John R. Stegner (born November 8, 1953) is an American attorney and a former justice of the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate judge, justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho State court (United States), state court ...

, retiring after five years in 2023. He was previously a state district court judge for over two decades.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Grangeville, Idaho Grangeville is the largest city in and the county seat of Idaho County, Idaho, United States, in the north central part of the state. Its population was 3,141 at the 2010 census, down from 3,228 in 2000. Geography According to the United St ...

, Stegner is the youngest of four sons of Charles and He earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1977 from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Idaho College of Law The University of Idaho College of Law is the law school of the University of Idaho. Its main location is in Moscow, and a second campus is in the state capital of Boise. As of the entering class of 2017–18, students may take all three years of ...

in 1982.

Career

Stegner was in private practice in Lewiston for twelve years with Clements, Brown & McNichols. He clerked for the late U.S. District Judge for two years and worked for the family business, Stegner Grain & Seed Co.

State judicial service

Stegner was previously a judge of the state's second judicial district, based in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Appointed by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Phil Batt in November 1996, he served on the court from 1997 to 2018.

Idaho Supreme Court

In 2017, Stegner was considered for a vacancy on the state supreme court created by the retirement of Dan Eismann, but Governor

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd List of Governors of Idaho, governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, h ...

appointed Richard Bevan in late August. Another vacancy soon arose with the sudden retirement of Warren Jones, and Otter appointed Stegner on May 22, 2018. He was selected from among four finalists named by the Idaho Judicial Council after public interviews with 14 applicants, including six sitting judges. Stegner was the only justice on the state's highest court from

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

Idaho, and the first in several decades. He ran unopposed in the 2020 election, held during the state primary in the spring. In May 2023, Stenger sent a letter to Governor

Brad Little Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Idaho ...

, announcing his upcoming retirement from the court on October 31 and his return to private practice.

References

External links

* Living people 1953 births 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court Idaho state court judges University of Idaho College of Law alumni Whitman College alumni {{Idaho-state-judge-stub