Daniel J. Shea (born 1938) 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 wh ...

from 1977 to 1985. Shea graduated from the

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 in Spokane, Washington. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredi ...

in 1964, and in 1966 was hired as the deputy county attorney of

Missoula County, Montana Missoula County is located in the State of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,922, making it Montana's third-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Missoula. The county was founded in 1860. Missoula Coun ...

. Shea ran for county attorney in 1970, coming in last among three contenders in the Democratic primary. He then ran for a seat on the state supreme court in 1976, for which he was successful,Chris Walterskirchen, "35 Years Ago", ''The Missoulian'' (October 7, 2001), p. E11. defeating Montana Senate Majority Leader Neil J. Lynch in what was described as an upset. He served one term and did not seek reelection. Shea would later explain, when asking a criminal court for leniency for his son on a DUI charge, that he had not run for a second term on the court due to the stress of his divorce in 1983, and his wife's alcoholism. After leaving the bench, Shea returned to private practice, but Shea's license was suspended in 1989 following the mishandling of some cases, and in 2006 he was recommended for disbarment for allegedly practicing law without having had his license restored when he assisted a nonprofit organization with a lawsuit.Mike Dennison, "Panel recommends Shea's disbarment", ''The Missoulian'' (November 23, 2006), p. B6.

References

Justices of the Montana Supreme Court 1938 births Living people Gonzaga University School of Law alumni {{Montana-state-judge-stub