Marilyn Skoglund

Marilyn Skoglund
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1997–2019
Preceded by	Ernest W. Gibson III
Succeeded by	William D. Cohen
Judge of the Vermont District Court
In office 1994–1997
Preceded by	Frank Mahady
Succeeded by	Patricia Zimmerman
Personal details
Born	(1946-08-15) August 15, 1946 (age 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Children	2
Education	Southern Illinois University Carbondale Woodbury College
Profession	Attorney

Marilyn Skoglund (born August 15, 1946) is a former Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. She is well known for having attained admission to the bar and appointment to the bench despite not having gone to law school.

Life and career

Marilyn Ruth Signe Skoglund was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15, 1946, and was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1971,^[1] and settled in Plainfield, Vermont in 1973 when her then-husband accepted a teaching position at Goddard College. She was divorced shortly afterwards.^[2]

Skoglund attended the paralegal program at Montpelier's Woodbury College.^[3] She studied law under the supervision of Louis P. Peck while working in the Vermont Attorney General's office,^[4] a practice still permitted in Vermont,^[5] and became an attorney in 1978.

After receiving her law license Skoglund continued her career in the Vermont Attorney General's office. Her assignments included: Special Assistant Attorney General (1978-1981); Assistant Attorney General (1981-1989); Chief of the Civil Law Division (1989-1993); and Chief of the Public Protection Division (1993-1994).^[6]

In 1994 Skoglund was appointed to the Vermont District Court. She served until 1997, when she was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court to succeed the retiring Ernest W. Gibson III.^[7]

Skoglund was continued in office by the state Judicial Retention Committee in 2005,^[8] 2011,^[9] and 2017.^[10]

In May 2019, Skoglund informed Governor Phil Scott of her intention to retire effective September 1, 2019.^[11] She was succeeded by William D. Cohen.^[12]

References

1. Pete Rosenbery, Law school to host Skoglund as jurist-in-residence, The Southern Illinoisan, March 20, 2009
2. Times Argus, Obituary, Duncan Mitchell, January 8, 2010
3. Pamela Polston, The court's jester Marilyn Skoglund is a honkytonk singer, gun toter, comic, art aficionado, poker player and, oh yes, a respected Supreme Court justice, March 9, 2002
4. Heintz, Paul (May 1, 2019). "Justice Served: Marilyn Skoglund to Retire From the Vermont Supreme Court". Seven Days. Burlington, VT.
5. Associated Press, Not all lawyers are law school grads, Reading Eagle, October 10, 2005
6. Forster-Long, Inc., The American Bench, 2008, page 2444
7. Vermont Supreme Court, Biography, Marilyn Skoglund Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 24, 2012
8. Nancy Remsen, Panel votes for new terms for justices, Burlington Free Press, February 25, 2005
9. Boston Globe, Vt. lawmakers vote to keep judges, March 30, 2011
10. Bloomer, John H. Jr. (March 23, 2017). "Journal of the Joint Assembly" (PDF). legislature.vermont.gov/. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. p. 6.
11. Keays, Alan J. (May 1, 2019). "Justice Skoglund stepping down from Vermont Supreme Court". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
12. Keays, Alan J. (December 5, 2019). "Scott taps William Cohen for Vermont Supreme Court seat". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.