Commission recommends three for judgeship

With Judge Robert Macaulay retiring on Aug. 31, the wheels are in motion to find a replacement for the longtime Carlton County Sixth District judge. The Commission on Judicial Selection recommended three candidates to Gov. Tim Walz for consideration to fill the upcoming vacancy: Nicole Bettendorf-Hopps, Clarissa Ek and Amy Lukasavitz.

The commission shared background on each candidate:

• Nicole Bettendorf-Hopps: Serves as the managing attorney for the Sixth District Public Defender’s Office. Her experience includes the areas of rehabilitative justice, diversion, and community-based programs to resolve warrants. She previously served in the Sixth Judicial District as an assistant public defender.

• Clarissa Ek: Serves as a child support magistrate for the Sixth Judicial District. She previously worked in a variety of capacities, including as a senior assistant St. Louis County attorney and staff attorney for the Indian Legal Assistance Program. She has worked as a public defender and prosecutor and in private practice.

• Amy Lukasavitz: Serves as assistant St. Louis County attorney. Her caseload includes juvenile delinquency, truancy, and estate recovery matters. She previously was an assistant Sixth District public defender and CHIPS parent attorney for St. Louis County.

The commission “solicits, considers, and recommends” candidates to the governor for vacancies in district courts, among others. It is tasked with identifying candidates with “integrity, maturity, health if job related, judicial temperament, diligence, legal knowledge, ability and experience, and community service.” It is comprised of nine at-large members, including the chair, and four district members from each of the 10 districts.

Sixth Judicial District members include non-attorneys James Boyd of Cook County and Phillip Drobnick, a probation officer in Virginia. It also includes Duluth’s Fred Friedman and Daniel Lew, past and present chief public defenders for the Sixth District.

The governor has the constitutional responsibility to appoint judges and justices when vacancies arise on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts.