Laramie City Council announced three finalists for the municipal court judge position last week.
One of the candidates, Joshua Merseal, has his own law office in Laramie, Merseal Law, LLC. Anthony Gold is a staff attorney with Legal Aid of Wyoming. Jim Schermetzler has 38 years of experience as an attorney, but does not practice anywhere currently.
Merseal was hired as an attorney in the Albany County Attorney’s office in 2010. Schermetzler worked as a prosecutor for 16 years, and has 16 years of experience in a private practice. Gold had his own law office for ten years, from 2004 to 2014. He also served as a judicial clerk for three years.
The position opened when the previous judge, Meredith Oakes Peterson, announced in February she would not be requesting a renewal of her contract after its expiration on March 31.
In an article in the Laramie Boomerang, assistant city manager Dave Derragon said the Laramie City Council could have a finalist by May, and until then several interim judges are set to fill in. The judge position is based on a one-year contract.
Two of the candidates, Merseal and Schermetzler, ran for the position of Albany County Attorney in last November’s election, and neither was elected.
The process of choosing a new municipal court judge is going according to plan. Andrea Summerville, a Laramie City Council member, said in an interview with the Branding Iron in February that the tentative date to interview finalists was April 14.
The municipal court judge presides over misdemeanor offenses committed inside Laramie’s city limits.
