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I3. Appoint Municipal Judge and Administer Oath of OfficeCITY OF KALISPELL City of Kalispell 201 1st Ave E. P.O. Box 1997 Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 (406) 758-7000 Fax (406)7757 REPORT TO: Mayor Johnson and Kalispell City Council FROM: Doug Russell, City Manager SUBJECT: Appointment and Oath of Office for Municipal Court Judge MEETING DATE: November 7, 2022 BACKGROUND: The position of Kalispell Municipal Judge has been vacant since October 4. According to Montana Code Annotated, 7-4-4112, the Council is charged with appointing a replacement to the position until a successor is elected at the next general election in November of 2023. That election will be for a two-year period in accordance with the remainder of the existing term. The City Council appointed a committee at the October 3rd meeting to make a recommendation to the entire Council for an appointment to serve until the next general election in November 2023. After advertising for the opening, the committee met and is recommending former Kalispell Adjutant Attorney, Rich Hickel to fill this position until the next general election in November 2023, based on his years of experience working in the attorney's office and with Municipal Court. FISCAL IMPACTS: The current wage for the Municipal Court Judge, as established by resolution, is $100,800.99. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Council Appoint and the Mayor administer the Oath of Office to Rich Hickel for the position of Municipal Court Judge. Richard M. I lickel Kalispell, MT 59901 October 3, 2022 Denise Michel Human Resources Director City of Kalispell 201 First Avenue EastA. Kalispell, MT 599034,- RE: Kalispell Municipal Judge Vacancy j� Letter of lnterestYla " s: Dear Denise: Please accept this letter of interest, letters of professional reference, and statement of qualifications as my application to serve as Kalispell Municipal Judge for the stated term. I have served as an attorney in the State of Montana for more than 35 years. Prior to that, I was licensed to practice law in the State of North Dakota for 3 years. At this time, I remain current with all qualifications necessary to serve as Municipal Court Judge in Phis state. I have been a Kalispell resident since 1996 and would be honored to be considered for and intimately selected v to serve as Kalispell Municipal Court (KMC) Judge on an interim basis. YA,C�i..'+k�s3;S3'•tit'k_r.^4.'s'.T-:2ni:•:L.F:iJ.YYtsCi..+i[i+a�?:rY�`�SSr?: Sihr.i2F.Fic33'.e d�iiE.. ' iliLb+:K}iL::.`Sas r, JU My background as a former and long-time prosecutor with the Kalispell City Attorney's Office, I believe makes me uniquely qualified for this important position. When I was hired as Assistant City Attorney in 1996, I was privileged to become the first, full-time assistant in the Kalispell City Attorney's Office. My hiring coincided with the transition in Kalispell from a city court to a municipal court in January 1997. I practiced before Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht until she moved to state District Court. I am quite confident in stating that NO attorney has more experience in presenting cases before a jury in Kalispell Municipal Court than I do. In FN addition to representing the City of Kalispell in more than 100 jury trials, I prosecuted literally thousands of misdemeanor offenses in KMC during my 10 years as the primary prosecutor for the City (est. 80% conviction rate on jury trials; est. 98% conviction rate on bench trials). These results show that my trial experience includes a complete understanding and rigid adherence to the Montana Rules of Evidence. My prosecutorial experience included everything from making the initial charging decision, to presenting the case in court, addressing all pretrial motions, negotiating settlements, and when necessary ultimately taking the case to trial or subsequent "Y appeals to District Court. In those thousands of cases I prosecuted, I recall only two where the �1. Montana Supreme Court reversed the convictions (City of Kalispell v. Cameron and State of;: Montana v. Tackitt.) Denise Michel ^ Page 2 October 3, 2022 I should add that while serving as Adjutant City Attorney, I also handled many civil cases in Kalispell Municipal Court, including municipal code violations. While civil cases comprise only a very minor percentage of the cases handled by the KMC, I obtained a favorable result for the City of Kalispell in every civil case I handled, with one exception. My civil experience while practicing law includes service as a court -appointed mediator for family law cases filed in District Court. In the past three years, I have successfully handled family law mediation cases for District Judges Allison, Wilson, and Eddy. ' Notwithstanding my background as a civil advocate for the city and as a former city i" prosecutor, I clearly understand the neutral role the trial judge plays when presiding over cases in Municipal Court. My ability to serve in a neutral capacity is best illustrated through my service as court -appointed mediator. Due to my relatively recent retirement from the City, it is VAN conceivable that I may need to recuse myself from cases in which I had significant involvement as attorney for the City of Kalispell. But, I believe this may be mitigated by the fact that I am several years removed from my role as primary prosecutor for the city. My association with the • current city prosecutors was relatively short term. I assure you and the screening committee that I pledge to be vigilant in ensuring that all parties to cases which may come before me are treated with proper respect and hopefully will leave the courtroom feeling that they had a fair �., opportunity to present their side of the case before an impartial trial judge. ,. •: I.yr .. .4.,.rrll!'Y�;TY:,::.Fyi+Y. {�{Yi: n{1 w rJ ii •. In closing, as a Municipal Judge you also serve a role as supervisor to municipal court staff. In this capacity, I believe it is vitally important to have managerial experience in dealing with staff. As a current director for the Montana Public Employees Retirement Administration and as a former partner in a private law firm, I have experience with both budgeting and with personnel management. In addition, my educational background includes a Master's Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Management and Finance. I believe that with my business experience along with my long relationship with the Municipal Court Clerk, I will immediately have the trust and support of Municipal Court staff. In the interest of full disclosure, I wish to make clear that at this time, I do not have an interest in continuing as Municipal Judge after the expiration of this interim term. As you are aware, I recently retired from the City of Kalispell. While I enjoy my retirement, I am keenly aware of the fact that the Kalispell Municipal Court can be very busy. I believe it is important to have someone familiar with the Court and its processes in place quickly to provide needed stability and continuity in that office. I firmly believe that I am the one person who is best able to address the immediate challenges presented by the current situation. 1•- '. ,]A . }'[ ^^ 'µid • _..•}-•_.<<?e, '..�,!••a±:'. 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'}DWI !.1 - iI: "..�='.'::1�':. \ •7":- c�'-' -, .(r: �,-�. Denise Michel Page 3 October 3, 2022 I look forward to hearing from you and having the opportunity to meet with your selection committee. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, r Richard M. Hickel Richard M. Hickel •6. _ rf:. �r. .:}:�•�:4"=t..i a:l :��:[i`•Mt '{.;'�..�:K'?=i �-i:` .ti °I��' •r`�j'l.: �-A 7 }�+�t<f. :.1� �''f .� .y.� �Y='r... .x.. "ti.. _ 7 ..�,�, r.• ih. �. `yam y�. ,,y��+.�: •? r ': Y`:S•�F`�• r J.. Y'^•. -. s•�-;.Y'•'7.,�"": Yg�rl•"• r' f,{•. - •r�•Y•``'.' - .r/ *• G? i- J�,sz{s..+�• ...f-, r'Y ,:.C�,•t:• _�.�' lT�- 'fc: a.�r.!,�C �;=-':e �i �'���rryc..�. {,jf-- •,t�,:lr r'��' {•� .. 3:.ds �..� S �'`�-., .. Y„• k•:•: EDUCATION-. „t spy R ` - ` :'.';�: �;,, "S ,r:`ya [ ! y •�fi'.i' R a'f : t,•yr ,t r� �: rn: - c. , �: Y' r jay.; i ,.ji'.:3. '..r-+ `�`'. �rti, •..�•�.�� ..r_, ��,`,.�`��.. �.. �+c: :: -. :�1e - 'f•y�''�.e^ y4i�; •,emu:' `fir- •N - 'r;k"1:� •�ti �•�-''T-�` 'ri:'•7; ••�{..7 H 1'• 1�'._.. t�:• 'i -c- >Ik:. '.��:•'�` r't ir. - _�:,: ;:a�•_• - :k; ,•t;'Z'r'•:r :"2°?•..� .'.e ..� - i�{� "'.hif,�'.we•-:per �v'•>, �.�-y5.r _`l.":, r}.- A�it.: a:.::��.- - •-?�, :dA. ,j, � � � •.;�- s ::' z i'= . �.. ••-.:.. ,_ 1. ..- � -. '" =' .: :.: .. �-fir {y�:..:ir d.� i•-, r. . r Juris Doctor Master of Business Administration Bachelor of Artss•t, ' �' Univ. of Oklahoma Univ. of Montana Univ. of North Dakota r7 _,s. Norman, OK Missoula, MT Grand Forks, ND >r1- - F'. i� • , S�i:�i1:.:?::-;ri T'� "7"Fu eYr. • --'iil•-.v • -'l�.' •f' -�: e4:: `.�.' ��.- .,n' is..:. � �•i ,c 1: �-3:'?f_x�#r�, :_i s.i�.n-«Ll'�: t i " 4. "i r f. ::':?_ �-. � 3er- :� • Z-.�.. =p�. - ':�:.: r: 4. t. r.'•- -�'�"' el-;�.,'•'••� r': t���.�•�w.i y, �i'.. .�;� i �' �•�',-a � r ,�[r r.a•'� . akfti ?�.. c N tit',a3 - t +t .a��;s�?:�:- !d: �•.i �ti +�'' f : Orr' `}'.�k'` lye _4. -,�, •.�`: .'1 Y;'!!'N' :''�''i,,,-sr `+'. •-r.� .}�•-rr. ik.-�•."•l-r"•,i„Fr: r �jrr-,.��1-'T •.�:: PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Adjutant City Attorney Assistant City Attorney Deputy County Attorney City of Kalispell City of Kalispell Flathead County 2002-2022 1996-2001 2001-2002 ` Retired in July, 2022 Associate Attorney Attorney/Partner French, Mercer, Grainey & O'Neill Rector & Hickel 1995-1996 1987-1992; 1994-1995 Ronan, MT Glasgow, MT As Adjutant City Attorney for the City of Kalispell, I handled both civil matters and criminal matters. I served as the primary prosecutor for the City of Kalispell for approximately 10 years and conducted more than 100 jury trials in Kalispell Municipal Court on behalf of the City. After transitioning to primarily handling civil matters for the City, I continued to assist the prosecutors and advise the Kalispell Police Department on criminal matters, as needed. While serving as Deputy County Attorney for Flathead County, I prosecuted both felony and misdemeanor offenses on behalf of the State of Montana. My civil experience with the City of Kalispell included assisting the Human Resources Department on personnel matters, assisting the City Attorney with contract issues and risk management, along with advising virtually every department of the City on legal issues as required. ADDITIONAL RELEVANT EXPERIENCE: ��i:=t.-. .ti .- .-.�-'''�: '.. +�'£:,•c'-!' ...f' T. 4E�S Sa.^+l�,,.;:F-fir• '.t; _df.� �•.:�s'.'S-:.. � - ..- .a � _ •.- -. .-. ..- ,.r. .:.l,• �- - .>. .... �� Montana Public Employees Retirement Administration Board Member, Current Vice President 2021-current (Term expires in March 2026) 1 lelena, MT 1•. to -1�: .i ,r1' ,.�Y:' .,r• _ "p •. ;'i'• ;.Y.Y l.. T� ' �•. .rS'.. : 4'. �L•, - , }":�.ti . ,.1�,'-` � .�y �'3 6-•F .�r::-l✓: �f'}•,''L-7'� .:%.. .r.Y ,j. rti: y3.��-�' ti '��t• :•ti', tT•r,5'. ..t. =t• .5' •'•� •i•-''�-i: - - �'-vaT'�'�;�;,_ M1ti•• i ! u• - i'IA i. �s i. - _ •%�.�:.�`-. •rya Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority Board Member 2012-2011 Chair, Claims Committee 2012-2022 Helena, MT PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES: Frank Garner Former Chief of Police City of Kalispell . Jolene Shima Municipal Court Clerk City of Kalispell Hon. 1 leidi J. Ulbricht 1 lth Judicial District Judge Kalispell, MT Q � w O Q � Q � W U Z � PLO o � Q 0 PLO w Q Z Q � o Zoo w