Speech
Announcement of new Supreme Court Justice
Remarks of Governor Judy Martz
State Capitol
4/25/2003
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Good morning and welcome. Thank you for joining me here today.
Having just about ended a long and frankly exhausting legislative session, we are here today to discuss the third branch of government, which, unlike the executive and legislative branches, managed to keep pretty much out of the limelight - or line of fire - this winter.
Two years ago about this time I had the privilege and honor of nominating Jim Rice to a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. In his brief tenure on the state's highest court, Justice Rice has gone on to distinguish himself as an excellent jurist and to win re-election last fall without opposition. That in itself is quite an accomplishment, and speaks well of how highly Jim is regarded.
Today, I have the honor and privilege of nominating another member to a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. But before I make the announcement, I want to speak for a moment about the process for naming a justice and how this appointment came to be.
Back on January 2, of this year, Associate Justice Terry Trieweiler surprised, in fact, shocked most of Montana by announcing he was stepping down midway through his current term. Justice Trieweiler said his resignation would be on April 30.
The process to appoint a new justice is clear. Individuals interested in the appointment submit their names and resumes to the Judicial Nominating Commission. In this case, that body received 16 names of individuals interested in filling this seat on the court.
The commission must then submit no fewer than three and no more than five names to the governor for consideration and the governor has 30 days from receipt of the nominations to make an appointment.
On March 29, the commission submitted three nominees for appointment to me, and over the past few weeks I interviewed each of the candidates. I was impressed with each one, and in the past few days reached my decision.
So, with that as background, it my privilege and honor to name veteran District Judge John Arnan Warner of Havre to fill the vacancy on the Montana Supreme Court created by the resignation of Associate Justice Trieweiler. (begin applause) Justice Warner’s appointment is effective May 2, 2003.
Before I invite John to say a few words, it is important that you also know that according to statute, if the appointment of a member of the court occurs during the time that the legislature is in session, that appointment needs to be confirmed. So, this morning I submitted the name of Judge John Warner to the State Senate, which will conduct a confirmation hearing on his appointment later today.
Judge Warner has had a distinquished career in the law dating back to 1967, when he received his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law, and clerked for the Montana Supreme Court for one year before joining the law firm of Weber, Bosch, Kuhr, Dugdale and Warner in Havre.
In l988, he was elected Districrt Judge for Montana’s 12th Judicial District. He was re-elected in 1994 and again in 2000. I believe Judge Warner will be a justice who will interpret the laws and the constitution to determine exactly what the law says, rather than attempting to rewrite the law or make new law through judicial decisions in the course of defining what the law is.
Judge Warner received numerous recommendations from friends and colleagues all across the state. Let me read you just one from retired Chief Justice Jean Turnage that pretty much sums up what Judge Warner’s colleagues had to say about him.
“From personal experience,” Jean wrote, “ I can vouch for Judge Warner’s intelligence, work ethic, integrity and professionalism.”
Judge Warner is a native Montanan and he and his wife, Katherine, have six grown children.
I know he will be an outstanding member of the Montana Supreme Court and I wish him well.
So, with that, let me formally introduce to you, the soon-to-be newest member of the Montana Supreme Court....Associate Justice John Arnan Warner. (begin applause)
I'm sure he has a few words he’d like to share with us today.
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