Justice Mark Montour, 64, a tribal citizen of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, was appointed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday, Sept. 29, to the New York State Appellate Division’s Fourth Judicial Department, which serves Central and Western New York.
With the appointment, Justice Mark Montour becomes the first Indigenous person to serve as a New York State Appellate Court Judge.
Justice Montour was also the first Native American to be elected to a state-level judicial position when he was elected to the New York State Supreme Court for the Eighth Judicial District in 2013. He is also the Chairman of the New York State Tribal Courts Committee, State facilitator for New York-Federal-State and Tribal Courts and Indian Nations Justice Forum, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.
When he was elected as a Lancaster Town Judge in 2007, Justice Montour created the drug diversion court, also known as the Lancaster Problem Solving Court, which assisted individuals with overcoming their drug abuse or dependency issues. He oversaw the individual’s treatment and, upon completion of the drug diversion program, the person was addiction free, employed and/or active in school, reunited with family, and their criminal charges have been reduced.
"Justice Montour was previously the acting Administrative Judge for the Eighth Judicial District and the Supervising Judge for Genesee and Wyoming County Town and Village Justice Courts. He is also the Chairman of the New York State Tribal Courts Committee, State facilitator for New York-Federal-State and Tribal Courts and Indian Nations Justice Forum, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics," Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in a statement on Friday.
Justice Montour graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law in 1983 and is a long-standing member of the Bar Association of Erie County and of New York State, as well as serves as Chairman of the New York State Tribal Courts Committee, State Facilitator for New York-Federal-State and Tribal Courts and Indian Nations Justice Forum, and is a member of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics.
More Stories Like This
Navajo Nation Mourns Loss of Former President Ben ShellyNative American Church Chapter Sues Bank for Racial and Religious Discrimination
Legislature Moves to Name Highway after Blackfeet Chief
UP CLOSE: With Chuck Sams, First Native American to Lead the National Park Service
Native News Weekly (March 19, 2023): D.C. Briefs
12 years of Native News
This month, we celebrate our 12th year of delivering Native News to readers throughout Indian Country and beyond. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation this month to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and to tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
