Chief Justice Mike McGrath has notified the Judicial Nomination Commission that the Hon. Jeffry H. Langton, district judge for the Twenty-First Judicial District (Ravalli County) will be retiring effective April 30, 2019.
The Commission is now accepting applications from any lawyer in good standing who has the qualifications set forth by law for holding the position of district court judge. The application form is available electronically at http://courts.mt.gov. Applications must be submitted electronically as well as in hard copy. The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m., Monday, March 11, 2019. The Commission will announce the names of the applicants thereafter.
The public is encouraged to contact Commission members regarding the applicants during the public comment period, which will begin Wednesday, March 13, 2019 and close Monday, April 15, 2019.
The Commission will forward the names of three to five nominees to the Governor for appointment after reviewing the applications, receiving public comment, and interviewing the applicants if necessary. The position is subject to election in 2020, and the successful candidate will serve for the remainder of Judge Langton’s term, which expires in January 2023. The annual salary for the position is $132,567.
Judicial Nomination Commission members are District Judge John Brown of Bozeman; Janice Bishop of Missoula; Karl Englund of Missoula; Elizabeth Halverson of Billings; Hal Harper of Helena; Lane Larson of Billings; and Nancy Zadick of Great Falls.