Terry Nicholas Trieweiler (born March 21, 1948) 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 1990 to 2003. He served on the board of directors for several national trial lawyer associations and was selected as Montana Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2010.

Early life and education

Trieweiler was born in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

, to George Nicholas and Anne Marie (Oastern) Trieweiler. He graduated with academic honors from Dubuque's

Wahlert Catholic High School Wahlert Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Dubuque, Iowa, United States, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque. History During a meeting on June 17, 1955, Archbishop Leo Binz and the pastors of the Dubuque Cath ...

in 1966, where he was an member of the football and wrestling teams. He attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

on a four-year football scholarship, distinguishing himself athletically by lettering in football, wrestling and intramural basketball. Trieweiler received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Drake in 1970, and a

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 ...

from

Drake University Law School Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...

in 1973. At Drake Law School, he was selected through competition as the school's Outstanding Oral Advocate. He gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Montana in 1975.

Career

In 1981, Governor

Ted Schwinden Theodore Schwinden (born August 31, 1925) is an American politician. He served as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the 19th Governor of Montana. Biography Schwinden was born in Wolf Point, Montana. He enlisted in the United States Ar ...

appointed Trieweiler to the Montana Governor's Workers Compensation Advisory Council. In 1983, he became only the second Montana resident to be certified as a specialist in civil trial advocacy by the

National Board of Trial Advocacy The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) is a non-profit board certification organization in the United States which administers eight national board certification programs for attorneys in Civil Trial Law, Criminal Trial Law, Truck Accident L ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1986, he was elected president of both the State Bar Association of Montana and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, becoming one of only two attorneys in the state to have served in both positions. Trieweiler served as a guest lecturer at the

University of Montana Law School The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. , the school accepted 83 applicants. The school tied for 103rd in the 2023 '' ...

in 1988. In 1989, he was elected to the board of directors for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was also appointed to the board of directors for the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national group of plaintiffs, defense lawyers and judges who distinguished themselves in the field of courtroom advocacy. In 1990, Trieweiler became an instructor of civil procedure at the University of Montana Law School. He was elected to the Montana Supreme Court in 1991, where he served until 2003. In 1992, Trieweiler was awarded Drake University's Double 'D' Award, presented to former Drake athletes for achievements in their profession and community. On the court, he wrote the opinion in the noted

open-fields doctrine The open-fields doctrine (also open-field doctrine or open-fields rule), in the U.S. law of criminal procedure, is the legal doctrine that a "warrantless search of the area outside a property owner's curtilage" does not violate the Fourth Amendme ...

case of ''State v. Bullock'', in which the court held that individuals have a privacy interest in property marked by fencing or "no trespassing" signs. In 2010 Trieweler was selected as Montana Trial Lawyer of the Year.

Personal life

Trieweiler and his wife Carol have lived in Whitefish, Montana since 1975. They have three daughters: Kathryn Ann, Christini Marie and Anna Theresa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trieweiler, Terry N. 1948 births Living people People from Dubuque, Iowa Drake University alumni Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Drake University Law School alumni