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 Waseca in Waseca County.  The opening occurred with the resignation of the Honorable Renee L. Worke on June 9, 2005.  Judge Worke resigned from the district court bench to accept an appointment to the Court of Appeals.  The finalists are Larry Collins, Ross L. Leuning, and Charles E. MacLean.

Collins, of Waseca, is the Waseca County attorney, a position he has held since 1978.  He worked in the law school division at West Publishing Company in St. Paul from 1976 to 1978, was an assistant Rochester city attorney from 1974 to 1976 and a Third Judicial District law clerk in Rochester from 1973 to 1974.  Collins earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1972 and his bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1969.

Leuning, of Owatonna, has been an attorney and partner in the Owatonna law firm Walbran, Furness and Leuning since 1991.  He has also been a Judge Advocate with the U. S. Naval Reserve in Anacostia, Washington, DC since 1991.  He was an assistant professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland from 1989 to 1991, and a Judge Advocate with the U.S. Navy at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Great Lakes, Illinois from 1986 to 1989.  Leuning earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Oregon Law School in Eugene in 1986 and his bachelor of science degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion in 1983.

MacLean, of Winona, is the Winona County attorney, a position he has held since 1996.  He was an assistant Dakota County attorney in Hastings from 1992 to 1996, the Lyon County attorney in Marshall from 1990 to 1992, an assistant Redwood County attorney in Redwood Falls in 1990 and an associate attorney with the law firm Lindquist and Vennum in Minneapolis from 1988 to 1990.  MacLean earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1988, his master of business administration in finance (1983) and his bachelor of arts degree (1977) from the University of Minnesota.

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 16 applications for this judicial vacancy.