Marilyn Skoglund (born August 15, 1946) is a former Associate Justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

. She is well known for having attained admission to the bar and appointment to the bench despite not having gone to law school.

Life and career

Marilyn Ruth Signe Skoglund was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on August 15, 1946, and was raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

s from

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

in 1971, and settled in

Plainfield, Vermont Plainfield, a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States was incorporated in 1867. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. Plainfield is the location of Goddard College. Geography Plainfield is located at . According to the United ...

in 1973 when her then-husband accepted a teaching position at

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

. She was divorced shortly afterwards. Skoglund attended the

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

program at Montpelier's Woodbury College. She studied law under the supervision of

Louis P. Peck Louis Provost Peck (December 24, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was a Vermont attorney and public official. He is notable for his service as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1981 to 1990. Early life Louis Provost Peck was born in Mo ...

while working in the

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont attorney general is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

's office, a practice still permitted in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, and became an attorney in 1978. After receiving her law license Skoglund continued her career in the Vermont Attorney General's office. Her assignments included: Special Assistant Attorney General (1978-1981); Assistant Attorney General (1981-1989); Chief of the Civil Law Division (1989-1993); and Chief of the Public Protection Division (1993-1994). In 1994 Skoglund was appointed to the Vermont District Court. She served until 1997, when she was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court to succeed the retiring Ernest W. Gibson III. Skoglund was continued in office by the state Judicial Retention Committee in 2005, 2011, and 2017. In May 2019, Skoglund informed Governor

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and Stock car racing, stock car racer who has been the List of governors of Vermont, 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United S ...

of her intention to retire effective September 1, 2019. She was succeeded by William D. Cohen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skoglund, Marilyn 1946 births Living people Lawyers from Chicago People from Montpelier, Vermont Lawyers from St. Louis Southern Illinois University alumni Vermont lawyers Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 20th-century Vermont state court judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges