Stulken is new county attorney

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Michael Stulken was appointed to take the Weston County and Prosecuting Attorney position following the resignation of former attorney Alex Berger. Stulken was the only person to submit a letter of interest to the Weston County Republican Party. 
On Aug. 17 during the Board of Weston County Commissioners meeting the board voted unanimously to have Stulken fill the role although there was some reservation from Commissioners Tony Barton surrounding the lack of other potential candidates.
“The statute says ‘shall select and transmit three names’,” Barton said, noting that it is unique that we live in a small community with few attorneys.
“It gives me some pause that three names were not submitted,” he added.
Chairman Marty Ertman said that she believes the Republican Party did their due diligence in gathering potential candidates. Per statute, the Weston County Republican Party was tasked with receiving intent from interested individuals, interviewing them and then forwarding on three potential candidates for the commissions consideration.
The Weston County Republican Party Central Committee held a public meeting on Aug. 14 to meet with those who professed an interest in the position. The group was to select three names to forward to the Board of Weston County Commissioners, which would then select one person from the list. But Stulken was the only one interested.
Stulken has lived in Weston County for approximately 16 months, he said during his interview. During that time, he has served as the deputy Weston County attorney, as well as attorney for the City of Newcastle. 
“During this time, I have created many positive relationships with the people of Weston County, as well as aiding in the creation of an environment whereby the Weston County Attorney’s Office is respected in the community. This is in addition to my over decade and a half of experience as a practicing attorney, whereby I have a wide variety of experience,” Stulke said in his letter of interest. 
During the interview, Stulken was asked several questions regarding the Republican Party platform, including his stance on gun rights, abortion and assisted suicide. 
“Everyone should be able to have their firearms without government intrusion,” Stulken said, noting that there are several situations in which people should not have guns, including those with criminal backgrounds. 
The attorney stated that he is 100% against abortion. But the attorney said that in the case of assisted suicide, he believes people should have the right to choose when they die. 
When asked about COVID-19 regulations, Stulken said that his perspective is that “it is each individual’s choice” and that “business owners should be allowed to run their business how they want.”
As far as criminal prosecution goes, Stulken said he plans to continue to address crime in the community. He added that his experience shows a large amount of substance abuse issues in the county and he would like to see rehabilitation over punishment continue to be the focus. 
“It is not always about punishment, when you throw someone in jail, that doesn’t help them,” Stulken said. “It doesn’t do anything.” 
Stulken said that every situation is different and the process followed on determining punishment and rehabilitation depends on the situation and the individual in question. 
After the interview, Party Chairman Kari Drost called for a motion to send Stulken’s name to the county commissioners for consideration. 
“One of the goals of the party is to look for elected officials that will instinctively do the right thing. Do you all as a committee think that Stulken is one of them? Are you comfortable putting his name forward to the commissioners?” Drost asked before the motion was made and passed. 

Who Is Michael Stulken?
Michael Stulken majored in political science at Black Hills State University from 1998 to 2001 before receiving his juris doctorate from the University of Wyoming in 2005, according to information provided to the Weston County Republican Party. 
He began his career in law as a clerk for the District Court of the Seventh Judicial District in Casper. He then worked as an attorney in Green River for Mathey Law Office and the Law Offices of Stulken and Tynsky. 
In 2019, Stulken moved to Gillette, where he worked as an attorney at Stulken Law. 
In March of 2020 he began his job as deputy county attorney. He also began working in April of 2020 as a general practice attorney for Stulken Law/307 Law. 
Shortly after relocating to Weston County, Stulken became city attorney for the city of Newcastle (July of 2020). He resigned in July of 2021 to focus on the county attorney duties after the resignation of former County Attorney Alex Berger.