A sitting justice of the peace and three private-practice attorneys will be interviewed Monday by the Montana Judicial Nomination Commission for possible appointment as Flathead County District Court judge to fill the position recently vacated by Ted O. Lympus.

The commission will forward the names of the best candidates to Gov. Steve Bullock, who is expected to appoint someone by Nov. 7.

The new judge will take office until a successor is determined through primary or general election in 2016.

Justice of the Peace Dan Wilson and attorneys Rich DeJana, Amy Poehling Eddy and Kay Lynn Lee will be interviewed in public starting at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 3 at the Flathead County Justice Center.

Immediately after the interviews, the commission will meet to consider the candidates. Deliberations are open to the public.

All four candidates noted that the field of contenders features vast and varied legal experience.

“There’s no question that the experience level among the applicants is very deep,” Wilson said. “I believe that what distinguishes me is how broad my experience is.”

Wilson has been an attorney in Montana for 21 years. He said he believes attorneys either specialize in one field or take a broad approach to practice in as many areas of the law as possible.

“I’ve spent my career trying to practice and learn as many parts of the law that I could,” Wilson said. “A District Court opportunity for me seems like a natural extension of the focus I’ve had for my whole career.”

Wilson worked as a prosecutor before he entered private practice in 1998.

Wilson said the highlight of his legal career was a case where he represented a mentally disabled woman who was appealing a 158-year sentence handed down because of mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Wilson was able to appeal the case and reach a settlement where the woman was entered into an appropriate mental health regimen, but still supervised in a manner that protected the public. Wilson said the case was discussed in congressional hearings on mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Wilson has served as Flathead County justice of the peace since 2010. He was unsuccessful in his bid for Flathead County District Court judge in 2012.

Wilson said he is glad he has been able to keep his court calendar current and that his time on the bench has given him experience in applying the law.

“What it comes down to for me is that I believe my experience taught me to approach a case with a search for truth and to apply the law,” Wilson said.

DeJana, a Kalispell attorney, said he thinks his gray hair is what sets him apart from the rest of the candidates. He said he has gone before the Montana Supreme Court 38 times, the same number of years he has been practicing law.

“I’ve tried over 20 jury trials in my life,” DeJana said. “I’ve tried almost any kind of case you can talk about.”

DeJana said that arguing before the Montana Supreme Court has been the highlight of his career.

“Arguing in that old historic chamber, it was the most fun,” DeJana said. “I don’t think I have experienced anything in my life like it.”

DeJana said that as a judge he would want to tackle a clogged docket and make things move more quickly.

“We’ve got a backlog,” DeJana said. “I really think we need to fix some things right now and I think I’ve got enough experience to fix it.”

Kalispell attorney Lee also cited a congested court docket as something that tops her agenda. She moved to Kalispell 11 years ago with intentions to retire after 17 years of practice.  Instead she took up family law, a field she had avoided in the past.

“I feel very strongly that a judge needs to get their decisions out as soon as possible,” Lee said. “People who don’t have a decision are not getting justice. I’ve seen this over my years in Kalispell. It seems we are waiting an awfully long time for decisions. People are in crisis. Their families are in crisis and they need those decisions quickly.”

Lee said the high point of her legal career was winning a case before the Montana Supreme Court. It was the first family law case the justices allowed to advance to oral argument in several years.

“You have to be sharp on your toes and familiar with your facts,” Lee said of arguing before the high court.

Eddy, also a Kalispell attorney, also is a fan of the state’s high court. She said he high point of her career was working for all but one of the living former justices of the Montana Supreme Court in a case about judicial elections in the state. The case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Eddy said her experience in complex civil litigation is what sets her apart from the other candidates.

“If I was appointed to the seat, I would also be the only judge with such experience,” Eddy said. “Over my career, this has included representing hundreds of individuals and small businesses in property and contract disputes, questions pertaining to secured transactions, easements, personal injury, insurance coverage matters, employment law, and construction defects, to name a few. This type of work constitutes well over a third of the caseload of our court system here in Flathead County.”

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.