Mike Wheat
{{Short description|American judge}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Micheal Wheat
| honorific-suffix = Honorable
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| office = Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
| term_start = 2010
| term_end = 2017
| nominator =
| appointer =
| predecessor = John Warner (judge)
| successor = Ingrid Gustafson
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1947}}
|birth_place = Spokane, Washington, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic
|spouse = Debby
|children = 4
|education = University of Montana, Missoula {{small|(BA)}}
University of Montana, Missoula {{small|(JD)}}
|allegiance = United States of America
|branch = {{flag|United States Marine Corps}}
|serviceyears =
}}
Mike Wheat (born 1947) was a justice of the Montana Supreme Court from 2010 to 2017. He was appointed to the court in 2010 {{cite web|url=http://courts.mt.gov/supreme/bios/wheat.mcpx|title=Supreme Court of Montana Biographies|access-date=December 18, 2017}} by Governor Brian Schweitzer to fill the vacated seat of Justice John Warner.{{Cite news|url=http://helenair.com/news/politics/state/gov-picks-wheat-for-seat-on-high-court/article_0b2641ea-f059-11de-980c-001cc4c03286.html|title=Gov picks Wheat for seat on high court|last=Bureau|first=Charles S. Johnson IR State|work=Helena Independent Record|access-date=2017-12-18|language=en}}
Background
Wheat was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1947. He served with the United States Marine Corps and fought in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969 and was awarded the Purple Heart.{{Cite journal|last=Menden|first=Joe|date=August 2017|title=Wheat announces he will retire as Supreme Court justice at end of year.|url=http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.montanabar.org/resource/collection/EAA30F23-4767-49DA-BBE7-152CF93C8535/August_2017_Montana_Lawyer_web.pdfv|journal=Montana Lawyer|volume=42| issue = 9|pages=11}} After the war Wheat attended the University of Montana and graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1975. He received his JD from the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana in 1978. After graduation he worked as a deputy county attorney in Butte, Montana until 1981, when he moved to Bozeman, Montana to start his own private law firm, Cok, Wheat & Kinzler.{{Cite news|url=http://helenair.com/news/local/wheat-sworn-in-to-high-court/article_36c32a34-fa86-11de-8c8a-001cc4c002e0.html|title=Wheat sworn in to high court|last=Bureau|first=Jennifer McKee IR State|work=Helena Independent Record|access-date=2017-12-18|language=en}}
Wheat was elected to the Montana State Senate and served two Legislative sessions from 2002 to 2005. In 2008 Wheat ran an unsuccessful primary for Montana state attorney general. Wheat was re-elected to the Montana Supreme Court in 2010 and 2014. In 2017, Wheat announced that he would retire at the end of the year to spend more time with his family. His successor on the Montana Supreme Court is Ingrid Gustafson.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/montana/billings-judge-to-replace-wheat-on-montana-supreme-court/article_e3a66539-1393-50c6-8cc9-3b27c5d58900.html|title=Billings judge to replace Wheat on Montana Supreme Court|work=Bozeman Daily Chronicle|access-date=2017-12-18|language=en}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=John Warner}}
{{s-ttl|title=Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court|years=2010-2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Ingrid Gustafson}}
{{s-end}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Current Montana statewide political officials}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheat, Mike}}
Category:Justices of the Montana Supreme Court
Category:Montana state senators
Category:University of Montana alumni
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War
Category:United States Marines
Category:21st-century members of the Montana Legislature
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{{Montana-state-judge-stub}}