James A. Rice
James A. Rice | |
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Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office March 15, 2001 | |
Governor | Judy Martz |
Preceded by | Karla M. Gray |
Personal details | |
Born | James Arthur Rice[1] (1957-11-15) November 15, 1957 (age 66) CFS Ramore, Ontario, Canada |
Political party | Republican[2] |
Spouse | Norine |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Montana State University (BA) University of Montana (JD) |
James A. Rice (born November 15, 1957)[3] is an American attorney, judge, and politician. He is one of the six Associate Justices currently on the Montana Supreme Court. Rice won an unopposed retention vote in 2014.
Early life and education
Rice was born to parents in the United States Military who were stationed at Ramore Air Force Base, near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.[3] Rice grew up in eastern Montana, and graduated in 1975.[3] He obtained his pilot's license at 17, and worked in aviation-related jobs while attending Montana State University.[3] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1979, and then earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Montana School of Law in 1982.[3]
Career
Rice began his career as a public defender in Lewis and Clark County, Montana for four years.[3]
He was elected to three terms in the Montana House of Representatives, and served as House Majority Whip in the 1993 session.[3] He became a partner in the law firm of Jackson & Rice in Helena, Montana, in 1985.[3] On March 15, 2001, he was sworn in as an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court[3] after appointment by Governor Judy Martz.[4] Rice filled the seat vacated by Karla M. Gray when she was elected Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, November 2000.[4] In 2002, Rice won election to the remainder of the judicial term to which he was appointed.[3] In 2006, he won an unopposed retention vote.[3] In 2014, he defeated W. David Herbert to win a third term.[5]
References
- ^ https://courts.mt.gov/courts/supreme/bios/rice
- ^ "2000 Montana Attorney General Election". OurCampaigns.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "courts.mt.gov > supreme > bios > rice". courts.mt.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
- ^ a b Billings, Erin P. (February 23, 2001). "Rice gets high court seat". Independent Record.
- ^ "Wheat, Rice win re-election to Montana Supreme Court". 4 November 2014.
External links
- Montana Supreme Court profile of James A. Rice
- Jim Rice's Biography at votesmart.org
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by | Justice of the Montana Supreme Court 2001–present | Incumbent |
- v
- t
- e
- Jason Ellsworth, President
- Kenneth Bogner, President pro tempore
- Steve Fitzpatrick, Majority Leader
- Pat Flowers, Minority Leader
- Matt Regier, Speaker
- Rhonda Knudsen, Speaker pro tempore
- Sue Vinton, Majority Leader
- Kim Abbott, Minority Leader
- Mike McGrath, Chief Justice
- Laurie McKinnon
- James Rice
- Beth Baker
- Jim Shea
- Dirk Sandefur
- Ingrid Gustafson, Associate Justices