ST. PAUL, MN – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending three candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill the current vacancy in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. This vacancy was created upon the retirement of the Honorable Mark F. Hansen, and will be chambered at Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County.

 

Sharon Grewell Benson: Ms. Benson practices at Benson Law Office, LLC, and is also an Assistant Seventh Judicial District Public Defender. Previously, she was the managing attorney at Central Minnesota Legal Services and a staff attorney at St. Cloud Area Legal Services. Ms. Benson is a pro bono advocate for veterans in the Stearns County Veterans Protocol, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Central Minnesota Housing Partners, Great River Education Arts Theatre, and the MSBA Bar Foundation. She has also served on the Minnesota Supreme Court Juvenile Delinquency Rules Committee and the Child Protection Rules Committee.

 

Timothy Churchwell: Mr. Churchwell is a shareholder at Peters & Churchwell, P.A. and is also an Assistant Seventh District Judicial District Public Defender. Previously, Mr. Churchwell was an attorney at the law firms Brown & Sellnow and Curott & Jesse, and a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Lawrence T. Collins. Mr. Churchwell serves on the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. He is also a member of the Todd-Wadena Community Corrections Board and Swanville Lion’s Club, and past chair of the Todd County Law Library Board of Trustees. 

 

Cherie Clark: Ms. Clark is an Assistant Cass County Attorney in North Dakota, where she handles cases primarily in criminal matters, as well as some civil cases. Previously, she was the Assistant Otter Tail County Attorney and was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Peter Hoff in the Eighth Judicial District. Ms. Clark is the Vice President of the Cass County Bar Association, serves on the Board of Directors for the Dorothy Day House, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Moorhead Youth Soccer Association.

 

Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District consists of Becker, Benton, Clay, Douglas, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns, Todd, and Wadena Counties.

 

An announcement of the appointment will be made following an interview process over the next few weeks.