Minnesota Supreme Court

Minnesota Supreme Court
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Established	May 24, 1858 (1858-05-24)
Country	Minnesota, United States
Location	Minnesota Judicial Center Saint Paul, Minnesota
Composition method	Nonpartisan election, appointment by the governor if filling midterm vacancy
Authorized by	Article VI, Minnesota Constitution
Decisions are appealed to	Supreme Court of the United States
Judge term length	Six years with mandatory retirement at the age of 70
Number of positions	7
Website	www.mncourts.gov/?page=550
Chief Justice
Currently	Lorie Skjerven Gildea
Since	July 1, 2010 (2010-07-01)

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center.

History

The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by President Zachary Taylor. The state court system was rearranged in 1858 when Minnesota became a state.

Appeals from the Minnesota District Courts went directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court until the Minnesota Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court, was created in 1983 to handle most of those cases. The court now considers about 900 appeals per year and the court accepts review in about one in eight cases. Before the Court of Appeals was created, the number of cases handled by the Minnesota Supreme Court amounted to about 1800. Certain types of appeals can go directly to the Supreme Court, such as those involving taxes, first degree murder, and workers' compensation.

Composition

The seven justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court are elected to renewable six-year terms. When a midterm vacancy occurs, the Governor of Minnesota appoints a replacement to a term that ends after the general election occurring more than one year after the appointment. Most vacancies occur during a term. The most recent election to an open seat on the court was in 1992, when former Minnesota Vikings player Alan Page was elected. Judges in Minnesota have a mandatory retirement age of 70.

Members

Seat	Name	Born	Appointed by	Age at appointment	Appointment begin date	Length of service	Current term end date	Mandatory retirement date
Chief Justice	Lorie Skjerven Gildea	October 6, 1961 (age )	Tim Pawlenty	44 (as an Associate Justice)	January 11, 2006 (as an Associate Justice)	( as an Associate Justice) ( as Chief Justice)	January 7, 2019	October 31, 2031
				48 (as Chief Justice)	July 1, 2010 (as Chief Justice)
1	Barry Anderson	October 24, 1954 (age )	Tim Pawlenty	49	October 13, 2004		January 7, 2019	October 31, 2024
5	Christopher Dietzen	March 8, 1947 (age )	Tim Pawlenty	60	February 19, 2008		January 2, 2017	March 31, 2017
4	David Stras	July 4, 1974 (age )	Tim Pawlenty	35	July 1, 2010		January 7, 2019	July 31, 2044
2	Wilhelmina Wright	January 13, 1964 (age )	Mark Dayton	48	September 27, 2012		January 4, 2021	January 31, 2034
3	David Lillehaug	May 22, 1954 (age )	Mark Dayton	58	June 3, 2013		January 4, 2021	May 31, 2024
6	Natalie Hudson	1957 (age 67–68)	Mark Dayton	58[1]	October 26, 2015		January 2, 2017	2027

Sources:

Images

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  Minnesota State Capitol Supreme Court chamber

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  The historic court chamber seen from the side

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  Justices portray predecessors on Statehood Day

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  The Minnesota Judicial Center

See also

• List of Minnesota Supreme Court Justices

External links

• Minnesota Supreme Court official website