Linda Copple Trout

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 is married to attorney Kim J. Trout (B.S. 1976, J.D. 1979, Idaho).[1][2][24]