Laurie McKinnon (born January 4, 1960) 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 elected to her first eight-year term in 2012. In 2020, she defeated Mike Black, gaining a second eight-year term.

Background

McKinnon was born January 4, 1960, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. She received her Bachelor's degree from

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

in 1982. She attended the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

and received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1986. McKinnon began practicing law in 1987 as a prosecutor in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

for the State's Attorney's Office. She remained there until 1991. After that she started her own practice handling both civil and criminal litigation. In 1995 she moved to

Cut Bank, Montana Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, Glacier County, Montana, United States, located just east of the "cut bank" (gorge) along Cut Bank Creek. The population was 3,056 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, becoming a Deputy County Attorney for Glacier County from 1996 to 1997. From 1997 to 2000, McKinnon worked in private practice where she focused on criminal defense and general litigation. In 2001, she became Deputy County Attorney for Teton County. McKinnon ran for, and won, the 2006 election for judge of the 9th Montana District Court. The 9th district is responsible for Teton, Toole, Pondera, and Glacier counties. In 2010,

Court Appointed Special Advocates Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that ha ...

(CASA) of Montana awarded McKinnon Judge of the Year for her work in cases involving abused and neglected children. In 2011, she received a grant from the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

to implement a

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 ...

within the 9th District Court. In 2012, McKinnon ran for

against Ed Sheehy. Though Supreme Court races in Montana are non-partisan, this election was divided by right and left leaning support groups, with the conservatives backing McKinnon. Attack ads against Sheehy were paid for by Montana Growth Network. In May of 2012, McKinnon had raised $38,000 for her campaign and the organization had already spent $41,000. Considered a

dark money In politics, particularly the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public. In the United States, ...

group, Montana Growth Network was eventually fined for their involvement in the race. McKinnon was sworn in to start her eight-year term in January 2013. While completing her duties as a justice, McKinnon developed E-RAMP (Early Resolution and Mediation Project), a cost-free mediation program to help resolve

pro se ''Pro se'' legal representation ( or ) means to argue on one's own behalf in a legal proceeding, as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, or a defendant in criminal cases, rather than have representation from counsel or an attorney. The ...

family law cases. She won the Karla M. Gray Equal Justice Award in 2019 due to the program. The 2020 election race against Mike Black was contentious. Initially, McKinnon stated she would not seek another term. One reason was the potential move of her husband. Another was the controversy regarding attack ads in the 2012 election. McKinnon denied ties to, or knowledge of, the out-of-state funding raised to promote her election and has publicly denounced the attack ads. For his part, Black stated he did not expect to be running against an incumbent, as he filed after McKinnon announced her retirement. That was the same for Mars Scott, who lost in the primaries. In 20 years, only one person defeated an incumbent Montana Supreme Court justice. Black was also concerned about possible interference in the election from dark money groups.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Laurie 1960 births Living people Goucher College alumni Justices of the Montana Supreme Court University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Lawyers from Baltimore 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 20th-century American women