Karen J. Asphaug
Karen J. Asphaug is a former First Judicial District judge for Dakota County, Minnesota, serving from 1995 to 2020. She was appointed on June 16, 1995, by Governor Arne Carlson. She was then elected in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014.[1] Asphaug retired from the court in January of 2020.[2]
Elections
2014
See also: Minnesota judicial elections, 2014
Asphaug ran for re-election to the First Judicial District.
Primary: She ran unopposed in the primary on August 12, 2014.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[3]
Education
Asphaug is a 1977 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she received her B.A. degree. She then received her J.D. degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in 1982.[1]
Career
- 1995-2020: Judge, First Judicial District
- 1982-1995: Assistant Dakota County attorney
- 1986-1995: Criminal Division
- 1985-1986: Juvenile Prosecution Division
- 1982-1985: Human Services Division[1]
Noteworthy cases
Minnesota's assisted-suicide law attacked as unconstitutional, again (2013)
A recent appeal will give the Minnesota Court of Appeals an opportunity to reconsider the state's law establishing criminal penalties for those who intentionally advise, encourage, or assist someone in committing suicide.[4]
In a criminal case against Final Exit Network and some of its members, Judge Karen Asphaug determined that the Minnesota law was "facially overbroad" by making it criminal to "advise" someone in taking their own life.[5] Final Exit Network is a Georgia-based, volunteer-run organization that supports a person's choice to end their own life when that person feels their quality of life is no longer acceptable.[6]
According to the Pioneer Press, "Dakota County prosecutors filed felony charges of aiding a suicide . . . [and] gross misdemeanor charges of interfering with [the] death scene" of a woman who committed suicide in May 2007.[5]
Final Exit Network agreed that the state had legitimate reasons, supported by public policy, to criminalize the act of someone "assisting" in a suicide. However, their attorneys argued that forbidding "advising" or "encouraging" suicide would place unconstitutional limits on free speech.[5] Judge Asphaug found that "encouraging" suicide could still subject someone to prosecution under the statute but found for the defense regarding the statute's use of "advises".[5] This finding resulted in the dismissal of the felony charge against Thomas Goodwin, the founder and former president of Final Exit Network.[5]
The Minnesota Court of Appeals previously decided a case in July 2012 that addressed the same constitutional issue.[7] According to the court's ruling there, the statute was not an unconstitutional violation of free speech because the speech being proscribed is both "an integral part of the criminal conduct of physically assisting suicide" and "an integral part of another person's suicide itself."[7] This finding placed the speech at issue into a category of speech that does not implicate the First Amendment and may therefore be proscribed by the state.[7]
Final Exit Network will now face the appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals for its own criminal defense case and briefing as amici curiae for the Minnesota Supreme Court in the case against William Melchert-Dinkel.[8] While the Minnesota Supreme Court has granted Final Exit Network's motion to brief as amici curiae, along with Melchert-Dinkel's petition for review of the Court of Appeals decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court has yet to set the date for oral arguments.[8]
See also
External links
- Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed June 7, 2014
- Minnesota Judicial Branch, "First Judicial District"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Judge Asphaug"
- ↑ Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, "Commission on Judicial Selection Announces Vacancies in the First Judicial District," October 31, 2019
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed June 7, 2014
- ↑ Apple Valley-Rosemount Patch, "Dakota County attorney files appeal in right-to-die case," April 8, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 TwinCities.com, "Judge narrows charges involving Apple Valley woman's suicide, right-to-die group," March 23, 2013
- ↑ Final Exit Network Website, "Our Guiding Principles," Retrieved April 10, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Minnesota Court of Appeals, "State v. Melchart-Dinkel," July 17, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 CBS Minnesota, "State supreme court to hear assisted suicide case," October 19, 2012
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Minnesota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Minnesota
State courts:
Minnesota Supreme Court • Minnesota Court of Appeals • Minnesota District Courts • Minnesota Problem-Solving Courts • Minnesota Tax Court • Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals
State resources:
Courts in Minnesota • Minnesota judicial elections • Judicial selection in Minnesota
