Minnesota Supreme Court justice vacancy (May 2024)
| Minnesota Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Anderson vacancy |
| Date: May 10, 2024 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Sarah Hennesy |
| Date: April 22, 2024 |
Governor Tim Walz appointed Sarah Hennesy to the Minnesota Supreme Court on April 22, 2024. She took office on May 13, 2024.[1]
Hennesy replaced Justice Barry Anderson, who retired on May 11, 2024. Anderson's replacement is Governor Walz's (D) fourth 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:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2024.
The appointee
- See also: Sarah Hennesy
On April 22, 2024, Governor Tim Walz appointed Sarah Hennesy to the Minnesota Supreme Court. She took office on May 11, 2024.[1]
Hennesy received an undergraduate degree from Central College in 1991 and a J.D. from Drake Law School in 1994. Prior to her appointment, Hennesy was a civil legal aid attorney with Saint Cloud Area Legal Services. Before that, she worked in private practice with Damiani & Damiani, P.C. and as a deputy public defender with the Alexandria Public Defender's Office in Virginia.[4]
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 Anderson's retirement, the Minnesota Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Natalie Hudson | Appointed by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in 2023 | |
| ■ Margaret Chutich | Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D) in 2016, and elected in 2018 | |
| ■ 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 |
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 Anderson
- See also: Barry Anderson
Anderson received his undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1976 and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1979.[5] Prior to his appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court, he was a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1998 to 2004. Before he became a judge, he worked as a city attorney in Hutchison, Minnesota, and as a partner at Arnold, Anderson & Dove, PLLP.[5]
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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Minnesota Reformer, "Walz appoints two Supreme Court justices, solidifying an all DFL-appointed court ," April 22, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMNselect - ↑ The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpr - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Judge Profile: Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson," accessed June 24, 2021
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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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