Four candidates vying to replace Flathead County District Court Judge Ted O. Lympus will be interviewed in Kalispell on Oct. 5.
Six Flathead Valley attorneys applied for the district court job and Richard Patrick DeJana, Amy Poehling Eddy, Kay Lynn Lee and Daniel Richard Wilson were selected for an interview with the Judicial Nomination Commission. The interviews will be open to the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Flathead County Justice Center in Courtroom 3 on the third floor.
After the interviews, the judicial commission will deliberate and select three to five nominees for Gov. Steve Bullock to appoint. The person selected will serve on the bench but will have to run for election in 2016 to serve out the rest of Lympus’ term until January 2019. The Judicial Nomination Commission includes District Judge Richard Simonton of Glendive, Mona Charles of Kalispell, Elizabeth Halverson of Billings, Hal Harper of Helena, Land 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.