Mike McGrath

Michael "Mike" McGrath (born August 22, 1947) currently serves as the Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. He was elected in 2008. He also served as Montana Attorney General from 2000–2008.[1] He is a member of the Democratic Party and a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Mike McGrath
Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
Assumed office
January 5, 2009
Preceded byKarla M. Gray
22nd Attorney General of Montana
In office
January 5, 2001 – January 5, 2009
GovernorJudy Martz
Brian Schweitzer
Preceded byJoseph Mazurek
Succeeded bySteve Bullock
Personal details
Born (1947-08-22) August 22, 1947
Butte, Montana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Joy
Children2
EducationUniversity of Montana, Missoula (BA)
Gonzaga University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1970–1972

Early life and education

A native of Butte, Montana,[1] McGrath graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration in 1970 and received his Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1975.[1]

He was a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow in Reno, Nevada from 1975 to 1976, and Montana's Assistant Attorney General from 1976 to 1982.

He served as County Attorney for Lewis and Clark County for five terms spanning 1982 to 2000. In his 18 years as a prosecutor, McGrath focused on family violence issues, including domestic abuse and sexual assault of children. He ran for Governor of Montana in 1992, but lost in the Democratic primary to former State Representative Dorothy Bradley, who in turn lost the general election to Marc Racicot.

He is a former chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) and served as president of the Montana County Attorneys' Association.

Michael McGrath's opposition to the release of an innocent man was a case study in the very common human behavior of denial. In a 249 page deposition he[2] unsuccessfully argued against the exoneration of a convicted rapist despite DNA evidence proving his innocence.

Personal life

He and his wife Joy have two sons, Pat and Chris, and one granddaughter, Alexis.

See also

References
  1. "courts.mt.gov > supreme > bios > mcgrath". courts.mt.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  2. Schulz, Kathryn (2010). Being Wrong. HarperCollins. pp. 234–238. ISBN 978-0-06-117604-3.
  • Chief Justice Mike McGrath Biography
  • Mike McGrath (MT)] at Project Vote Smart
  • Montana Department of Justice Wikipedia article on McGrath term start/end dates
Legal offices
Preceded by
Joseph Mazurek		 Attorney General of Montana
2001–2009		 Succeeded by
Steve Bullock
Preceded by
Karla M. Gray		 Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
2009–present		 Incumbent
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