Michael McGrath (born August 22, 1947) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the chief 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 2009 to 2025. He also served as the

attorney general of Montana The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states. The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the age ...

from 2000 to 2008. He is a veteran of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Early life and education

A native of

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 ...

, McGrath graduated from 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 ...

with 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 ...

in business administration in 1970. Then he served in the United States Air Force from 1970 to 1972. He went on to earn his

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 ...

from

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Ba ...

in 1975. He is the recipient of the 2021 Gonzaga Law Medal.

Legal career

McGrath worked in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

as a

Reginald Heber Smith Reginald Heber Smith (21 December 1889-23 October 1966), also known as Reg Smith, was an American lawyer. His book Justice and the Poor inspired the creation of legal aid programmes throughout the United States. He was awarded the American Bar Asso ...

Community Lawyer Fellow from 1975 to 1976. He became Montana's Assistant Attorney General in 1977 and served until 1982. He served as

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 ...

for Lewis and Clark County for five terms spanning 1982 to 2000. In his eighteen years as a prosecutor, McGrath focused on family violence issues, including

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

and sexual assault of children. He ran an unsuccessful campaign against

Marc Racicot Marc Racicot (; born July 24, 1948) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and former Republican politician who served as the 21st governor of Montana from 1993 until 2001. After leaving office, Racicot worked as a lobbyist for the law firm Bracewe ...

for Attorney General in 1988. McGrath defeated

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left fielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Rice played his entire 16-year MLB career for the Boston Red Sox. In 2009, Rice was ...

for Montana Attorney General in 2000. He won a second term in 2004. As Attorney General, he focused on

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

prevention and natural resource and land issues. In 2005, Montana was ranked as fifth worst for meth abuse among US states.Catalytic Philanthropy
, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2009 McGrath campaigned against Ron Waterman for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court in 2008. He took office in January 2009 on the seat vacated by Karla Gray. He ran unopposed in 2016 for another eight-year term. McGrath stated he would not run for re-election in 2024. Besides his legal career, McGrath ran for

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

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. He lost in the Democratic primary to former

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Dorothy Bradley Dorothy Maynard Bradley (born February 24, 1947) is an American former politician from Montana. She was elected to eight terms in the Montana House of Representatives, serving from 1971 to 1978 and 1985 to 1992. Bradley now lives in Clyde Park, M ...

. He is a former chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General and served as president of the Montana County Attorneys' Association.

Notable case

On December 18, 2024, McGrath authored the 6-1 ruling holding that struck down a Montana law limiting analyses of greenhouse gas emission measurements. The Montana law, which was challenged by a group of youth plaintiffs, was struck down under a provision in the Montana Constitution that guarantees the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Personal life

He and his wife Joy have two sons and five grandchildren.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Mike 1947 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Chief justices of the Montana Supreme Court Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Montana attorneys general Montana Democrats Politicians from Butte, Montana United States Air Force officers University of Montana alumni