Robyn Michelle Maddox Brody (born February 13, 1970
/ref>) is a justice of the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho state courts. The only court that may reverse ...

, a member since 2017. Elected to an open seat in November 2016, she is the third woman to serve on the state's highest court, and the first elected rather than appointed by the governor. Prior to her election, Brody was in private practice for nineteen years in south central

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, in Twin Falls

Early years

Brody was born on February 13, 1970 in Wayne, Michigan, Brody's parents worked for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

, her father as a ramp agent and her mother in kitchen When Brody was 12, her family relocated to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, and after graduation from high school in 1988, she accepted a scholarship at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. Brody earned a bachelor's degree in international and Russian studies in 1992.

Career

After graduating, Brody traveled to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and spent a year in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, teaching tenth grade

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and studying Russian. She returned to Denver in 1993 and entered Sturm College of Law in a dual-degree program in law

(J.D.) The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

and international management, graduating in 1997. Brody joined a private firm in Twin Falls and stayed for thirteen years, the last ten as a partner. She left the firm in 2010 to begin her own firm in Rupert, where she and her family had moved.

Election

Following Chief Justice Jim Jones' retirement announcement in March 2016, Brody entered the election race for the high court's open seat. She finished first in the field of four in May with 30.3%, and won the run-off in November over state senator

Curt McKenzie Curtis "Curt" McKenzie (born February 9, 1969) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Idaho Senate from 2012 to 2016. Early life and education McKenzie was born in Corvallis, Oregon He earned a Bachelor of Arts ...

Nampa The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) is the national news agency of the Namibia, Republic of Namibia. It was founded in 1987 under the name Namibia Press Association as a SWAPO partisan press agency, and resuscitated after Namibian War of Independence ...

, with 53.8% of the vote. On January 5, 2017, Brody was sworn into office by retired Chief Justice

Linda Copple Trout Linda Jayne Copple Trout (born September 1, 1951) is an American lawyer and retired judge from Idaho. She is a former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, the only female to hold that position. Appointed by Governor Cecil Andrus as an assoc ...

, the first woman to serve on the court, from 1992 to 2007. She ran unopposed in May 2022 for her second term.

Personal

Brody's husband is Jonathan P. Brody, a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

judge in Rupert since 2010. Also a graduate of the

, he received his law degree from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. Married in 1997, the couple has two sons.

References

External links

Idaho Supreme Court
– Hon. Robyn M. Brody
Brody for Supreme Court
– campaign site {{DEFAULTSORT:Brody, Robin 1970 births Living people Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court People from Denver People from Twin Falls, Idaho People from Rupert, Idaho Sturm College of Law alumni People from Wayne County, Michigan 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges