From left to right: CAN Daughter of Judge Swandal Rebecca Swandal, wife of Judge Swandal Debra Swandal, the Honorable Justice Jim Rice of the Montana Supreme Court, and Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program Director Ann Schilling.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Nels Swandal has been selected Judge of the Year for 2009 by CASA of Montana. Associate Justice of the Montana Supreme Court Jim Rice presented the awards on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, at the start of the Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Conference held in the Helena Red Lion Colonial Hotel, April 21-23. Judge Swandal was unable to be present at the awards ceremony Tuesday, April 21, but his wife Debra and daughter Rebecca were able to attend and accept the award on his behalf. Justice Rice shared Sixth Judicial District CASA Program Director Ann Schilling’s nominating remarks, “Judge Swandal has always been supportive of the volunteers and the work they do in his court. Not only does he make the volunteers feel comfortable on the witness stand, you can be sure that he has always read the CASA’s report and he considers all their information when making his decisions.” Justice Swandal made an appeal to the communities of Livingston and Big Timber in 2002 to start their local CASA Program. More than 60 people attended the initial meeting. By 2004 a board was formed, policies developed, and the first group of 15 volunteers were trained and started representing cases.
The Livingston Enterprise printed an article about Judge Swandal on May 5, 2009: Livingston Enterprise May 5, 2009.
