List of justices of the Montana Supreme Court

Following is a list of justices of the Montana Supreme Court.

Current members

Chief Justice	Term began	Term expires	Notes
Mike McGrath	2017	2024	Elected 2008; re-elected 2016; previously served as Attorney General, 2000–2008
Associate Justice	Term began	Term expires	Notes
Laurie McKinnon	2013	2028	Elected 2012
James A. Rice	2014	2030	Appointed by Governor Judy Martz; elected 2002; re-elected 2006; re-elected 2014; re-elected 2022
Beth Baker	2011	2026	Elected 2010
Jim Shea	2017	2028	Appointed by Governor Steve Bullock, 2014; elected 2016
Dirk Sandefur	2017	2024	Elected 2016
Ingrid Gustafson	2018	2030	Appointed by Governor Steve Bullock, 2018; elected 2022

Former members

Chief justices

Montana Territorial Supreme Court

Chief Justice	Term served	Notes
Hezekiah L. Hosmer	(1864–1868)	Appointed first chief justice of Territorial Supreme Court by President Lincoln
Henry L. Warren	(1868–1871)	Appointed by President Johnson
Decius Wade	(1871–1887)	Appointed by President Grant
Newton W. McConnell	(1887–1889)	Appointed by President Cleveland; resigned
Henry N. Blake	(1889)	Appointed by President Harrison, 1889; previously Associate Justice of Territorial Supreme Court (1875–1885); elected first chief justice of Montana Supreme Court after statehood

Montana Supreme Court

Chief Justice	Term served	Notes
Henry N. Blake	(1889–1893)	First Chief Justice of Montana Supreme Court; previously Associate Justice of Territorial Supreme Court (1875–1885); Chief Justice of Territorial Supreme Court (1889)
William Y. Pemberton	(1893–1899)
Theodore M. Brantley	(1899–1922)	Died in office; longest serving Chief Justice to date (23 years)
Llewellyn L. Callaway	(1922–1935)	Appointed
Walter B. Sands	(1935–1938)	Died in office
O. F. Goddard	(1938–1939)	Appointed
Howard A. Johnson	(1939–1946)	Resigned
Carl Lindquist	(1946)	Appointed
Hugh R. Adair	(1947–1956)	Also served as Associate Justice 1943–1946, 1957–1968
James T. Harrison	(1957–1977)	Appointed
Paul G. Hatfield	(1977–1978)
Frank I. Haswell	(1978–1985)	Appointed
Jean A. Turnage	(1985–2000)
Karla M. Gray	(2001–2008)	Elected
Mike McGrath	(2009– )	Elected

Associate justices

Montana Territorial Supreme Court

Associate Justice	Term served	Notes
Ammi Giddings	(1864–1865)	Appointed by President Lincoln, but never served; resigned immediately due to ill health, though commission remained in force until 1865
Lorenzo P. Williston	(1864–1868)	Appointed by President Lincoln
Lyman E. Munson	(1865–1869)	Appointed by President Lincoln
Hiram Knowles	(1868–1879)	Appointed by President Johnson
George G. Symes	(1869–1871)	Appointed by President Grant
John Luttrell Murphy	(1871-1872)	Appointed by Ulysses S. Grant. Recalled/resigned after much controversy, replaced by Justice Servis.
Francis G. Servis	(1872–1875)	Appointed by President Grant
Henry N. Blake	(1875–1885)	Appointed by President Grant; subsequently appointed as Chief Justice of Territorial Supreme Court, 1889; elected first chief justice of Supreme Court, 1889–1893
William J. Galbraith	(1879–1888)	Appointed to first term by President Hayes, to subsequent term by President Arthur
Everton Conger	(1880–1886)	Appointed by President Hayes
John Coburn	(1884–1886)	Appointed by President Hayes
Thomas C. Bach	(1886–1889)	Appointed by President Cleveland
James H. McLeary	(1886–1888)	Appointed by President Cleveland
Stephen DeWolf	(1888–1889)	Appointed by President Cleveland
Moses J. Liddell	(1888–1889)	Appointed by President Cleveland

Montana Supreme Court

Associate Justice	Term served	Notes
William H. DeWitt	(1889–1897)
Edgar N. Harwood	(1889–1895)
William Henry Hunt	(1895–1900)	Resigned
Horace R. Buck	(1897)	Died in office
William Trigg Pigott	(1897–1903)	Appointed
Robert L. Word	(1900–1901)	Appointed
George R. Milburn	(1901–1907)
William L. Holloway	(1903–1926)	Died in office
Henry C. Smith	(1907–1913)
Sydney Sanner	(1913–1918)
William Trigg Pigott	(1918)	Appointed; previously served as Associate Justice, 1897–1903
Charles H. Cooper	(1919–1924)	Resigned
John Hurly	(1919–1921)
George Y. Patten	(1919)	Appointed to newly created seat; resigned
John A. Matthews	(1919–1920)	Appointed; subsequently served as Associate Justice, 1925–1937
Roy E. Ayers	(1922)	Appointed to newly created seat, January 1922; resigned November 22, 1922
Albert J. Galen	(1921–1933)
Frank B. Reynolds	(1921–1922)	Died in office
George W. Farr	(1922–1923)	Appointed
Albert P. Stark	(1923–1929)
Wellington D. Rankin	(1924–1925)	Appointed
John A. Matthews	(1925–1937)	Previously served as Associate Justice, 1919
Warren Toole	(1926–1927)	Appointed
Henry L. Myers	(1927–1929)	Appointed
Albert H. Angstman	(1929–1934)	Subsequently served as Associate Justice 1937–1942, 1945–1961 for a total of 28 years
Sam C. Ford	(1929–1933)	Subsequently Governor of Montana, 1941 to 1949
Ralph J. Anderson	(1933–1939)
Sam V. Stewart	(1933–1939)	Previously Governor of Montana, 1913–1921; State Representative, 1931–1933; died in office, 1939
Claude F. Morris	(1935–1947)
Albert H. Angstman	(1937–1942)	Previously served as Associate Justice, 1929–1934; subsequently served 1945–1961
Ralph L. Arnold	(1939–1941)	Appointed
Leif Erickson	(1939–1945)
Albert Anderson	(1941–1945)
Hugh R. Adair	(1943–1946)	Subsequently served as Chief Justice, 1947–1956, and again as Associate Justice 1957 – 1968
Albert H. Angstman	(1945–1961)	Previously served as Associate Justice, 1929–1934, and 1945–1961
Edwin K. Cheadle	(1945–1947)	Resigned
I. W. Choate	(1947–1949)	Appointed
Fred L. Gibson	(1947–1948)	Appointed
Lee Metcalf	(1947–1953)	Subsequently U.S. Representative, 1953–1961; U.S. Senator, 1961–1978
R. V. Bottomly	(1949–1961)
Harrison J. Freebourn	(1949–1954)
Forrest H. Anderson	(1953–1956)	Subsequently served as Governor of Montana, 1969–1973
Horace S. Davis	(1954–1957)	Appointed
Hugh R. Adair	(1957–1968)	Previously served as Associate Justice, 1943–1946 and as Chief Justice, 1947–1956
Wesley Castles	(1957–1977)	Appointed
Stanley M. Doyle	(1961–1967)	Appointed; resigned
John C. Harrison	(1961–1994)	Longest serving justice in history of the court
Frank I. Haswell	(1967–1978)	Appointed; subsequently served as Chief Justice, 1978–1985
John W. Bonner	(1969–1970)	Previously Governor of Montana, 1949 to 1953; Died in office, 1970
Gene B. Daly	(1970–1983)	Appointed, reelected
Daniel J. Shea	(1977–1985)
John C. Sheehy	(1978–1991)	Appointed
Frank B. Morrison	(1981–1987)	Resigned
Fred J. Weber	(1981–1995)
L. C. Gulbrandson	(1983–1989)
William E. Hunt	(1985–2000)
R. C. McDonough	(1987–1993)
Diane Barz	(1989–1990)	First woman to serve on the court; resigned
Terry N. Trieweiler	(1991–2003)
Karla M. Gray	(1991–2000)	Subsequently served as Chief Justice, 2000 to 2008
Charles E. Erdmann	(1995–1997)
Jim Regnier	(1997–2004)
John Warner	(2003–2009)
W. William Leaphart	(1995–2010)	Elected 1994; re-elected 2002
James C. Nelson	(1993–2012)	Appointed by Governor Marc Racicot; elected 1994; re-elected 1996, 2004
Brian Matthew Morris	(2005–2013)	Elected 2004; re-elected 2012
Patricia O'Brien Cotter	(2001–2016)	Elected 2000; re-elected 2008
Mike Wheat	(2010–2017)	Elected in 2010; re-elected 2014