ST. PAUL, MN - The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill the vacancy in Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. The vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Thomas W. Van Hon.?This seat will be chambered in Montevideo in Chippewa County.

John Fitzgerald: John Fitzgerald is the first assistant county attorney at the Meeker County Attorney’s Office, where he supervises attorneys and support staff in the prosecution of a wide array of criminal matters.?In addition to his supervisory role, he prosecutes a variety of misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, and felony-level offenses.?Fitzgerald was previously a law clerk for the Honorable Kristine R. DeMay in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. His community involvement includes serving as chair of the Meeker Area Food Shelf.?Fitzgerald is also an active member of the Litchfield Lion’s Club, where he sits on the board of directors as a past president and assists with various fundraising and other community service projects.

Benjamin Pieh: Benjamin Pieh is an assistant public defender in the Eighth Judicial District Public Defender’s Office, where he serves clients in criminal and juvenile delinquency cases in several local counties. He was previously a law clerk for district court Judges Paul Nelson, Dwayne Knutsen, and Thomas Van Hon in Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Pieh chairs the 12th District Ethics Committee for the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility and was a member of the 12th District Fee Arbitration Committee. He is the president of the Prairie Arts Chorale, a volunteer judge with the MSBA Mock Trial Program, and active in several local charitable and faith organizations.

Heidi Torvik: Heidi Torvik is an attorney at Lommen Abdo, P.A., where she represents plaintiffs and defendants in civil and criminal matters in state and federal court. She was previously an attorney at Chestnut Cambronne PA and an assistant county attorney in Chippewa County. Torvik has taught products liability as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and recently co-authored a chapter for the Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook on Agent and Broker Liability. She serves as a district ethics investigator and regularly performs at community, legal, and judicial events as part of a chamber music group composed of attorneys and judges.

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