Diane Barz
Diana Barz | |
|---|---|
| Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court | |
| Governor | Stan Stephens |
| Preceded by | L.C. Gulbrandson |
| Succeeded by | Karla M. Gray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 18, 1943 University of Montana School of Law , JD (1968) |
| Committees | Youth Court Conference |
Diane MacDonald Barz (August 18, 1943 – May 14, 2014) was an American
Career
Barz received her
In 1987, she sentenced convicted murderer David Thomas Dawson to death. Dawson was subsequently executed in 2006 and remains the last person executed by the state of Montana.[10]
In 1989, Governor Stan Stephens appointed Barz as an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court.[11] In 1990, Barz resigned from the court rather than participate in a contested statewide election,[4] serving until 1991.[2] She was an assistant United States attorney from 1991 to 1994. She then again served as Montana District Court judge, serving for 22 years.[3] On the Montana District Court, Barz spent over 15 years running the Youth Court, where she founded the Youth Court Conference Committee to find alternative punishments for young offenders.[9][4]
Barz retired from the District Court in 2003 but continued to work elsewhere. She conducted two investigations for the University of Montana: a 2004 investigation of the athletic department that found a million dollar shortfall was due to negligence and a 2011 sexual assault investigation that found multiple sexual assault reports and led to a conviction. She described the university as having “a problem of sexual assault on and off campus”.[3] She also served as a temporary judge in several western Montana courts.[3] She was described by the president of the State Bar of Montana as a "smart and competent judge who could be tough."[9]
Personal life
Born in Bozeman, Montana[4] to Bernice (Johnson) MacDonald and World War II pilot John MacDonald,[9] Barz graduated from high school in Concord, California. She then received her bachelor's degree from Whitworth University.[1] She also studied at Heidelberg University in Germany for one year. In 1969, she met her husband, Dan Barz, and married him a year later; they and their dogs hunted birds annually, and she also participated in antelope hunts, fishing, boating, and foraging. Her family provided scholarships to the University of Montana and Montana State University.[9] Barz died in Billings, Montana of cancer,[3][12] which she was diagnosed with eight years earlier.[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Biographies and Histories of Montana's Justices, Judges, and Courts" (PDF). State Law Library of Montana. 2020. p. 13. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ a b "List of justice of the Montana Supreme court, 1864-2019" (PDF). State of Montana. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ The Missoulian. Associated Press. 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
- ^ a b c d e Hutchins, Patrick. "Movers and Shakers Five Generations of UM Women". Montanan. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Women in Law" (PDF). Montana Courts. p. 8. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Howard, Tom (February 27, 2004). "Bar group gives award to Poppler". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Holmquist, Betsy (Spring 2003). "Blazing Trails". Montanan online. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Gazette, CLAIR JOHNSON Billings (15 May 2014). "Diane Barz, first woman to serve on Montana Supreme Court, dies". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
- ^ a b c d e f "Diane McDonald Barz". missoulian.com. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ "A timeline of events in the David Dawson murder case and execution". Billings Gazette. 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- ^ "Brief History of the Montana Judicial Branch". Montana Judicial Branch. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Diane MacDonald Barz Obituary (1943 - 2014) Bozeman Daily Chronicle". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-04-09.