Event Detail

Retired Montana State Supreme Court Justice Jim Nelson will deliver the Carroll College 2019 Constitution Day Lecture titled “Ask Not What You Can Do.” Justice Nelson’s goal with this lecture is to send the audience home with the task of creating outside the box, their own personal vision of what their federal and state Constitutions can do for them to meet the challenges of our present age. He will discuss these challenges by way of example. The lecture will be followed by a Q & A from the audience.

This lecture is sponsored by Carroll College Constitutional Studies and the Department of Political Science and International Relations.

This event is free and open to the public.

About Justice James C. Nelson:

Jim Nelson served as a Justice on the Montana Supreme Court from May 1993 until January 2013. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in business (cum laude) from the University of Idaho in 1966 and his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from George Washington University in 1974.
Prior to serving on the Court, Jim engaged in the general practice of law in Cut Bank, Montana, for nearly 20 years, representing individuals, small businesses, ranchers and farmers in domestic relations, real estate, litigation, contract, wills probate, estate and oil and gas matters. Additionally, he served as the Glacier County Attorney and prosecutor for 14 of those years. Jim was active in numerous community affairs and organizations and served the State of Montana in various capacities including as a member and chairman of the State Board of Oil and Gas Conservation and as a member of the State Gaming Advisory Council and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Corrections and Criminal Justice Policy.
Jim has always been an outspoken advocate for civil rights and for a fair, impartial and independent judiciary. He is the recipient of the Montana Trial Lawyers Public Service Award, 2013; the Montana American Civil Liberties Janette Rankin Award, 2013; and the American Bar Association Stonewall Award, 2014. Jim is a frequent contributor of op-eds to state newspapers.
Jim is a veteran, having served as an officer in the United States Army.