(Office of Governor Tim Walz) – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending five candidates for consideration to fill two vacancies in Minnesota’s Third Judicial District. The vacancies will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Joseph F. Chase and the Honorable Mary C. Leahy. These seats will be chambered in Rochester in Olmsted County and Winona in Winona County.

Rebecca Church: Rebecca Church is the managing attorney of the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office in Winona, where she supervises attorneys and support staff serving indigent clients in Houston, Wabasha, and Winona counties. She was previously an assistant county attorney in the Winona and Mahnomen county attorney’s offices. Church’s community involvement includes serving as the chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Winona County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the vice president of the Winona County Bar Association. She also serves as a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils and Children’s Justice Initiatives for Houston, Wabasha, and Winona counties.

Erin Lindhart Felten: Erin Lindhart Felten is a referee in the Third Judicial District and is chambered in Olmsted County. She was previously an attorney at Hoversten, Johnson, Beckmann & Hovey LLP. Lindhart Felten’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the MSBA Family Law Section, Olmsted County Bar Association, Mower County Historical Society, Mower County Agricultural Society, Mower County Humane Society, and Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center. She also volunteers with the booster program of the Austin Packer basketball and football teams.

Dwight Luhmann: Dwight Luhmann is a solo practitioner and the Preston city attorney, where he practices in the areas of criminal law, family law, estate planning, real estate, probate, and civil litigation. He also serves as the prosecuting attorney for the cities of Rushford and Wykoff. Luhmann previously worked as an attorney for David A. Joerg, P.A. in Preston. His community involvement includes serving as the chair of the Preston Economic Development Authority, the president of the Fillmore County Law Library Board, and the parent attorney representative for the Fillmore County Children’s Justice Initiative. Luhmann is a past board member and president of the Preston Area Community Foundation.

Tran Nguyen: Tran Nguyen is the managing attorney of the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office in Rochester. She was previously the deputy city attorney of the Criminal Division in the Rochester City Attorney’s Office and an assistant public defender in the Third Judicial District. Nguyen’s community involvement includes serving as an adjunct professor for Mitchell Hamline School of Law, working with the Just Deeds Project, and partnering with local Rochester area high school group Youth in Law. She is a former president of the Olmsted County Bar Association and a board member of the Rochester Police Athletic Activities League.

Michael Walters: Michael Walters is a managing attorney in the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office, where he leads a team of lawyers in child protection, juvenile delinquency, and adult mental health cases. He was previously an assistant public defender in the Third Judicial District. Walters’s community involvement includes serving as the president of the Olmsted County Bar Association and a member of the City of Rochester Planning Commission.

For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.