Bar Seeks Speakers on Judicial Impartiality

The MSBA Judiciary Committee in January released educational materials that have been prepared to enable members to speak to community groups about Minnesota’s judiciary, judicial selection, and the importance of a fair and impartial judiciary.

Created in recognition that the efforts of MSBA and other groups to improve the judicial selection system will not be successful without public support, the materials are being made available to lawyers throughout Minnesota to foster dialogue in their communities. The materials do not take a position on which mechanism for judicial selection is “best” but instead stress the value to society of an impartial judiciary.

Copies of the materials have been sent to District Bar leaders to share with their members and are available to individual members who want to help present these materials to the public.

The materials are available on a CD that can be requested free of charge from the MSBA. The materials include a powerpoint presentation (“Minnesota’s Judiciary: Keeping it Strong, Fair and Impartial”), an outline and detailed set of talking points for speakers, and a two-page handout/fact sheet for distribution to an audience.

Also included are a list of frequently asked questions and a half-hour video featuring:

  • Suggestions for speakers from Associate Justice Alan Page, using analogies involving sports situations and referees;
  • Chief Justice Russell Anderson’s remarks on what’s been happening in other states in the area of judicial elections;
  • Sample judicial election ads from other states;
  • Former Governor Al Quie’s comments on the history of judicial selection in Minnesota and why he started the Merit Selection Commission for judges.
All materials, with the exception of the video, can also be viewed online at www2.mnbar.org/committees/judiciary/index.htm. Members who would like to receive a copy of the CD or to give a presentation using any of the materials are encouraged to contact Nancy Mischel at nmischel@mnbar.org.