Lincoln appointed and sworn in as Hill County attorney

Lacey Lincoln, formerly a deputy county attorney for Missoula County, was appointed as Hill County attorney in a unanimous vote this morning and then sworn in.

Lincoln has been a lawyer for more than 10 years, starting in 2009 after a year of being a judicial clerk in Washington state and later a deputy prosecuting attorney.

She moved to Missoula four-and-a-half years ago to become a deputy attorney spending most of her time in the special victims unit, a division that mostly handles cases of domestic violence and sexual assault.

She said she's thrilled to begin working as Hill County attorney, though it is an unexpected turn in her life.

"I'm really excited," Lincoln said. "This is something I never thought I would do, but it's definitely something I have a passion for. I don't think you last in prosecution for over 10 years if it's not something that's important to you."

She said the work that county attorneys do is important, and must be done in a fair and ethical way so people know what is going in on their county's legal system.

She said she originally heard about the job many months ago when a friend in the area mentioned that then-Hill County Attorney Karen Alley was leaving, but didn't seriously consider it until some time later.

Lincoln said she intends for this to be a long-term job but she is ultimately at the whim of the voters, as she does intend to run for reelection when the time comes.

She takes the place of Karen Alley, who announced her resignation, effective in October, to take a position at the Montana Association of Counties.

Her deputy also resigned, effective shortly thereafter, to move back to his home state.

Retired Havre attorney Brian Lilletvedt took over as interim county attorney Oct. 25, and has now left that position.

Hill County Commission holds another illegal vote

In a vote not prefaced by an agenda, the Hill County Commission unanimously appointed a new county attorney in Lacey Lincoln, and also claimed news coverage of the appointment has been inaccurate.

Before the vote was taken Hill County Commission Chair Diane McLean said she wanted to clear up some recent press the commission got.

McLean said the idea that the county's new attorney was appointed in a secret meeting was false, saying that in early November the commission made a motion to offer Lincoln a contract after her interview.

She also said she had no memory of saying they made a motion to appoint Lincoln in that meeting.

"I do not have any recollection of ever stating that we made a motion to appoint a county attorney, nor was that our intention," she said.

In an interview about the appointment late last week the Havre Daily News asked McLean if a vote was taken on this appointment and McLean said "yes."

This morning she also said it would have been illegal to appoint a new county attorney while that position was occupied by Brian Lilletvedt, who was, until now, interim Hill County attorney.

"Today Brian turned in his resignation letter to us, we read it last week," she said.

McLean said now that Lilletvedt has officially resigned they can legally appoint Lincoln.

Montana state law stipulates that votes to appoint county officials need to be noticed to the public 48 hours in advance, which this one was not.

After swearing Lincoln in McLean congratulated her and said the commission is glad to have her.