BISMARCK - A public defender and a county prosecutor have been named finalists for a vacant judgeship in Fargo, the North Dakota Supreme Court said Tuesday, Nov. 27.
Monty Mertz, a public defense attorney in Fargo, and Tristan Van de Streek, an assistant Cass County state's attorney, were selected by a judicial nominating committee for the seat being vacated by state district Judge Douglas Herman, who is retiring early next year. Fargo attorney Timothy Hill also applied but did not make the cut.
Gov. Doug Burgum now has 30 days to make a selection, ask for another list or call an election.
Mertz graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1981, and Van de Streek did the same 22 years later. Mertz has worked for the state Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents for 10 years, and Van de Streek has worked as a county prosecutor since 2007.
