Mike Wheat (born 1947) was a 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 ...

from 2010 to 2017. He was appointed to the court in 2010 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 ...

Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democr ...

to fill the vacated seat of Justice

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...

Background

Wheat was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, in 1947. He served with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and fought in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

from 1968 to 1969 and was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. After the war Wheat attended the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

and graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1975. He received his JD from the

Alexander Blewett III School of Law The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. Its name was changed from the University of Montana Law School to its current name ...

at the University of Montana in 1978. After graduation he worked as a deputy

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

until 1981, when he moved to

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

to start his own private law firm, Cok, Wheat & Kinzler. Wheat was elected to the

Montana State Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

and served two

Legislative sessions A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...

from 2002 to 2005. In 2008 Wheat ran an unsuccessful primary for

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

state

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. Wheat was re-elected to the

in 2010 and 2014. In 2017, Wheat announced that he would retire at the end of the year to spend more time with his family. His successor on the

is Ingrid Gustafson.

References

1947 births Living people Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Montana state senators University of Montana alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War United States Marines 21st-century members of the Montana Legislature {{Montana-state-judge-stub

Background

See also

References