Five candidates are seeking a two-year appointment as judge in Department 2 of the 20th Judicial District, which serves Lake and Sanders counties.

The opening occurred when the sole candidate for the position, Polson attorney Britt Cotter, resigned in December before taking office due to his arraignment on drug-related charges. He pleaded not guilty Jan. 8 at District Court in Polson to one count of solicitation to commit criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and two counts of attempted criminal possession of dangerous drugs.

Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Gianforte is tasked with filling the vacancy until the next election cycle in 2026. Although some applicants don't appear to reside in either Lake or Sanders county, state law says they aren't required to unless elected or appointed to the post. 

Polson attorney John Mercer, who was appointed last spring to fill the vacancy after Judge Kim Christopher resigned, is among the five candidates for the appointment. Also on that list: Thane Patrick Johnson, Katherine Lace Kuykendall, Lacey Lorene Lincoln and Kelly P. McDonald.

Mercer grew up in Polson, graduated from high school here and was a Republican legislator from 1984 to 2000, serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives for four terms. He’s also served on the Polson School Board, was appointed to the Montana Board of Regents, serving as chair from 2004-2006, and was appointed to a two-year restructuring and review commission for the Montana University System.

He earned his law degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, and has had an extensive career as a private attorney, primarily with the Polson firm of Turnage Mercer and Wall from 1982-2024, where he focused largely on wills, trusts, estates and real estate.

In his application, Mercer said his tenure on the bench from last May through Jan. 5 inspired him to apply for the opening.

“I have found the judgeship to be challenging, educational and fulfilling,” he wrote. Mercer cites “deep community roots, a lifetime of public service” and “unwavering commitment to the stability and efficiency of the court” as the main reasons he put his name forward.

Thane Johnson is another Montana native, having grown up in Cut Bank. He attended Montana Tech on a football and academic scholarship before earning a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Montana, followed by a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1993.

He practiced law with a private firm in Cut Bank from 1993 until 2006, and at the same time served part time as deputy county attorney and also as part-time trial judge in the Blackfeet Tribal Court. After moving to Columbia Falls in 2003, he served for 13 months in the Kalispell public defenders’ office, and became a partner in the law firm of Johnson, Berg and Saxby in 2009.

Most recently, in 2023, he accepted a position as Assistant Attorney General, senior counsel, with the Montana Department of Justice’s Civil Service Bureau.

During his career, Johnson has tried more than 200 jury trials including 19 civil jury trials, in virtually every type of court, from federal and district to justice, city and tribal courts. His specialties are civil and criminal litigation, Indian law and agricultural law.

With the Department of Justice, he writes, “100% of my practice involved Constitutional litigation.” He’s also tried several cases before the Montana Supreme Court.

He writes that he’s applying for the appointment because he’s practiced in both Lake and Sanders counties, where “many of these people are friends to this this day” and deserve “experience and continuity.”

“I thoroughly enjoy the courtroom and the interactions of parties litigating at the trial level,” he writes. “Being a District Court judge in a rural setting has always been a dream and a goal of mine.”

Katherine Kuykendall grew up in Plains, earned her bachelor’s in sociology in 2006, and both a master’s in public administration and law degree in 2011 from the University of Montana, where she received the Order of Barristers award.

She’s had a varied career, including stints as a program director for the Montana Justice Foundation, an English and academic skills teacher in Chengdu, China, an elementary English teacher in Thailand, and an English as a Second Language teacher with a China-based company.

She says her experiences of teaching and living overseas without speaking the local languages have informed her approach to life, “and prepared me to approach judicial challenges calmly and with respect for the individuality and humanity of each person involved.”

She’s currently a freelance teacher, writer and editor, as well as a self-employed attorney, primarily serving clients in Plains, Missoula and Whitefish.

She writes that she’s applied for the judgeship as a means “to give back to and make a tangible positive impact on a community that I love.”

And, the complexity of the cases that will come her way interest her too. “There is nothing I love more than diving into a big, thorny challenge and putting its pieces in order,” she writes. “Serving on the bench is a tangible way of engaging with and serving the people of my community that suits both my talents and my temperament. I am eager to serve the people of Lake and Sanders Counties and to contribute to raising the judicial bar in Montana.”

Lacey Lincoln, who is currently serving as Hill County Attorney, hails from Washington, where she went to high school in Wenatchee and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. She received a certificate in international taxation from Northwestern University School of Law/Queen Mary University in London in 2006 and earned her law degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane in 2008.

After working as a law clerk in Chelan County and a deputy prosecuting attorney in Cowlitz County, she took a position as deputy county attorney in Missoula in 2017. She was appointed Hill County Attorney in 2021 after her predecessor resigned mid-term.

She writes that she’s concentrated on criminal litigation for the majority of her career, with about 30% of her time in her current job devoted to civil legal matters.

After working as a prosecutor for more than 15 years, Lacey writes that she has high regard for “the discipline and thoughtfulness” displayed by many of the judges who have heard her cases, as well as their role in resolving disputes and ensuring that individual legal rights are protected. “I desire to contribute to that legacy.’

“The dynamic nature of the role also excites me, as it ensures that my work is intellectually stimulating and rewarding,” she adds.

Kelly McDonald, who currently serves as Chief Justice of the CSKT Court of Appeals in Pablo, also teaches in the Native American Studies division of the Department of Tribal Governance and Administration at Salish Kootenai College.

She earned her bachelor’s from the University of Montana in Native American studies and anthropology and a master’s in cultural anthropology. She received her law degree in 2005 from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, with a Tribal Law Certificate.

McDonald is currently enrolled at UM, pursuing her doctorate in applied anthropology and cultural heritage studies.

As an attorney, she worked briefly as prosecutor for the Missoula City Attorney Office and spent 12 years as a tribal prosecutor for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The bulk of her experience as an attorney is prosecutorial, and includes serving on the Native American Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team in Montana. The group met twice a year to review a Native American fatality case in detail, and made recommendations to the state legislature to help address the issue of domestic abuse fatalities.

McDonald believes her background as a tribal judge and prosecutor would enable her to bring “historical and cultural understandings to the 20th Judicial District,” especially since most of Lake County and portions of Sanders County overlap the Flathead Indian Reservation.

She also writes that her appointment would foster “additional collaboration and planning between the State Courts, Tribal Courts, and Federal Court system, and I believe I would provide a good connection with the reservation community and the CSKT Court system.”

The public has until 5 p.m. Feb. 12 to submit letters of support or other comments regarding the applicants, who must receive at least three letters of support to be considered for appointment by the governor.  

Letters or comments may be emailed to nominatejudges@mt.gov, faxed to 406-444-4151 or mailed to Attn: Hannah Slusser, Governor’s Office, PO Box 200801, Helena, MT 59620. To read the applications or review letters of support, visit nominate.judges.mt.gov.

The governor is required to fill the post by March 13.