Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced that he has accepted the recommendations of the Commission on Judicial Selection for two trial court bench vacancies in the Seventh Judicial District in Stearns County. The vacancies are as a result of the retirement of the Honorable Elizabeth A. Hayden on December 11, 2009, and the retirement of the Honorable Paul E. Widick on February 1, 2010. The finalists are Kevin S. Carpenter, William J. Cashman, Kevin F. Gray, and Mary B. Mahler.

Carpenter, of St. Cloud, has been a solo practitioner in St. Cloud since 1999. He was a partner with the St. Cloud law firm of Holmen and Carpenter from 1997 to 1999, and an attorney with the St. Cloud law firm of Quinlivan, Sherwood, Spellacy and Tarvestad from 1980 to 1997, where he became a shareholder in 1987. He was also a Seventh Judicial District law clerk in St. Cloud from 1979 to 1980, and a law clerk for the Duncan, Jones, Riley and Finley law firm in Des Moines, Iowa in 1979. Carpenter earned his juris doctor degree from St. Louis University Law School in St. Louis, Missouri in 1979, and his bachelor of arts degree cum laude from St. John’s University in Collegeville in 1976.

Cashman, of St. Cloud, is an attorney and shareholder with the St. Cloud law firm of Rajkowski Hansmeier Ltd. He has been an attorney with the firm since 1988. Previously, he was a law clerk and associate attorney with the Dunkley Bennett law firm in Minneapolis from 1987 to 1988, a law clerk with the McDonough, Geck and Cronan/Arthur Chapman law firm in Minneapolis from 1984 to 1987, and a law clerk with the Quinlivan, Sherwood, Spellacy and Tarvestad law firm in St. Cloud from 1983 to 1984. Cashman earned his juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1987 and his bachelor of science degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville in 1982.

Gray, of St. Cloud, is an attorney and partner with the St. Cloud law firm of Rajkowski Hansmeier Ltd. He has been an attorney with the firm since 1993, and was an associate attorney with its predecessor, Donohue and Rajkowski, from 1988 to 1993. He was a law clerk (1983 to 1987) and an associate attorney (1987 to 1988) with the Murnane, Conlin, White, Brandt, and Hoffman law firm in St. Paul, and a law clerk with the Gustafson and Adams law firm in Edina in 1983. Gray earned his juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1987 and his bachelor of science degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville in 1982.

Mahler, of Freeport, is an attorney and shareholder with the Quinlivan and Hughes law firm in St. Cloud. She has been an attorney with the firm since 1998. Previously, she was a solo practitioner in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1995 to 1998, and an associate attorney with the Kirk-Hughes and Lozano law firm in Law Vegas from 1994 to 1995. Mahler earned her juris doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California in 1994, and her bachelor of arts degree with distinction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1991.

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 18 applications for these judicial vacancies.