For the first time in nearly 30 years, the regular arbitrator of speeding, high school brawls and unruly dog cases is changing robes.

The Durango City Council has appointed Diane Knutson and Jim Casey to succeed retiring David Turner as municipal judge. Turner’s last day will be today. Both Knutson and Casey have served as substitutes for Turner.

Knutson, who has served as a substitute for the last 28 years, was designated as the primary judge but said she plans to split the duties equally with Casey, who has served as a substitute since 2005.

Knutson said she might also be the city’s first female as the primary judge, or at least in recent memory. She knows the primary municipal judge has not been a woman in 35 years.

As an assistant municipal judge and a former legal aid attorney for Fort Lewis College, she joked that she has gotten to see many “different sides” of Durango.

Municipal court judge presides over traffic and code violations and misdemeanor criminal cases. Their maximum sentence for an offender is 90 days in jail. They are appointed to two-year terms and required to be licensed to practice law in Colorado.

Along with city manager and city attorney, the municipal judge is one of three positions to be appointed by the City Council.

Turner earned $44,880 annually. Because Knutson and Casey have not signed their contracts, the city did not release their salary information, but officials estimated they would be making half of Turner’s pay because they’re splitting his job.

Casey and Knutson plan to alternate days on the bench to accommodate each other’s workloads.

On Mondays, for example, Casey serves as a district court magistrate in Archuleta County. He also works as a special prosecutor for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the municipal court judge in Bayfield.

Casey said he enjoys working as a judge after 25 years in civil practice. He has successfully argued a case before the Colorado Supreme Court. He is a former member of the local firm Crane, Leake, Casey & Ehlers. He graduated from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1986.

In his résumé, Casey described himself as a “cyclist, runner and cross-country skier,” competing in the Longlauf Cross Country Ski Race, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic and the Durango and Boston marathons.

A graduate of Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, Knutson has practiced law in Durango since 1980.

She also has served as a substitute municipal court judge in Ignacio, Mancos and Pagosa Springs. She was president of the Colorado Municipal Judges Association in 2005-2006.

“She obviously comes with a lot of experience,” said Mayor Christina Rinderle during her appointment.

jhaug@durangoherald.com