Dirk M Sandefur was born on October 22,1961 and is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court from 2017 to 2025.
28 Facts About Dirk Sandefur
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Dirk Sandefur served for eight years as a criminal and civil deputy attorney for Cascade County, Montana, before being elected a judge on the 8th Judicial District of the Montana District Court in 2002.
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Dirk Sandefur ran for and won election to the Montana Supreme Court in 2016.
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Dirk Sandefur was born on October 22,1961, in Great Falls, Montana, to Glenn and Kathleen Sandefur.
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Dirk Sandefur's father was a Korean War veteran who became an auto body mechanic and classic car restorer, and his mother a homemaker.
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Dirk Sandefur then enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.
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Dirk Sandefur worked as an aide to a construction inspector with the United States Army Corps of Engineers at Malmstrom Air Force Base from 1984 to 1986.
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In 1990, Dirk Sandefur entered the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana.
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Now married and with children, Dirk Sandefur worked full-time while attending law school.
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Dirk Sandefur graduated with high honors in 1993, third in his class of 75.
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Dirk Sandefur was admitted to the State Bar of Montana in 1993.
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Dirk Sandefur worked for a year as an associate in private practice, and in 1994 took a position as a contract public defender with the Office of the State Public Defender.
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In 1994, Dirk Sandefur became a Deputy Cascade County Attorney, at first prosecuting criminal cases and later serving as Chief Civil Deputy Attorney, overseeing matters such as contracts, education and school law, election law, employment law, law enforcement, property tax disputes, property transactions, real estate subdivision, tort claims, and zoning.
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Dirk Sandefur served concurrently as general counsel to the county.
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Dirk Sandefur ran unopposed in the 2008 primary, and was retained by a vote of 85.2 to 14.8 percent.
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Dirk Sandefur was unopposed again in the 2014 primary election, and was retained by a vote of 88.7 to 11.3 percent.
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Cascade County Attorney John Parker later said Dirk Sandefur garnered a reputation for being a tough but fair jurist.
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On February 5,2015, Dirk Sandefur filed to run for Cotter's seat.
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About the same time, Dirk Sandefur himself hosted a fundraising event which attracted donors such as Jorge Quintana, Democratic National Committee member; Pam Bucy, the Democratic Montana Commissioner of Labor and Industry; and Maggie Moran, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana.
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Juras emphasized her work for farmers, ranches, and small business owners, and claimed Dirk Sandefur had injected partisan politics into the race.
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Dirk Sandefur argued Juras had little real courtroom experience, and denigrated at her stand on a number of legal issues.
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The RSLC, which spent almost $500,000 in 2014 Montana Supreme Court races, gave $93,065 to a Montana group organized to oppose Dirk Sandefur, which included $21,361 for television advertising and $43,000 for polling and opposition research.
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Dirk Sandefur, who said he knew of Juras' donation when it was made, had no comment.
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Dirk Sandefur argued that this violated the Montana Code of Judicial Conduct.
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Dirk Sandefur said that use of a courtroom as a backdrop had received approval from both the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices and the Montana State Attorney General.
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Dirk Sandefur claimed Juras lacked the expertise to be a Montana Supreme Court judge, and trial lawyer Alexander Blewett III repeatedly pressed Juras to admit or deny the allegations made in the "Last Straw" and other attack ads.
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Dirk Sandefur was sworn in for an eight-year term on the Montana Supreme Court on January 2,2017.
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Dirk Sandefur stated that he would not run for re-election in 2024.