Supports Ceravolo

I am writing in response to a recent article about Vanessa Ceravolo and Heidi Ulbricht, the candidates running for Flathead County District Court Department 3. The one thing that really stood out was Heidi Ulbricht’s statement that in 2011 she handled roughly 7,000 cases in municipal court compared to the 5,000 filed in district court in 2011.

The implication is that she could easily handle the case load that would be required of a district court judge. However, if the kinds of cases filed in district court were comparable to those filed in municipal court, Flathead County would not need four judges to handle the district court caseload. 

As a practicing attorney, I can tell you that there is no comparison between the cases filed in municipal court and those filed in district court. The truth of the matter is that in 2011, most of the municipal court cases were misdemeanor criminal ticket citations, parking tickets and restraining orders, while in our District Court, the majority of the cases filed were civil matters and family law matters.

District court cases can stretch over the course of two or more years, and the amount of work and the types of law involved in these cases are far more complex than the types of cases which Ms. Ulbricht handles in municipal court. Many of the district court cases involve motions, briefs, extensive discovery, multiple hearings and, if not settled by a mediator or settlement master, the cases sometimes go to trial. 

The judge we need in Department 3 simply must have legal experience and an in-depth working knowledge of family law and civil matters, like real estate cases, employment law and business transactions. The judge needs to be capable of picking up a case file and diving right in, without having to “get up to speed” in areas of law in which she has little or no experience, either as a judge or an attorney.

Having more than 28 years of combined experience as an attorney, mediator and settlement master in complicated civil matters and family law cases, Vanessa Ceravolo has the requisite knowledge and experience to be able to “hit the ground running” if she is elected our District Court Judge. 

When you go to the poll on Nov. 6, please cast your vote for Vanessa Ceravolo.

Kim Christopherson

Kalispell