Veteran prosecutor now sits on the bench of Kalispell Municipal Court

After roughly 15 years of prosecuting cases in Flathead County District Court as a deputy county attorney, Alison Howard has a whole new perspective on the courtroom these days.

Appointed as interim judge for the Kalispell Municipal Court by City Council in mid-January, the veteran prosecutor officially stepped into the role — and the robe — on Jan. 30.

“I know the criminal law, I know the rules of evidence,” she said while reflecting on the transition midway through her third week on the job. “I just have never sat in this spot in the courtroom.”

Howard grew up in a household closely tied to law enforcement; her parents both worked for the Los Angeles Police Department. They rarely brought their day home, she recalled, but their profession impressed upon her the importance of serving others.

“My parents were pretty good at leaving work at work, but it certainly swayed my desire to have a career in public service,” Howard said.

Soon after starting college at the University of California Davis, Howard joined the pre-law track. After graduating in 2001, she attended law school at the University of Montana, earning her law degree in 2004. She had spent time in the Flathead Valley by then and her parents relocated to Montana during her stint as an undergrad.

While studying law, she interned with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, her first exposure to a career as a prosecutor. After she and her husband — the two met in school in Missoula — moved to the valley in 2007 with their first child in tow, Howard joined the Flathead County Attorney’s Office.

“I really enjoyed the feeling that … I could make a difference in my local community,” she said. “I enjoyed working with law enforcement and just knew that’s where I wanted to focus my career.”

Like many other new hires, Howard began in Flathead County Justice Court handling misdemeanor cases. That court, like Kalispell Municipal Court, is a high volume court, she said.

“You quickly learn how to triage because there is a high volume of cases that the office is handling,” Howard said. “You get a lot of experience quickly. You get a variety of types of cases and you get trial cases.”

ABOUT A year in, then-County Attorney Ed Corrigan handed Howard her first homicide case: Robert Kowalski, a Creston man accused of shooting his girlfriend in 2008.

“I think I literally panicked a bit,” Howard recalled. “He assured me it was just like a misdemeanor case, but with harsher penalties.”

It didn’t always seem that straightforward to her. Howard credits Corrigan with helping her make the leap to high profile felony cases. When her confidence wavered, he backed her up, Howard recalled.

“[Corrigan] was an amazing mentor,” she said.

Kowalski received a 50 year prison sentence with 10 years suspended in 2009 after pleading guilty by way of an Alford plea to a charge of mitigated deliberate homicide.

While she’s prosecuted many cases over the years — the County Attorney’s Office handles about 500 felony cases a year, she estimated — Howard hesitated to list off any convictions she remembers with pride.

“Where I’ve been most proud is where we could help a victim,” she said.

Navigating the criminal justice system as a victim is difficult, Howard said, heaping praise on the county’s victim advocate for easing that burden. If prosecutors can help with that challenge and ensure victims feel heard, they have done their job, she said.

“Justice looks very different to every victim. Every prosecutor over there works to ensure the victims feel heard,” Howard said. “Those are the cases I’m most proud of: The victim was heard and justice was served.”

Howard made her final appearance before the county’s district court judges as a prosecutor on Jan. 25. Though that left her with scant time to decompress ahead of starting her judgeship, she said ending on that particular day allowed her to see several noteworthy cases to their conclusion, including one involving a local artist accused of wiring his lover’s soap dish to deliver shocks.

“I specifically chose to end on that day because I had several high profile cases with victims I had worked with throughout,” she said.

THE HARDEST part of becoming a judge? Knowing your role, Howard said with a smile.

“I have to sit back now,” she said. “I can’t object.”

Howard leapt at the opportunity to serve as municipal judge for Kalispell when the position opened up. She was ready for a change.

“That job as a prosecutor is extremely stressful,” Howard said, remembering the long days, long nights and weekends away from family, focused on a major case. “It takes a toll on you.”

Although appointed on an interim basis, Howard hopes voters will keep her on as the municipal judge. She’s planning on running for the position on the November ballot.

Still, departing the County Attorney’s Office was “bittersweet,” Howard said.

“I love everyone in that office,” she said. “Some of my best friends are in that office.”

The experience garnered working in the County Attorney’s Office eased the career shift for Howard. She knows the valley as only a prosecutor can and she’s spent 15 years studying judges.

“I watched all the judges in Flathead County over the years, and learning from them and being able to come here — it makes for a smooth transition,” she said.

Her court handles all misdemeanor cases arising in Kalispell as well as city ordinance violations. It’s a high volume court, she repeated, one that takes on drunk driving cases, thefts, assaults, domestic abuse and traffic tickets.

For most people, their brush with the criminal justice system takes place in a courtroom like Howard’s, which is situated in the same downtown building as the Kalispell Police Department. Howard takes that seriously.

“If a defendant can come into court and feel like they were treated fairly … they feel justice,” she said. “I really hope, as the municipal judge here, they feel heard. Maybe they didn’t want to feel guilty and they did, but they got a fair shake.”

People, Howard reiterated, want to be heard.

“They want to feel like they got a fair shake and they want the court to be consistent.”

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.