8 recommended for 5 judicial vacancies in Hennepin County

The governor's office received a list of recommendations Monday to fill five judge vacancies in Hennepin County.

It's rare to have that many openings in one judicial district at the same time. Gov. Mark Dayton will announce the appointments after an interview process over the next several weeks.

The list was developed by the Commission on Judicial Selection. The candidates under consideration are:

• Kristine Boylan, a partner at Merchant & Gould. She is a volunteer attorney for the U.S. Department of Commerce and a panelist for the Center for Conflict Resolution in Minneapolis.

• Marta Chou, counsel for the Litigation Department at Barnes & Thornburg. She was an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law and former chair of the Diversity Committee of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

• Nicole Engisch, Criminal Division chief at the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Minnesota. She is a former board member of the Volunteers Lawyers Network and the Harriet Tubman Center.

• Thomas Fraser, who practices general civil trials and does work as an arbitrator, mediator and special master. He currently chairs the Judiciary Committee of the Minnesota State Bar Association and is a board member of the Council on Crime and Justice.

• Carolina Lamas, executive director and chief attorney for the Neighborhood Justice Center Inc. She is vice president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and former president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association.

• Bruce Manning, commercial civil litigation attorney at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. He is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School and a trustee at the Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School.

• Nnamdi Okoronkwo, an assistant Minneapolis city attorney. He was associate corporate counsel for Best Buy and is an active volunteer with River of Life Church Homeless Shelter and the Northside Comic Club.

The openings were created by the retirements of John Holahan Jr., William Howard, Marilyn Kaman, Richard Scherer and Lloyd Zimmerman.