Brian Morris (Montana)
2013 - Present
11
Brian Morris is the chief judge for the United States District Court for the District of Montana. He became chief judge in March 2020.[1] Prior to his confirmation he was an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court. On May 23, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Morris to the court and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 12, 2013.[2]
Education
Morris received his degrees from Stanford University: a B.A. in 1986, M.A. in 1987, and his J.D. in 1992.[3]
Career
- 2005-2013: Associate justice, Montana Supreme Court
- 2001-2005: Solicitor, Montana's Department of Justice
- 2000-2001: Senior legal officer, United Nations Compensation Commission
- 1999-2001: Legal assistant, Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal and Legal officer, United Nations Compensation Commission
- 1995-2000: Associate, Goetz, Madden & Dunn
- 1994-1995: Legal assistant, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
- 1992-1995: Law clerk, William H. Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court and John T. Noonan, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit[4]
Judicial career
District of Montana
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Brian Morris |
| Court: District of Montana |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 203 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
On May 23, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Brian Morris to the United States District Court for the District of Montana to fill the vacancy left by Sam Haddon.[2]
Morris was rated Unanimously Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. You can find his Committee Questionnaire available here.[5]
Morris was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 12, 2013, on a vote of 75-20.[6]
Elections
2012
Morris was retained with 78.40 percent of the vote in the general election on November 6th.[7][8] Hertha L. Lund withdrew from the race in April 2012, leaving Morris unopposed, but she still appeared on the primary ballot.[9][10]
- See also: Montana judicial elections, 2012
2004 election
Morris was elected to the Montana Supreme Court in a nonpartisan election in November of 2004. He defeated Ed McLean, winning 57 percent of the vote.[11][12]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Morris received a campaign finance score of -1.01, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.87 that justices received in Montana.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[13]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2011: Montana High School Association Athletes Hall of Fame
- 2009: Elected to the American Law Institute
- 2009: The Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center, Science and Technology Fellow
- 2003: Butte Sports Hall of Fame
- 2002: The Frank I. Haswell Award for Outstanding Article Presented to the Montana Lawyer
- 1987: national Collegiate Athletic Association Post-Graduate Scholarship Award
Associations
- 2011-Present: Coach, Cap City Traveling Basketball
- 2010-Present: Coach, Helena Small Fry Football
- 2007-Present: Helena Youth Soccer Association
- 2009-2012: President
- 2008-2012: Board Member
- 2007-Present: Arsenal Coach
- 2006-Present: Board Member, The William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government
- 1998-1999: Board Member, American Civil Liberties Union of Montana
- 1995-Present: Stanford Alumni Association[14]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Judge Morris' biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Project Vote Smart, Justice Brian Morris (MT)
Footnotes
- ↑ United States District Court of Montana, "Chief Judge Brian Morris Chambers," accessed Sep 24, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate" 5/23/2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, Justice Brian Morris (MT)
- ↑ Montana Courts, Justice Brian Morris
- ↑ 113th Congress Nomination Materials
- ↑ Montana Standard, "Butte native Brian Morris confirmed as federal judge," December 13, 2013
- ↑ KPOX News, "Blaine County Unofficial Election Results," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State - 2012 Official General Election Results
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, Non-legislative primary candidates
- ↑ Montana 2012 Unofficial Election Results
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, 2004 General Election Results
- ↑ Great Falls Tribune, "Stealthy Supreme Court race pits nice guy against nice guy," August 8, 2004
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questions for Judicial Nominees," accessed November 21, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the District of Montana 2013-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominated | |||
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current judges | Beth Baker, Katherine M. Bidegaray, Bowen Greenwood, Ingrid Gayle Gustafson, Laurie McKinnon, James A. Rice, Jim Shea, Cory Swanson | ||
| Former judges | Mike McGrath, James Nelson, Patricia O'Brien Cotter, Dirk M. Sandefur, Michael E. Wheat | ||