Gov. Steve Bullock will select the next Flathead County District Judge among three finalists.
A nomination commission submitted three candidates to Bullock on Tuesday to be considered for appointment to the seat being vacated by Ted O. Lympus. The nominations were Richard Patrick DeJana, Amy Poehling Eddy and Daniel Richard Wilson.
The three finalists emerged from six Flathead Valley attorneys who applied last month. The nomination commission interviewed DeJana, Eddy, Wilson and Kay Lynn Lee and accepted public comments for 30 days.
Bullock must fill the position within 30 days. The appointee is subject to election at the primary and general elections in 2016. The candidate elected in 2016 will serve until January 2019. There are three district judges in Flathead County.
The Judicial Nomination Commission consisted of District Judge Richard Simonton of Glendive; Mona Charles of Kalispell, Elizabeth Halverson of Billings; Hal Harper of Helena; Lane Larson of Billings; Ryan Rusche of Columbia Falls; and Nancy Zadick of Great Falls.
Lympus, 72, stepped down from the bench on Aug. 31 and had served since 1992. Until a new judge is appointed, two retired judges, Katherine Curtis and Stewart Stadler, have been presiding over Lympus’ court.