Ingrid G. Gustafson (born December 11, 1961) is an associate justice of the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court w ...

. She was appointed in December 2017 by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Steve Bullock to fill the seat of retiring Justice Mike Wheat. She ran unopposed in 2018 for the remainder of Wheat's term. In 2022, Gustafson ran against

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

, winning an eight year term.

History

Gustafson was born in Wyoming and moved to Montana in 1972. She attended

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

on a skiing scholarship and graduated with honors in 1983. She was named to the MSU Hall of Fame for her skiing accomplishments in college. Gustafson obtained her

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degree from the University of Montana Law School in 1988, again with honors. Gustafson worked as a staff attorney for the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

for two years, and entered private practice in 1991. In that period, she also was a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

Rosebud County, Montana Rosebud County is a county in the state of Montana. It was established February 11, 1901, and has Montana vehicle license plate prefix 29. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,329. Its county seat is Forsyth. Geography According to th ...

. From 1996 until 2004 she was a managing partner at the law firm Graves, Toennis and Gustafson in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

. Gustafson was appointed as District Judge of Montana's 13th Judicial District by former Governor

Judy Martz Judith Helen Martz (née Morstein; July 28, 1943 – October 30, 2017) was an American politician, businesswoman, and Olympian speed skater who served as the 22nd governor of Montana from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Republican Party, she was t ...

, and took the bench in 2004. She succeeded retiring District Judge and former Montana Supreme Court justice Diane Barz. She was re-elected to the bench in 2004, 2006 and 2012. Gustafson helped create Yellowstone County's

drug court Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health approach to criminal offending using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment ...

in 2010. This was Montana's first felony drug court. In 2017, she became the first justice appointed to the Montana Supreme Court rather than elected. She was chosen by Governor Bullock to replace Mike Wheat who retired effective December 31. She then ran unopposed in 2018. That election was for the remaining four years of Wheat's term. In 2022, Gustafson ran a costly campaign against

, a

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based attorney. The race ended up as having the most money ever spent in a Montana Supreme Court race. Even though the election is non-partisan, special interest groups spent a significant amount of money on the race. Montana Free Press reported $3 million spent by outside groups. Montana Republican leaders supported Brown early in his campaign, setting the stage for an election with partisanship overtones. Gustafson won with 54% of the votes. Brown blamed his loss on the "millions of dollars in liberal money" that had flooded the state in the final weeks of the race. As of 2024, she is Vice President of the Montana Judges Association.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafson, Ingrid G. 1961 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Montana lawyers People from Laramie, Wyoming People from Billings, Montana University of Montana alumni Public defenders