Former private attorney and county prosecutor Tim Wenz has seen both sides of the courtroom. He takes this experience with while moving into a new role as Flathead County’s newest Justice of the Peace.  

“I just hope that I try my best to keep the community safe and make sure everybody feels like they had a fair shot if they come before me,” he said.    

Flathead County commissioners last month appointed Wenz to fill a vacancy created when former Justice of the Peace Paul Sullivan was elected in November to serve as Flathead County District Court Judge. Wenz was sworn in Dec. 31.  

As Justice of the Peace, Wenz will handle misdemeanor and criminal offenses from the county, citations issued by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Highway Patrol, along with landlord-tenant disputes, small claims court cases.  

Born and raised in Great Falls, Wenz, 47, often found himself swimming at Echo Lake with his family or catching shows at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse as a child.  

After graduating from Concordia College in 1999, he jumped right into law school at the University of Montana, nabbing some summer internships clerking.  Wenz always wanted to work in the courtroom.  

“I wanted to be in front of a jury, in front of people. And so that's kind of where I went,” he said.  

By 2002, he became a prosecutor with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office. There, he dealt with everything from juvenile cases to felonies.  

“I felt like I was helping people, especially the victims of crimes,” he said. “And there are still some that I keep in touch with, and they like to just let me know they’re doing well. And that always makes you feel kind of good.” 

After four and a half years, he shifted in his career working as a private attorney. Through the Wenz Law Office, he specialized in criminal law, driving under the influence offenses and personal injury law.  

During his 18 years as a criminal defense lawyer, he held the ideal that everyone deserves a right to representation, no matter the charges. When people would often ask how he could do the work, he referred to one of America’s founding fathers.   

“John Adams defended the British soldiers who fired on the Americans at the Boston Massacre. He said everybody has a right to counsel regardless of what they did,” he said.  

But after almost two decades of building his firm from the ground up, Wenz is spending his last month before taking the bench in February closing shop.  

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. But to Wenz, becoming Justice of the Peace is yet another adventure. 

His time working as a prosecutor and private attorney, he said, will allow him valuable insight when presiding over cases.  

“I’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like to be on both sides. I know that each side has its story,” he said. 

When he takes the bench, Wenz said he is not looking to make radical changes to the courtroom commending Sullivan for his previous work.  

But Wenz does intend to ensure people are not punished in court for having mental health issues.  

Sometimes those undergoing mental health crises commit a crime and jail is often not the right path the person should take, Wenz said. He aims to push toward mental health counseling in certain cases rather than punishment.   

“I hope to be able to take into account mental health. I don’t want to criminalize mental health,” he said. 

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].