Minnesota Supreme Court justice vacancy (July 2020)
| Minnesota Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Lillehaug vacancy |
| Date: July 31, 2020 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Gordon Moore |
| Date: May 15, 2020 |
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Gordon Moore to the Minnesota Supreme Court on May 15, 2020. Moore succeeded Justice David Lillehaug, who retired on July 31, 2020. Lillehaug announced in June 2019 that he would not seek re-election in 2020, citing his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease.[1] Moore was Gov. Walz's first nominee to the seven-member supreme court.
At the time of the appointment, interim vacancies were filled via gubernatorial appointment.
The appointee
- See also: Gordon Moore
Moore became a judge on the Fifth Judicial District in Minnesota in 2012. He was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton (D) to succeed Jeffrey L. Flynn. Before that, Moore was an attorney for Nobles County, Minnesota, and a special assistant attorney and assistant attorney general with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. Moore previously worked as an associate and assistant city attorney in Worthington and in private practice with the firm Von Holtum, Malters & Shepherd.[2][3]
Moore received his undergraduate degree from Carleton College in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Iowa in 1988.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
A merit selection panel consisting of leadership from Gov. Tim Walz's office, the chair of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection, and the at-large members of that commission, recommended four finalists for the position.
- Minnesota Fifth Judicial District Judge Gordon Moore
- Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Diane Bratvold
- Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan
- Chief Deputy Attorney General John Keller[4]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Minnesota
At the time of the appointment, interim judicial vacancies were filled via gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges would serve until the next general election occurring more than one year after their appointment.[5] They may then stand for election to a full term, and other candidates may file to run against them.[6]
Otherwise, Minnesota Supreme Court justices were chosen in nonpartisan elections to six-year terms. Candidates competed in primaries, from which the top two contestants would advance to the general election.[5] Click here for more information on Minnesota's judicial elections.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Minnesota Supreme Court
Following Lillehaug's retirement, the Minnesota Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Barry Anderson | Appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) in 2004 | |
| ■ Lorie Gildea | Appointed by Gov. Pawlenty in 2006 | |
| ■ Natalie Hudson | Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) in 2015 | |
| ■ Margaret Chutich | Appointed by Gov. Dayton in 2016 | |
| ■ Anne K. McKeig | Appointed by Gov. Dayton in 2016 | |
| ■ Paul Thissen | Appointed by Gov. Dayton in 2018 |
About Justice Lillehaug
- See also: David Lillehaug
Lillehaug became a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court after he was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) on March 26, 2013. Lillehaug filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Paul Anderson.[7] He was elected in 2014 for a term that would have expired on January 4, 2021.
Before serving on the state supreme court, Lillehaug was an attorney in private practice. When he joined the court, he was the only Michigan Supreme Court justice to have joined directly from private practice.[8]
Lillehaug was active in Democratic Party politics prior to joining the court. President Bill Clinton (D) appointed Lillehaug as a federal prosecutor in 1994. Lillehaug sought the U.S. Senate nomination in 2000 but lost to Mark Dayton.[9]
Lillehaug received his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in South Dakota in 1976 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979.[10]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Minnesota Public Radio, "Lillehaug says he has Parkinson's, leaving Minnesota Supreme Court," June 12, 2019
- ↑ Minnesota Star Tribune, "Gov. Walz makes Worthington judge his first Minnesota Supreme Court selection," May 16, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Gordon Moore and Terry Vajgrt appointed to fill Fifth Judicial District vacancies," January 18, 2012
- ↑ The Globe, "Updated: Moore among finalists for Minnesota Supreme Court," April 24, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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
- ↑ HometownSource.com, "Supreme Court associate justice-designate David Lillehaug begins duties June 3," May 30, 2013
- ↑ Justice David Lillehaug, "Biography," accessed February 1, 2019
- ↑ Twin Cities Pioneer Press, "Minnesota Supreme Court: David Lillehaug vs. Michelle MacDonald," October 14, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Associate Justice David L. Lillehaug," accessed August 4, 2016
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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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