FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 25, 2024
Claire
Lancaster
claire.lancaster@state.mn.us
651-219-2975
[ST. PAUL, MN] – The Commission on
Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending five candidates for
consideration to fill two vacancies in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. One of the vacancies occurred upon the
retirement of the Honorable Shari R. Schluchter, and the other vacancy will
occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Darlene Rivera Spalla. These seats will be chambered in Bemidji in Beltrami
County and Mahnomen in Mahnomen County.
Matti Adam: Matti Adam
is the county attorney in the Itasca County Attorney’s Office, where she is the
county’s chief prosecutor and legal advisor. She was previously an assistant
county attorney in the Itasca County Attorney’s Office and a law clerk for the
Honorable Fred Karasov and the Honorable Peter Cahill in Minnesota’s Fourth
Judicial District. Adam’s community involvement includes serving as the
co-chair of the Minnesota County Attorney’s Association Indian Law Committee
and as a board member of the Grand Rapids Area Library Foundation.
Seamus Duffy: Seamus
Duffy is the county attorney in the Pennington County Attorney’s Office. He was
previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and an
attorney at Duffy Law Office. Duffy’s community involvement includes serving as
a member of the Pennington County DWI Court and a lecturer at Northland
Community and Technical College. His community involvement also includes
volunteering with the Thief River Falls Amateur Hockey Association and the
Thief River Falls Archery Club.
Tom Kuesel: Tom Kuesel is a solo practitioner at Tom
Kuesel, P.A.,
where his practice focuses on criminal defense and personal injury matters. He
was previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and
a law clerk for several judges in the Eighth Judicial District in Willmar.
Kuesel’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the Northwest
Indian Community Development Center and volunteering as an assistant coach with
the Bemidji High School Mock Trial Team. His community involvement has also
included serving as chair of Bemidji’s Hockey Day Minnesota 2019 Local
Organizing Committee.
Kathryn Lorsbach: Kathryn
Lorsbach is the county attorney in the Clearwater County Attorney’s Office,
where she handles a broad range of criminal and civil matters. She was
previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and a
law clerk for the Honorable Jonathan Jasper in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial
District. Lorsbach’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the
Clearwater County DUI Treatment Court, the Clearwater Juvenile Detention
Alternative Initiative, and the Anishinaabe Sexual Assault Response Team.
Symon Schindler-Syme: Symon
Schindler-Syme is an assistant county attorney in the Beltrami County Attorney’s
Office, where he handles criminal and appellate cases. He was previously an
assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District. Schindler-Syme’s
community involvement includes serving as a member of the Mississippi
Headwaters Audubon Society and the Great River Animal Rescue Shelter.
For more information about the
judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments
webpage.
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