Linda Copple Trout | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court | |
| In office February 1, 1997 –August 31, 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Charles McDevitt |
| Succeeded by | Gerald Schroeder |
| Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court | |
| In office September 1, 1992 –August 31, 2007 | |
| Appointed by | Cecil Andrus |
| Preceded by | Larry Boyle |
| Succeeded by | Joel Horton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 1,1951 Tokyo,Japan |
| Spouse | Kim J. Trout (div.) |
| Residence | Idaho |
| Education | University of Idaho (BA,JD) |
Linda Jayne Copple Trout (born September 1,1951) is an American lawyer and retired judge from Idaho. She is a former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court,the only female to hold that position. [1] Appointed by Governor Cecil Andrus as an associate justice in 1992, [2] [3] she was the first of four women to serve on the court. [4] [5] [6]
Born in Tokyo,Japan,Trout was adopted by a Boise pediatrician,Dr. B.I. "Bing" Copple, [1] [7] and graduated from Boise High School in 1969. She attended the University of Idaho in Moscow,and was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. [8] [9] Trout earned a bachelor's degree in 1973,and a J.D. from the UI College of Law in 1977. [10] [11]
Trout passed the bar in Idaho in 1977 and was in private practice in Lewiston for six years. [10] [12] She was appointed a county magistrate judge in 1983 and was elected in 1990 as a state judge in the second district, [13] [14] based in Lewiston. [12] [15] [16]
Trout was appointed to the state's supreme court in 1992 and took office on her 41st birthday. She retained her seat in statewide elections in 1996 (unopposed) [17] and 2002. [18] [19] Trout became the chief justice in February 1997,elected unanimously by the other justices, [20] [21] and served two terms in that capacity,over seven years. [22] She was on the state's highest court for fifteen years and retired with over a year left in her term in August 2007, [5] [6] succeeded by Joel Horton. [23]
She was married to attorney Kim J. Trout (B.S. 1976,J.D. 1979,Idaho). [1] [2] [24]