Supreme court candidates’ experience varied
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MONTANA — Kristen Juras and Dirk Sandefur are vying for a seat on Montana’s Supreme Court, where decisions are reached on cases that come up from district courts, such as appeals.
Because the election is non-partisan, the top two candidates in the primary face off in the Nov. 8 general election. Juras received 44 percent of the primary vote while Sandefur received 34 percent.
Both are multiple-generation Montanans, but bring different experiences to the race.
Juras, a fourth-generation Montanan, was born and raised in Conrad. Her family raised cattle, horses and farmed while serving in a variety of government positions. Juras graduated with high honors from the University of Montana in 1977. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from University of Georgia School of Law in 1982. She began practicing with international law firms, and continued her practice in Oklahoma City before returning to Montana to work as an attorney in Great Falls. She began teaching at UM’s School of Law in 2000.
Juras’ website states that the current Supreme Court includes a district court judge, an administrative law judge, an attorney general and deputy attorney general, trial practice attorneys, and attorneys who have served in the Legislature.
“I bring a background and experience that is currently missing from the court,” Juras said. “I believe my 16 years experience as a professor, including my research and writing, will make me a better justice, but also my 34 years representing all farmers, small business and a wide array of legal issues they face.”
Juras and her husband John, a civil engineer, have three grown sons. Juras’ father, Rib Gustafson, a former State Legislator, taught his daughter “cowboy ethics” and was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2014.
During a Sept. 8 debate, Juras said her opponent stated that she isn’t in “the same class as I am” as far as relevant qualifications.
“I would argue that my experience with farmers, ranchers and small business owners is absolutely relevant,” Juras said. “Being in the trenches with them and their daily legal battles places me in their class — which is most of Montana — and I think most of Montana wants someone who understands what it’s like when the government tried to take away your property and double your property tax values.” Juras said she has defended water rights claims, “a very important topic in the next ten years.”
Sandefur, a third-generation Montanan and Great Falls native, was a police officer in Havre. After three years in Havre, Sandefur attended the University of Montana School of Law, graduating with high honors before serving as a public defender in Great Falls and deputy attorney for Cascade County. He ran for district court judge in 2002 and has been re-elected twice. In the past he has also served as a substitute justice on the Montana Supreme Court.
“I am running to help maintain the integrity of our Court as the place where all Montanans can obtain justice on a fair, impartial, and even playing field under the rule of law without regard for any political, social, or personal agenda or ideology,” Sandefur said.
The most important attributes of a Supreme Court Justice, Sandefur believes, are an understanding of the issues Montanans face in the court system, broadbased judicial or courtroom experience in deciding or at least handling the wide range of cases that come before our Supreme Court, and a proven track record of being a fair, impartial, and highly competent judge or courtroom practitioner.
“I have all of these attributes – my opponent has none,” Sandefur said, calling Juras and “an inexperienced, ideology-driven candidate. If politics were not involved and this was a straight-up job application process on the qualifications for the job, my opponent wouldn’t even get an interview.”
Sandefur’s father served in the Korean War in the U.S. Navy and later worked as an auto mechanic; his mom was a medical lab technician. Two of Sandefur’s children attend UM, the third is in high school.
“My siblings and I will never forget how our parents’ hard work helped lay the foundation for our success,” Sandefur states on his website. “Our family’s story is like that of many families in Montana.”
More candidate information can be found on Juras’ website, jurasforjustice.com and Sandefur’s website, sandefurforjustice. com
