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Theodora Gaïtas
2024 - Present
2027
1
Theodora Gaïtas is a judge for Seat 2 of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She assumed office on August 1, 2024. Her current term ends on January 5, 2027.
Gaïtas ran for re-election for the District 1 judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Gaïtas to the Minnesota Court of Appeals on May 18, 2020, to fill the at-large seat vacated on August 21, 2020, by retiring Judge John R. Rodenberg.[1][2] Gaïtas assumed this position on August 22, 2020.[2] She served in this capacity until August 1, 2024.
Gaïtas first became a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court through an appointment. Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz first appointed her to the court in 2024 to the seat vacated by Margaret Chutich. To learn more about this appointment, click here.[3]
Education
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.[2][4]
Career
- 2024-present: Judge, Minnesota Supreme Court
- 2020-2024: Judge, Court of Appeals
- 2018-2020: Judge, Hennepin County District Court
- 2013-2018: Attorney, Matonich Law, P.C.
- 2001-2002: Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial District Public Defender
- 1998-2013: Assistant Public Defender, Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender
- 1997-1997: Law Clerk, Honorable Robert H. Schumacher, Minnesota Court of Appeals
- 1994-1996: Assistant Public Defender, Bucks County Public Defender’s Office, Bucks County, PA
- 1993-1994: Law Clerk, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office[2][4]
Elections
2022
See also: Minnesota intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota Court of Appeals District 1
Incumbent Theodora Gaïtas won election in the general election for Minnesota Court of Appeals District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Theodora Gaïtas (Nonpartisan) | 99.1 | 1,348,803 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 12,433 | ||
| Total votes: 1,361,236 | |||
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Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Theodora Gaïtas advanced from the primary for Minnesota Court of Appeals District 1.
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Theodora Gaïtas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Appointments
2024
Governor Tim Walz (D) appointed Theodora Gaïtas to the Minnesota Supreme Court on April 22, 2024. She took office on August 1, 2024.[5]
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.[6] Other candidates may file to run against them in the election.[7]
State supreme court judicial selection in Minnesota
- See also: Judicial selection in Minnesota
The seven judges of the Minnesota Supreme Court are chosen in nonpartisan general elections to six-year terms. 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]
Qualifications
Judges of the supreme court 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]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court is directly chosen by voters in a nonpartisan election. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.[6]
Vacancies
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.[6] Other candidates may file to run against them in the election.[7]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Officeholder Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 2 |
Footnotes
- ↑ StarTribune, "Hennepin County judge becomes Walz's fourth Appeals Court pick," May 18, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Minnesota Lawyer, "Bar Buzz: Gaïtas to join Court of Appeals, replacing Rodenberg," May 22, 2020
- ↑ Yahoo! News, "Two new female Minnesota Supreme Court justices come with strong public defense backgrounds," accessed August 1, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minnesota Judicial Branch, "Judge Theodora Gaïtas," last accessed August 26, 2020
- ↑ Minnesota Reformer, "Walz appoints two Supreme Court justices, solidifying an all DFL-appointed court ," April 22, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 4, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Office of the Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed August 8, 2016
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
