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Lucinda Jesson
Lucinda E. Jesson was a judge for District 2 of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on September 1, 2023.
Jesson ran for re-election for the District 2 judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Jesson succeeded Natalie Hudson, who was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[1][2][3]
Jesson retired from the Minnesota Court of Appeals on September 1, 2023. [4]
Education
Jesson received her B.A. from the University of Arkansas and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[2]
Career
Jesson was the commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Human Services at the time of her judicial appointment. She left office on December 7, 2015. Before she was appointed to the DHS, Jesson worked as an associate law professor at Hamline University and as a partner at Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, LLP. She previously worked as the chief deputy Hennepin County attorney and as a deputy attorney general.[5]
Political career
- 1/3/2011-12/7-2015: Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Services
As commissioner, Jesson was one of the closest advisors to Governor Mark Dayton. She was associated with several controversial issues, such as a historic legal challenge to the state's sex offender treatment program, which a federal judge ruled unconstitutional for detaining people indefinitely without a clear path to release. During her tenure, the Department of Human Services expanded community-based treatment for people with mental illnesses, tried to crack down on fraudulent billing in the state-funded health insurance program, and changed the process for contracting with health insurers. The state forced insurers to bid competitively for hundreds of millions of dollars in state business.[1]
When Dayton appointed Jesson to the Court of Appeals, he wrote that she had “impeccable qualifications” and that she did a “superb job managing Minnesota’s largest state agency.”[5]
Awards and associations
- Executive committee, Olmstead Subcabinet
- Co-chair, Children’s Justice Initiative
- Co-chair, Task Force on Health Care Financing, Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Co-chair, Governor’s Task Force on Child Protection[2]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Minnesota Court of Appeals District 2
Incumbent Lucinda E. Jesson defeated Anthony L. Brown in the general election for Minnesota Court of Appeals District 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lucinda E. Jesson (Nonpartisan) | 62.7 | 1,158,780 |
| Anthony L. Brown (Nonpartisan) | 37.0 | 683,125 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 6,403 | ||
| Total votes: 1,848,308 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
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Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
Judges of the Minnesota Court of Appeals are all chosen in nonpartisan elections to six-year terms. Candidates compete in primaries, from which the top two contestants advance to the general election.[6] Sitting judges must run for re-election if they wish to serve additional terms. While party affiliation is not designated on the ballot, incumbency is.[6] Interim vacancies are filled via gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges serve until the next general election occurring more than one year after their appointment.[6] They may then stand for election to a full term, and other candidates may file to run against them.[7]
Qualifications
Judges are required to be "learned in the law" and under 70 years old. Sitting judges who reach the age of 70 while in office are allowed to serve until the last day of that month.[6][8]
Selection of the chief judge
The chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals is appointed by the governor to a three-year term.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Lucinda Jesson Minnesota Judge OR Justice. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Melanie Sommer, Bring Me the News, "Dayton appoints Human Services head, U of M attorney, to Appeals Court," December 5, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Office of Governor Mark Dayton & Lt. Governor Tina Smith, "Governor Dayton appoints Commissioner Lucinda E. Jesson and Tracy M. Smith to Minnesota Court of Appeals," December 4, 2015
- ↑ Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Jesson, Smith sworn-in as Court of Appeals judges," accessed February 12, 2016
- ↑ ‘’Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State‘', “Honorable Jucinda C. Jesson,” accessed September 1, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chris Serres, Star-Tribune, "Dayton appoints top commissioner, U counsel to Minnesota Court of Appeals," December 4, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Minnesota," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Office of the Revisor of Statutes, "2006 Minnesota Statutes," accessed July 30, 2014
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
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