Three running for open district judge position

A justice of the peace and two career attorneys are vying for the votes of Flathead County residents in the upcoming primary battle for the District Judge Department 2 seat being vacated by Judge Katherine Curtis.

Because judicial candidates run without any attachment to political parties, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary will advance to the November general election.

The primary election is June 5, although early voting begins Monday, May 7.

Justice of the Peace Daniel Wilson is the only candidate with experience on the bench, taking his position last year after having worked as a deputy county attorney in Flathead, Cascade and Blaine counties. He said that experience, particularly from his current job in Flathead Justice Court, makes him the best candidate.

“Every candidate will describe his or her experience as perhaps being better than anyone else’s,” Wilson said, “but the fact is a person may know as much as anyone else about the law, but a judge will see so many different versions and arguments concerning the law presented in cases that even the most knowledgeable lawyer would certainly not recognize it.”

Wilson said he decided to run for the higher court when he first heard Curtis would not be seeking re-election. He made a similar decision to run for Justice Court when now-District Judge David Ortley announced he was not seeking re-election to his justice of the peace position.

All three candidates were asked about recent local cases where defendants were released from jail on their own recognizance — without bail — leading to the person committing another crime or leaving another person involved to a lesser extent in the same crime still in jail.

Wilson said such releases must be authorized carefully and on a case-by-case basis.

“I consider a person’s background, the nature of the charge, the evidence and other factors the law requires, and then I employ common sense,” Wilson said. “Common sense is the key. I take time and pain to consider the danger to the community before I grant an OR release.”

He also made another observation.

“The constitution and the law requires us to presume a person is innocent as a matter of law, but the constitution and the law does not require a judge to pretend the person isn’t a danger to the community as a matter of fact,” Wilson said.

Attorney Bob Allison said he was driven to seek the district judge position because half of the judges were departing, leaving just one veteran, and because of his extensive experience in the valley.

“I think probably what is best for the court would be, as much as possible, to have new judges who are able to hit the ground running from day one who aren’t going to have to engage in a very steep learning curve,” Allison said. “I have been practicing here in the Flathead for 37 years. I’ve handled virtually every kind of case that comes before the court at one time or another.”

He went on to point out what he called “oddball stuff,” matters he says many other attorneys have never handled and that are becoming more common, such as dependent neglect proceedings where he represented children and involuntary commitment proceedings, which he said require immediate attention.

Allison is a fourth-generation Flathead County resident and said that while he does not mean any disrespect to people who have moved here, his heritage gives him a historical perspective on the community, including the sensibilities of its residents.

Referring to a practice that has long been lost due to caseloads, Allison said he would like to bring back the ability for judges to meet with attorneys in their chambers to discuss the finer points of cases, enabling better results in the courtroom.

His take on own-recognizance releases included the view that the primary concern of the judge should be protecting the community, followed by the responsibility to ensure that the defendant appears for  future hearings.

“You’d want to know the person’s criminal history, the nature of the offense for which they’re charged, if the person has any kind of history as a violent offender, a repeat offender,” Allison said. “And I think that you would want to elicit that information at a hearing where both the defendant and the prosecutor could present their sides.”

Attorney Bruce Fredrickson points to his experience dealing with complex civil litigation and business law as well as defending clients in both jury and non-jury trials as the reason why he is the candidate best prepared to take the bench.

“I think that’s something that I bring that is unique to all of the candidates,” Fredrickson said. “While my practice hasn’t concentrated on family law or criminal law, I have done some of that stuff over the years. Those areas aren’t totally foreign to me, but again what I think I bring to the table in terms of law practice is a much broader experience.”

Prior to his legal career, he also managed pharmacies, hardware stores and farm and ranch stores.

Fredrickson shared his view on the responsibility of district judges.

“Our district courts are courts of very broad jurisdiction, much broader than our justice courts,” Fredrickson said. “I think our judges are there to serve the public, number one. I think the public is entitled — particularly the people who are in front of our judges — to prompt decisions and openness in decisions, both in the civil and criminal contexts.”

He said the races for the two district judge positions are particularly important this year.

“To me, this is a very, very critical race,” he said. “Frankly, one of the deciding factors for my decision to run was the fact that we are losing — in one year — two very experienced judges.”

He said decisions to release defendants on their own recognizance are “not easy decisions.”

“I don’t know that there’s any hard and fast rule that a judge can look at to determine whether an OR release is appropriate or not,” he said. “You need to look at the crime, look at the person’s past criminal history and keep at the forefront whether this is a crime that involves victims or is it a victimless crime.”

Fredrickson said it also is important to keep victims’ rights at the forefront.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.