Leaving the Bench
POLSON— In April of 2013, Judge C.B. McNeil announced his retirement as District Court judge of the 20th Judicial District. On Sept. 5, he will officially step down from the bench.
Although the District Judge is typically an elected position, Judge McNeil’s replacement will be appointed by Governor Steve Bullock because the judge’s retirement does not fall on an election year.
According to Judge McNeil’s order of court administration, all of his court cases will be turned over to Judge Deborah Kim Christopher between the time that he steps down from the bench and a replacement is chosen. His scheduled hearings that take place on Wednesdays will be moved to Thursdays and those that are set to take place on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month will be moved to the first and third Tuesdays in order to accommodate Judge Christopher’s schedule.
His replacement will be put through an intense interview process by the Judicial Nomination Commission (JNC) before being recommended to Governor Bullock.
The applications for candidates were due on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Six people applied: Steven Norman Eschenbacher, current managing attorney at the Polson Office of the State Public Defender, JoAnn Jayne, current justice court judge of Lake County, James A. Manley, of Manley Law Firm in Polson, James William Raymond, sole practitioner at Raymond Law Office in Polson, Mark Alan Russell, chief Lake County deputy county attorney and Hot Springs city attorney and John Conn Schulte, shareholder of Schulte Law Firm in Polson. On Friday, Aug. 9, the names of applicants were made public; until Monday, Sept 9, the JNC will be holding a public comment period. Members of the general public are welcome to view the applications online, and submit their comments by email, print or telephone call. All public comment will become part of the applicant’s file, will be posted with their applications and forwarded to the governor with recommendations.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, after the public comment period closes, the JNC will decide which applicants they will interview. During the week of Sept 23, interviews will be held in Polson. The JNC must then submit three to five recommendations to the governor before Oct. 3.
The new district court judge will be chosen by Governor Bullock by Oct. 30, 2013 and will serve until January of 2015. The position will be subject to elections in 2014 and the successful candidate at that time will serve a full six-year term.
Judge McNeil, however, will leave a legacy behind in the 20th District. He was the first judge to be elected to the 20th Judicial District in 1984, when it was newly created, and has sat for thousands of criminal court cases during his time in Lake and Sanders Counties since.
However, Judge McNeil declined to sit for an interview until he has officially left after Sept. 5.
For more information on the application process for Judge McNeil’s replacement, or to provide public comment, visit the link at www.courts.mt.gov.