---
title: "Carolyn S. Ostby | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/carolyn-s-ostby-9355"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Carolyn S. Ostby

U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- State: Montana
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- U.S. magistrate judge, District of Montana, 2002-2016-12-31
- U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, serving from 2002 until her retirement on November 30, 2016
- 1979–1981: Attorney Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice

### Education

- Undergraduate degree from Macalester College in 1972 and law degree from the University of Montana in 1977.

### Additional information

- Post‐retirement: Became a recalled federal magistrate judge on December 1, 2016
- Federal magistrate judge in Montana from 2002 until retirement on December 31, 2016.
- Tenure: Nearly 15 years, making her Montana’s longest‐serving full‐time magistrate judge and the state’s first female federal judge
- In her final days on the bench, Ostby reflected on her career as “a sense of loss but a sense of beginning” and expressed gratitude for her colleagues’ dedication and integrity.
- Carolyn S. Ostby’s career spanned legal clerkship, federal service, private practice, and nearly a decade as a federal magistrate judge, leaving a legacy as Montana’s first female federal judge and its longest‐serving full‐time magistrate
- Served on the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations, appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts, promoting the rule of law globally

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9355/carolyn-s-ostby/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9355/carolyn-s-ostby/)
- [U.S. District Court for the District of Montana current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9355/carolyn-s-ostby/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9355/carolyn-s-ostby/)

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