Judge Dan Wilson is running for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court to bring his experience and common sense as a Flathead County District Judge to the next level. After more than twelve years on the bench and handling many hundreds of cases and trials, he has decided to seek a position on the high court following an announcement that one of its current members will not seek reelection in 2024.

 

The story of Dan’s experience in the law stretches back three decades and begins in 1993 when he accepted his first job as a prosecutor in Great Falls and continues as he worked as a prosecutor in Chinook and later in Kalispell, where he met and married his wife, Tia. They have been married for 27 years and have a daughter who attends the University of Montana.

 

In 1999, Dan settled into private practice and rounded out his legal experience representing people and businesses on a wide variety of legal issues that affect the lives of everyday Montanans. Dan worked on contract disputes, estate planning, property and easements, and lawsuits of all sorts. Dan also represented people charged with crimes in state and federal court and had trials around Montana.

 

Dan’s family has a long history in Montana. His great grandfather got off the train in Malta in 1913 and walked more than a dozen miles south through the snow, finally setting foot on the homestead that eventually became the family farm. Later, Dan’s grandfather farmed the land and raised a family in Malta and earned a position as its city judge and also as justice of the peace for Phillips County. Dan isn’t sure what ultimately inspired him to become a judge, but his grandpa, Bill Waters, was a hard worker with a well-earned reputation for fairness, and his stories about the courtroom intrigued Dan from the time he was a youngster. Much later, when Dan told his grandpa about his plans to go to law school, his grandpa gave him some stern advice: always be prepared for court and always respect the judge. Dan followed that advice as a lawyer and does his best to maintain those standards as a judge. 

 

Dan believes that Montana is a great state because of its people, who are hardworking and decent and who have maintained these values across the generations. Most of all, Dan believes that Montanans value common sense and want judges who value it, too. Dan is that kind of judge.

 

Please support Judge Dan Wilson in his campaign for the Montana Supreme Court and elect a judge who values Montana’s great traditions of hard work, decency, and common sense.