Anthony Johnstone sworn in as judge to Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals

Anthony Johnstone (bottom left in photo) of the University of Montana school of law is sworn in as judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. (Provided by Tommy Martino and the University of Montana)

Described as a beloved professor, brilliant scholar, and fun and funny colleague, Anthony Johnstone was sworn in Friday at the University of Montana as judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Chief Judge Emeritus of the Ninth Circuit Sidney Thomas, of Billings, administered the oath of office to Johnstone, a law school faculty member, former solicitor general for Montana, and former clerk for Thomas.

“You will be a terrific member of our court,” Thomas said.

The ceremony took place in the Jane and George Dennison Theatre at UM, and members of the legal community from Montana and across the country attended and gave Johnstone a standing ovation and offered cheers for Thomas.

Johnstone, who will serve on the Ninth Circuit, dons his robe at a swearing in ceremony at the University of Montana attended by members of the legal community from across the state and country. (Provided by Tommy Martino and the University of Montana)

Johnstone’s wife, Autumn DeVos Johnstone, and their three children participated in the ceremony, and the Bible he used to take his oath belonged to his grandfather’s grandfather.

Seventeen of Johnstone’s colleagues on the Ninth Circuit, the largest of the federal circuit courts, also took the stage for the event. Chief Judge Mary Murguia said Montana is known for its natural beauty, but she saw beauty in the theater, too.

The theater seats 1,100, and it was more than half filled for the event. Murguia said it isn’t often that so many state and federal officials gather together in one place, especially for a positive event, and she found the welcome from the audience heartwarming.

“It also, in my view, reflects your support of our democracy,” Murguia said.

To laughter, she said she especially appreciated that the former chief judge on the Ninth Circuit received even more applause than former Gov. Steve Bullock or retiring Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath.

Both McGrath and Bullock offered remarks at the ceremony. In an introduction, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian Morris of Montana said McGrath and lawyer Jim Goetz of Bozeman were especially significant mentors to Johnstone.

McGrath said he heard Johnstone used to sit around and read the encyclopedia as a young man, and he said he thinks it’s probably true.

He hired Johnstone early on in his career because another colleague in the legal community, now federal Chief Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls, said it was a good idea, he said.

“I hired him based on Brian’s recommendation, and much to (Johnstone’s) annoyance, I never bothered to look at his transcript,” McGrath said.

In his own remarks, or “rebuttal,” Johnstone joked that McGrath had stolen his punchline; he had planned to rib the chief for still not having read his resume.

Johnstone received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1999 after earning his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University. His friend, the Honorable Neomi Rao of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said “Tony” majored in “the most letters.”

Rao, who also attended Yale and the University of Chicago Law School, said he studied ethics, politics, economics, geology and geophysics, and she believes his broad learning brings him wisdom that’s helpful to judges, who must consider so many different experiences in their work.

But Rao noted Johnstone is also a good sport with a sense of humor. When he was named “one of the 50 most beautiful” people by his college’s tabloid magazine, she said, he gamely posed in a kilt for the pictures.

Bagpipers with the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band opened the ceremony, and Zach Rides at the Door, who is Blackfeet and with the Kyiyo Singers, sang an honor song.

Dean Elaine Gagliardi of the Alexander III School of Law at UM shared quotes from students and colleagues about Johnstone, including a comment from Professor Jonathon Byington.

Nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden and supported by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Johnstone is the fourth professor or alumnus of Montana’s law school to sit on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“His mind is brilliant, his prose powerful, and his judgement sound,” Gagliardi said, quoting the professor.

Steve Bullock, former governor and former attorney general, returns a book, “The War of the Copper Kings,” to Anthony Johnstone, who once gave it to him. (Provided by Tommy Martino and the University of Montana)

Bullock, former attorney general who worked with Johnstone on a campaign finance fight that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and back to Montana, said he has relied on Johnstone’s counsel. Bullock said Johnstone sought his advice too when Johnstone was hoping to make his way back to Montana and into public service after working at Cravath, Swaine and Moore in New York.

He said Johnstone once gave him a copy of the book “The War of the Copper Kings,” about the control Montana’s early copper barons held and “the corrupting influence of money.” At the ceremony, Bullock said it was time for it to sit on Johnstone’s bookshelf again, and he returned it.

In his own remarks, Johnstone thanked his friends and family, former and current colleagues, and the community. He said he will hold as his motto something U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula said that stuck with him.

At a federal courtroom dedication to Molloy roughly a decade ago, the judge said people think of the rule of law as a rule, but he had a different idea, one Johnstone shared Friday.

“The rule of law is really what we do together,” Johnstone said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correctly identify the honor singer as Zach Rides at the Door.

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