HELENA — Amy Poehling Eddy of Kalispell is the first attorney to officially file an application for appointment to a vacant justice seat on the Montana Supreme Court.

Eddy, 38, is a partner in the Kalispell law firm of Eddy Sandler Trial Attorneys.

A San Diego native, Eddy was raised in Idaho and moved to Montana in 1998 to attend law school at the University of Montana.

She received her juris doctor degree there in 2001 after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in social science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1997.

Eddy is seeking the Supreme Court seat vacated by former Justice Brian Morris, who resigned in December after the U.S. Senate confirmed his presidential appointment to be a federal judge.

Last fall, three other attorneys said they would be applying for the seat and were prepared to run for it if Morris’ Senate confirmation occurred early enough for the appointed justice to run for election in 2014.

As it turned out, the timing of the Senate vote came too late to require the new justice to run for the court this year.

Saying they would seek the Supreme Court judgeship were Beth Brennan of Missoula, former state Sen. Jon Ellingson of Missoula and state Workers’ Compensation Judge Jim Shea of Helena.

Applications are due with the state Judicial Nomination Commission Feb. 12.

It will interview applicants and recommend from three to five attorneys to Gov. Steve Bullock, who must select a new justice from that list of finalists by May 9.

Eddy is the president-elect of the Northwest Montana Bar Association, a member of the UM School of Law’s Board of Visitors since 2012 and a member of Montana Trial Lawyers Association’s board since 2004 and its president in 2011.

Eddy also has taught trial practice classes at the UM law school.

From 2003-07, Eddy was a trustee for the Whitefish School District and later co-founded the Whitefish School District Education Foundation.

Distributed by MCT Information Services