Commission on Judicial Selection Recommends Ninth Judicial District Candidates to Governor Walz

The Minnesota Judicial Center, adjacent to the State Capitol, houses the state’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals and the state law library. Its address is 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota. Creative Commons Image. Photo by Ken Lund.

ST. PAUL, MN – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending five candidates for consideration to fill two vacancies in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. One of the vacancies occurred upon the retirement of the Honorable Shari R. Schluchter, and the other vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Darlene Rivera Spalla. These seats will be chambered in Bemidji in Beltrami County and Mahnomen in Mahnomen County.

Matti Adam

Matti Adam: Matti Adam is the county attorney in the Itasca County Attorney’s Office, where she is the county’s chief prosecutor and legal advisor. She was previously an assistant county attorney in the Itasca County Attorney’s Office and a law clerk for the Honorable Fred Karasov and the Honorable Peter Cahill in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. Adam’s community involvement includes serving as the co-chair of the Minnesota County Attorney’s Association Indian Law Committee and as a board member of the Grand Rapids Area Library Foundation.

Seamus Duffy

Seamus Duffy: Seamus Duffy is the county attorney in the Pennington County Attorney’s Office. He was previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and an attorney at Duffy Law Office. Duffy’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the Pennington County DWI Court and a lecturer at Northland Community and Technical College. His community involvement also includes volunteering with the Thief River Falls Amateur Hockey Association and the Thief River Falls Archery Club.

Tom Kuesel

Tom Kuesel: Tom Kuesel is a solo practitioner at Tom Kuesel, P.A., where his practice focuses on criminal defense and personal injury matters. He was previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and a law clerk for several judges in the Eighth Judicial District in Willmar. Kuesel’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the Northwest Indian Community Development Center and volunteering as an assistant coach with the Bemidji High School Mock Trial Team. His community involvement has also included serving as chair of Bemidji’s Hockey Day Minnesota 2019 Local Organizing Committee.

Kathryn Lorsbach

Kathryn Lorsbach: Kathryn Lorsbach is the county attorney in the Clearwater County Attorney’s Office, where she handles a broad range of criminal and civil matters. She was previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District and a law clerk for the Honorable Jonathan Jasper in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District. Lorsbach’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the Clearwater County DUI Treatment Court, the Clearwater Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, and the Anishinaabe Sexual Assault Response Team.

Symon Syme-Schindler

Symon Schindler-Syme: Symon Schindler-Syme is an assistant county attorney in the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office, where he handles criminal and appellate cases. He was previously an assistant public defender in the Ninth Judicial District. Schindler-Syme’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society and the Great River Animal Rescue Shelter.

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