Laurie McKinnon

Laurie McKinnon (born January 4, 1960) is an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court. She was elected to her first eight-year term in 2012. In 2020, she defeated Mike Black, gaining a second eight-year term.

Background McKinnon was born January 4, 1960, in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Bachelor's degree from Goucher College in 1982. The 9th district is responsible for Teton, Toole, Pondera, and Glacier counties.

In 2010, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Montana awarded McKinnon Judge of the Year for her work in cases involving abused and neglected children.

In 2012, McKinnon ran for Montana Supreme Court against Ed Sheehy. Though Supreme Court races in Montana are non-partisan, this election was divided by right and left leaning support groups, with the conservatives backing McKinnon. Attack ads against Sheehy were paid for by Montana Growth Network. In May of 2012, McKinnon had raised $38,000 for her campaign and the organization had already spent $41,000. Considered a dark money group, Montana Growth Network was eventually fined for their involvement in the race.

McKinnon was sworn in to start her eight-year term in January 2013.

The 2020 election race against Mike Black was contentious. Initially, McKinnon stated she would not seek another term. One reason was the potential move of her husband. and has publicly denounced the attack ads. For his part, Black stated he did not expect to be running against an incumbent, as he filed after McKinnon announced her retirement. That was the same for Mars Scott, who lost in the primaries. In 20 years, only one person defeated an incumbent Montana Supreme Court justice. Black was also concerned about possible interference in the election from dark money groups.