Mike Wheat (born 1947) was a justice of the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the 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 which reviews ...

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

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

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 Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 20 ...

Background

Wheat was born in

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

, in 1947. He served with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

and fought in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

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. , the school accepted 83 applicants. The school tied for 103rd in the 2023 ...

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, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

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 th ...

until 1981, when he moved to

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

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

Montana State Senate The Montana 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. Composition of the Senate :''67th Legislature – 2021–202 ...

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 election ...

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

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

state

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. 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

will be 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 {{Montana-state-judge-stub

Background

See also

References