Minnesota Supreme Court justice vacancy (July 2024)

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Minnesota Supreme Court
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Chutich vacancy
Date:
July 31, 2024
Status:
Seat filled
Nomination
Nominee:
Theodora Gaïtas
Date:
April 22, 2024
See also:Minnesota Supreme Court justice vacancy (May 2024)

Governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Theodora Gaïtas to the Minnesota Supreme Court on April 22, 2024. She took office on August 1, 2024.[1]

Gaïtas replaced Justice Margaret Chutich, who retired on July 31, 2024. Gaïtas is Governor Walz's fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

In Minnesota, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.

Interim vacancies on the supreme court are filled via gubernatorial appointment. After serving for at least one year, the appointed judge can run for a full term in the next general election.[2] Other candidates may file to run against them in the election.[3]

Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Minnesota Supreme Court vacancy:

The appointee

See also: Theodora Gaïtas

On April 22, 2024, Governor Tim Walz appointed Theodora Gaïtas to the Minnesota Supreme Court. She took office on August 1, 2024.[1]

Gaïtas received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1991 and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1994.[4][5]

The selection process

See also: Judicial selection in Minnesota

In Minnesota, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.

Makeup of the court

See also: Minnesota Supreme Court

Justices

Following Chutich's retirement, the Minnesota Supreme Court included the following members:

Natalie Hudson Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in 2023
Gordon Moore Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in 2020
Paul Thissen Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) in 2018
Anne K. McKeig Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) in 2016, and elected in 2018
Karl Procaccini Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in 2023
Sarah Hennesy Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in 2024

About the court

Founded in 1858, the Minnesota Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Natalie Hudson.

About Justice Chutich

See also: Margaret Chutich

Chutich received an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1980 and an J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1984.[6] Before serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court, she was a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Prior to being a judge, she worked as an assistant dean at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, in the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, and as an assistant United States attorney in the District of Minnesota.[6]

Upon her appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Chutich became the first openly gay member of the state's supreme court.[7]

Other state supreme court appointments in 2024

See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2024

The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2024. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.

Click here for vacancies that opened in 2023.


See also

Minnesota Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Minnesota
Minnesota Court of Appeals
Minnesota Supreme Court
Elections: 202520242023202220212020201920182017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Minnesota
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes