.[7]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[8]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[9]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Mike
McGrath
Montana
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
- Was a registered Democrat before 2020
- Received donations from Democrat-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
McGrath donated $2,450 to Democratic candidates. His campaign committee contributed $32,061 to Democratic candidates. He was a registered Democrat prior to 2020. He received campaign donations from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers, AFSCME, and the International Brotherhood of electrical workers, all of which more frequently contribute to Democratic candidates than Republicans.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
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.
McGrath received a campaign finance score of -0.95, 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.[10]
Noteworthy cases
Noteworthy cases may be selected due to their impact on legal precedent, substantial media attention, or overlaps with another area of editorial interest at Ballotpedia. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us.
State supreme court judicial selection in Montana
- See also: Judicial selection in Montana
The seven justices on the Montana Supreme Court are selected through nonpartisan elections to eight-year terms. When their terms expire, justices must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court. If unopposed, a justice must stand for a yes-no retention election.[11][12]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a state resident for at least two years; and
- licensed to practice law in the state for at least five years.[11]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected through a nonpartisan election to an eight-year term.[11]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor is responsible for appointing a new justice to the court. Once confirmed by the Montana state Senate, the justice will hold office until the next regular election. At that time, the appointed justice will be able to run for re-election or retention to complete the remainder of the unexpired term.[12]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Project Vote Smart, "Chief Justice Mike McGrath (MT)," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Montana Courts, "Chief Justice Mike McGrath," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ Great Falls Tribune, "McGrath to seek second Supreme Court term," accessed February 12, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Campaign Electronic Finance Reporting System," accessed May 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2008 General Election Results," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 11, 2021
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Montana State Legislature, "The Constitution of the state of Montana," accessed August 11, 2021 (Article VII, part VII, section 8)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice 2009-2024 |
Succeeded by - |
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
