James Nelson (Montana)
From Ballotpedia
James Nelson
Prior offices
Montana Supreme Court
Education
James C. "Jim" Nelson was an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court. He took office in May of 1993, following an appointment by then-governor Marc Racicot, and he retired on December 31, 2012.[1]
Education
Nelson received his B.S. degree from the University of Idaho in 1966 and a J.D. from George Washington University in 1974.[2]
Career
Prior to his legal career, Nelson served in the U.S. Army from 1966-1969 and worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Before joining the Montana Supreme Court, Nelson was in private practice and was attorney of Glacier County.[3]
Elections
2004
Nelson was challenged for his seat in 2004. He defeated Cindy Younkin, winning 53% of the vote.[4]
1994 and 1996
Nelson was retained by voters in 1994[5] and 1996.[6]
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.
Nelson received a campaign finance score of -1.22, 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.[7]
See also
External links
- Montana Courts, Justice James C. Nelson
- Project Vote Smart, Justice James C. Nelson (MT)
- Missoulian, "Justice: Discrimination against gays 'a prevalent societal cancer grounded in bigotry and hate'," October 7, 2009
- Portland Independent Media Center, "Montana Supreme Court justice warns Orwell's 1984 has arrived," August 5, 2005
Footnotes
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Montana Supreme Court Justice Nelson to retire," February 1, 2011
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, Justice James C. Nelson (MT)
- ↑ Montana Courts, Justice James C. Nelson
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, 2004 General Election Results
- ↑ 1994 election results
- ↑ 1996 election results
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
