Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced that he has accepted the recommendations of the Commission on Judicial Selection for a Third Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Winona in Winona County.  The opening occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Lawrence T. Collins on December 16, 2005.  The finalists are Daniel J. Heuel, Mary C. Leahy, and Karin L. Sonneman.

Heuel, of Byron, is an attorney and partner with the Rochester law firm of O'Brien and Wolf, a position he has held since 2001.  He was a partner with the Heuel, Carlson and Spellhaug law firm in Rochester from 1998 to 2001, a partner with the Muir and Heuel law firm in Rochester from 1980 to 1998, and an associate attorney with the Ross Muir Law Offices in Rochester from 1978 to 1980.  Heuel earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978, and his bachelor of arts degree summa cum laude from St. Mary's University in Winona in 1974.

Leahy, of Rochester, is a senior staff attorney with American Family Insurance in Rochester, a position she has held since 1998.  She was an associate attorney with the law firm of Hoversten, Johnson, Beckmann and Hovey in Austin from 1992 to 1998, an associate attorney with Michael D. Klampe and Associates in Rochester from 1991 to 1992, and a Third Judicial District law clerk from 1990 to 1991.  Leahy earned her juris doctorate degree cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul in 1990, and her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1984.

Sonneman, of Winona, is a full-time Third Judicial District assistant public defender, a position she has held since 2005.  She was an attorney in private practice with the Sonneman and Sonneman law firm in Winona, and a part-time assistant public defender in the Third Judicial District from 1990 to 2005.  She was also a telecommunications regulations consultant with S & G Consultants in Eagan from 1989 to 1990, and a principal rates analyst with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission from 1981 to 1990.  Sonneman earned her juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1989, her master of science degree from the University of Minnesota in 1982, and her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Maryland in 1979.

The Commission on Judicial Selection screens judicial candidates and makes recommendations to the Governor for district court vacancies that occur during the term of a judge.  The commission consists of 13 members: nine at-large members and four members from the judicial district.  The commission members include attorneys and non-attorneys appointed by the Governor and the Minnesota Supreme Court.  The commission received 11 applications for this judicial vacancy.