Only one attorney applies for district court nomination in Park, Sweet Grass counties

Just one attorney, Rebecca Swandal, has applied for nomination to the district court bench in Park and Sweet Grass counties.

Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson notified Gov. Greg Gianforte in February about the upcoming opening in the Sixth Judicial District, triggering the process for Gianforte to accept applications and select a nominee.

District Court Judge Brenda Gilbert, who has presided over the court in Park and Sweet Grass counties since 2013, is set to retire on June 1. She was last elected in 2024, so her term ends in December 2030.

The only lawyer in the 34-day window who applied to succeed Gilbert is Swandal, an owner-partner of Swandal Law PLLC in Lewistown. She's worked at that firm since 2013, and for a brief time in 2018 served as acting county attorney in the adjacent Meagher County. She's worked for two other firms in Montana and clerked for former Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner.

In her application to the governor's office, Swandal said her practice has focused on family law, and probate and estate planning. She noted "as a general practitioner in a small community, I have had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of matters, sometimes acting in my capacity as an advocate and other times serving as a mediator."

She has also stepped into a temporary judicial role, as appointed by district court judges when occasionally required, in Park County Justice Court and Livingston City Court since 2015 and 2019, respectively.

"Serving Park and Sweet Grass counties as a district court judge is the best way I can give back to this community that has given our family so much over all of these years, and it will allow me to serve the residents in a different capacity," Swandal wrote in her application.

Swandal is also the daughter of Nels Swandal, a retired district court judge for Park County who was elected as a Republican to the state Legislature after leaving the bench. Their firm's website states he re-entered private practice with his daughter after he retired from the court in 2012, when Gilbert ran to replace him.