Patricia O'Brien Cotter was a

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 ...

Associate Justice first elected on November 7, 2000, filling the seat of the retired Justice

William E. Hunt William Edward Hunt, Sr. (February 28, 1923 – February 16, 2016) was an American soldier, lawyer, and jurist. He served as the County Attorney for Liberty County, Montana, and later as the mayor of Chester, Montana. During his tenure as mayor, ...

. Originally from

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

, she graduated with honors in 1972 from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

with a B.S. in Political Science and History. Justice Cotter's law degree is from the

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

in 1977. Justice Cotter practiced law for six years in South Bend, after which she and her husband Michael Cotter moved to Montana. She practiced law in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

with John Hoyt during 1984-1985. She and her husband established the firm of Cotter and Cotter in 1985. She is admitted to practice before the Fort Peck Tribal Court of Appeals, the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the United States Court of Claims, and the United States Supreme Court.25 Mont. Law. 8 Cotter was reelected to a second term in 2008, and retired in 2016.

References

Living people Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Montana lawyers Western Michigan University alumni Notre Dame Law School alumni People from South Bend, Indiana Politicians from Great Falls, Montana Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges {{Montana-state-judge-stub