“We’re going to miss you” was the clear theme at Ben Anciaux’s retirement party on Thursday, July 2, at the Lake County Courthouse, as the county celebrated his 45 years of public service.   

Anciaux has been a presence in the Lake County courtroom since 1986, first serving as a contract public defender for 29 years and later serving as deputy county attorney for the last 11 years.  

He was also a private civil law attorney while serving as a public defender. Before taking on his position with Lake County, he served as the deputy county attorney in Richland County for five years.  

Anciaux graduated from Bigfork High School and went on to earn his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Montana. In 1975, he married his high school sweetheart, Laura, and together they had three sons: Aaron, Brian and Kyle. 

County Attorney James Lapotka kicked off the retirement party by explaining that more attorneys are retiring and moving to the county than are practicing. With that, the ones who are practicing are not interested in helping people the way Anciaux has.  

Lapotka noted that Anciaux assisted people in gaining guardianship of their grandkids and has helped people in drug court reinstate their driver's licenses, which is “probably the most difficult legal work you can do,” he said.  

While gifting him a plaque, Lapotka said, “We are all going to really miss Ben.”  

Judge Mercer also shared during the celebration that it’s often not clear who’s running the courtroom, and that Anciaux often tells the judge what to do.  

Mercer said an example is from court on Thursday, when he was trying to handle a case that had, unbeknownst to him, been assigned to Judge Owen.  

In court, Anciaux said in court, “Your honor, you don’t have jurisdiction, and Mercer replied, “What again is jurisdiction?” he said, laughing with the room as he told the story.  

Mercer added a list of joking improvements that Anciaux has given to the court, such as allowing defendants to just text in “No, they can’t make it” to court. Another suggestion was to implement I owe you instead of cash for bail.  

“I owe you makes way more sense,” Mercer laughingly said.  

But the jokes didn’t conclude from Mercer, as he gifted Anciaux some certificates. These include a certificate that authorizes him to appear anytime via Zoom in department two and a “Get into jail free card.” 

“Ben Anciaux has been someone in this community that has stood so strong,” Mercer said. “It's really an honor to have served in the bar with you, and I'm so glad you were here when I got here, because you have such great knowledge about how all this process works.”  

Judge Owen also gifted Anciaux certificates, including one to appear in department one via Zoom and a right of first refusal for his choice of jury chair if the county ever upgrades them.  

Owen also presented him with a certificate appointing him as the drug court grievance counselor and a certificate of gratitude for his hard work and commitment to service. Owen explained that she started about six weeks before Anciaux began at the county’s attorney’s office and that they have had the opportunity to work together ever since.  

Civil Attorney James Raymond also told the story about when he was serving as the City of Polson’s attorney. At the time, he was “really green, and Ben was not,” and Anciaux read his move, and the case went to jury trial.  

Raymond explained that, because of Anciaux's more disorganized Type B personality, he thought he would kick his butt at trial. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Raymond explained that it felt like his first trial ever, and Anciaux kicked his butt.  

“It was definitely a learning curve for me. So, subsequently, my respect for Ben went up a lot, and I've been watching him ever since,” he said.  

After the anecdotes, the courtroom, full of co-workers, former county employees and beloved friends, enjoyed snacks and drinks and wished Anciaux a happy retirement.  

"I worked with a lot of great people. It was enjoyable the whole time, and I miss all those people on a daily basis," Anciaux said. 

    Ben Anciaux mingles with retired county employee Dee Adams during his retirement party on Thursday, July 2. (Emily Messer/Leader)

 Retired Judge James Manley, Judge Molly Owen, Ben Anciaux and Judge John Mercer pose for a picture at Anciaux’s retirement party on Thursday, July 2. (Emily Messer/Leader)