Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Michael G. Dougherty to the current vacancy on the Commission on Judicial Selection for an at-large attorney member.

Dougherty, of Burnsville, is the president, a board member, shareholder and attorney with the Severson, Sheldon, Dougherty and Molenda law firm in Apple Valley. He was a founding member of the firm in 1986, and heads its municipal law and real estate practice groups. Previously, he was an attorney with the Alton, Severson, Sovis & Groves law firm from 1981 to 1986. Dougherty earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in 1981, and his bachelor of arts degree with highest honors from St. Mary’s College in Winona in 1976.

Dougherty is a member of the Minnesota State, First Judicial District, and Dakota County Bar Associations. Dougherty is certified as a Real Property Law Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and has been repeatedly named to the Super Lawyers® list in Minnesota Law & Politics and Mpls/St. Paul Magazine. He is a trustee of St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, a sponsor of the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, past president and a board member of the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Dakota County Technical College Green Executive Committee. Dougherty, who has served as a First Judicial District attorney member of the Commission on Judicial Selection since 2003, will replace the late John McDonald as an at-large attorney member of the commission to complete a four-year term that expires on January 3, 2011.

The Commission on Judicial Selection solicits judicial candidates, evaluates applicants and recommends three to five finalists to the governor for district court and Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals vacancies that occur during the term of a judge. The commission consists of 49 members; 27 appointed by the Governor, and 22 by the Supreme Court.