The nominees announced Thursday are:

* Scott J. Daniels, who served as a 3rd District judge from 1982 to 1992, and who now works as an arbitrator and mediator.

* Carolyn Nichols, an assistant attorney general who represented the state against polygamist John Daniel Kingston and his wife, Heidi Mattingly Foster. The couple landed in court after a family dispute over ear piercing. Nichols filed a petition that forced 3rd District Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Valdez to recuse himself.

* Michele M. Christiansen, general counsel to Gov. Jon Huntsman, and a former executive director of the state Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.

* Patricia S. Cassell, a prosecutor in the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Her husband is U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell.

* Augustus G. Chin, a prosecutor in the Summit County Attorney's Office.

The nominees were selected by the 3rd District Judicial Nominating Commission to replace Lewis, who was voted out of office during the November retention election.

The 3rd Judicial District comprises Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties.

A 10-day public comment period will be held before the names are submitted to Huntsman.

Nominating commission Chairman Larry Lunt is accepting written comments regarding the nominees at Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. The deadline for written comments is 5 p.m. on Jan. 22.

The commission may request further interviews or an investigation of the nominees after reviewing public comments. After the public comment period, the names will be sent to the governor, who has 30 days to select a candidate.

The nomination is then forwarded to the Senate Confirmation Committee, which reviews the nominee's qualifications and conducts a public hearing and interview session.

The Senate Confirmation Committee will forward the final nominee's name to the Utah Senate, which has 60 days from the governor's nomination to confirm the nominee.