Laurie McKinnon (born January 4, 1960) is 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 ...

. She was elected to her first eight-year term in 2012.

Background

McKinnon was born January 4, 1960, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She attended

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

and received her undergraduate degree in 1982. She attended the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

and received her

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 ...

in 1986. She began practicing law in 1987 as a prosecutor in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

for the State's Attorney's Office. After that she started her own practice handling both civil and criminal litigation. In 1995 she moved to

Cut Bank, Montana Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, Glacier County, Montana, United States, located just east of the "cut bank" (gorge) along Cut Bank Creek. The population was 3,056 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census ...

and later became a Deputy County Attorney for

Glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

(1997-2000) and Teton County (2001-2006). McKinnon won the election in 2006 and became judge of the 9th Montana District Court, which is Teton, Toole, Pondera, and

counties, in 2007. In 2010 McKinnon was awarded Judge of the year by the

Court Appointed Special Advocates Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that has ...

(CASA) of Montana for her work in cases involving abused and neglected children. In 2011, she received a grant from the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

to implement a

drug court Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that provide a sentencing alternative of treatment combined with supervision for people living with serious substance use. Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health appro ...

within the 9th Montana District Court. In 2012, McKinnon ran for and in November of that year was elected to the

. She was sworn in to start her eight-year term in January 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Laurie 1960 births Living people Goucher College alumni Justices of the Montana Supreme Court University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Lawyers from Baltimore 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 20th-century American women