James C. Nelson (born February 20, 1944) is a retired American attorney and jurist who served as an associate 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 1993 through 2012, having been appointed to the court by Republican Governor Marc Racicot in May 1993.

Early life and education

Born in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

, Nelson earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Idaho in 1966. After graduating, he served in the United States Army for three years, being discharged as a first lieutenant in 1969 to serve as a financial analyst with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Career

After earning his

Juris Doctor 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 ...

degree with honors from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

in 1974, he moved to Cut Bank, Montana to take over his father-in-law's law firm. After representing a Native American tribe, the tribe gave him the honorary name of ''E-E-Nistowas'', or ''Buffalo Body''. During this time, he served as president of the Glacier

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, chairman of the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, and a member of the Montana Gaming Advisory Council and the Governor's Task Force on Corrections and Criminal Justice Policy. He served as Glacier County Attorney, the county's top

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

, until May 1993 when Republican Governor Marc Racicot (the chairman of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's Bush presidential campaign, 2004, 2004 presidential campaign) appointed Nelson to the

Supreme Court tenure

In 1997, Nelson wrote the court's opinion in ''Gryczan v. Montana'' striking down as unconstitutional a law that had criminalized gay sex, six years before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court ruled similarly in ''Lawrence v. Texas''. In 1997, Nelson wrote the court's opinion in ''Montana v. Siegal'' ruling that police usage of thermal imaging technology to find a marijuana growing operation required a search warrant, four years before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court ruled similarly in ''Kyllo v. United States'' in a decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia. In a 2009 child custody case between two same-sex relationship, same-sex partners, ''Kulstad v. Maniaci'', Nelson gained attention from the media and civil rights groups for his concurring opinion that stated: In 2010, Nelson wrote the court's unanimity, unanimous opinion striking down a court rule that had previously prohibited the inclusion of forensic identification, forensic evidence because the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death. Nelson's ruling made it easier for prosecutors to introduce evidence against defendants by discussing past crimes, behaviors, and events. In this particular case, Nelson's ruling enabled

s to bring in evidence of an infant's brain bruise, bruising and multiple rib fractures in prosecuting the infant's mother for murder.

Personal life

Nelson and his wife, Chari, have two children, Mary Pat and Jay, and four grandchildren.

References

External links

Official biography
at the