The Hon. Ingrid G. Gustafson is a justice of the Montana Supreme Court. She was appointed to the seat by former Governor Steve Bullock on December 14, 2017, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Mike Wheat.
At the time of her appointment, Gustafson presided as a judge for the 13th Judicial District Court in Yellowstone County since her appointment in 2004. During that time, she is credited with establishing the District’s felony drug court in 2011 and operating a pilot court involving child dependency and reunifying families.
Before beginning her judicial career, Gustafson spent sixteen years in private practice, where she handled state and federal criminal defense, personal injury, and domestic relations cases. During that time, she was a managing partner at Graves, Toennis & Gustafson in Billings (1996 to 2004). Gustafson also served as a public defender in Rosebud County and was a staff attorney for the Social Security Administration.
She received a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Montana State University in 1983. Gustafson then completed a J.D. at the University of Montana, Alexander Blewett III School of Law, in 1988.
Gustafson has served as vice president of the Montana Judges Association and a commissioner on the Montana Commission on Sentencing. She has also been involved with the National Center for State Courts Evidence-Based Sentencing Judicial Peer Group, the Montana Pre-Trial Advisory Committee, the Court Assessment Program, and the State Bar’s Fee Arbitration Committee.
Gustafson was born in Laramie, Wyoming, and relocated to Montana in 1972. She attended Billings West High School, where she graduated in 1979. While at university, she was a varsity alpine ski racer and was later inducted into the Montana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. Gustafson and her husband have two children.