FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 8, 2019
Contact: Teddy Tschann
teddy.tschann@state.mn.us
651-402-8841
Governor Walz Appoints the Honorable Jeffrey Bryan and Susan Segal to Fill Vacancies on the Minnesota Court of Appeals
ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced the appointments of the Honorable Jeffrey Bryan and Susan Segal as judges on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Judge Bryan will be replacing the Honorable Judge Heidi Schellhas and will serve in an at-large capacity. Ms. Segal will be replacing the Honorable Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks, filling the seat designated for the Fifth Congressional District.
About Judge Jeffrey Bryan
Judge Bryan serves as a trial court judge in the Second Judicial District and as Co-Chair of the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Previously, Judge Bryan was an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted economic fraud and drug-trafficking conspiracies, and was a civil litigation attorney for Robins Kaplan, LLP where he developed a litigation practice emphasizing antitrust law and intellectual property disputes.
“It is my honor to appoint Judge Jeffrey Bryan to the Minnesota Court of Appeals,” said Governor Walz. “In his time as Assistant United States Attorney and now as a trial court judge in the Second Judicial District, Judge Bryan has shown himself to be remarkably suited to managing complex cases with compassion. He is well-prepared to take on this new role on the Court of Appeals.”
“Judge Jeffrey Bryan has committed his career to pursuing social justice in our courts and in our communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “His commitment to supporting individuals as they encounter the justice system is admirable and prepares him well for the Court of Appeals.”
Prior to his role at Robins Kaplan, LLP, Judge Bryan was a judicial clerk for the U.S. District Court under the Honorable Paul A. Magnuson. His community involvement includes leading a work-group that reformed and decriminalized runaway and truancy cases in the Second District, serving on the Minnesota Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the Minnesota Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee, and on the board of various community organizations, including the Minnesota Urban Debate League, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, and the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association.
“Judge Bryan’s background and experiences make him an excellent choice to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals,” said Roger Maldonado, Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association President. “From the Robins Kaplan firm, where he practiced high-stakes complex civil litigation, to the U.S. Attorney’s Office where he prosecuted hundreds of criminal defendants, including white-collar defendants, on behalf of the U.S. Government, to the Ramsey County District Court bench where he has presided over thousands of civil, criminal, family, and juvenile matters in the past four and a half years—Judge Bryan has served the Court and Minnesota extremely well in his distinguished career. Judge Bryan will provide the highest levels of integrity and leadership excellence that Minnesotans deserve in their court system.”
Judge Bryan earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
About Susan Segal
Ms. Segal is currently the Minneapolis City Attorney. In her role, she is responsible for the legal work of the City, including all litigation involving the City and its boards and commissions, and managing an office of 110 employees. She is also responsible for managing criminal prosecutions of misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors committed by adults in the City, which involves over 15,000 cases per year and where she has focused on justice reform in this capacity.
“I am proud to appoint Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals,” said Governor Walz. “Susan has demonstrated inspiring and capable leadership during her time as Minneapolis City Attorney. I look forward to seeing her experience and expertise at work on the Minnesota Court of Appeals.”
“As the Minneapolis City Attorney, Susan Segal has led a large and complicated organization with an eye toward reform,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “Her experience will inform her tenure on the Minnesota Court of Appeals.”
Previously, Ms. Segal established her own law firm, Susan Segal PLLC, focused on employment law. She was also a partner at Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett, P.A. and a Senior Attorney at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Her community involvement includes her current service as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and Board member of Minnesota Film and TV; she was previously the Chair of Board of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota along with other community work.
“In reflecting upon the many roles of an appellate judge, a quote from Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo offers this guidance: ‘We try to see things as objectively as we please. None the less, we can never see them with any eyes but our own,’” said Steve Hunegs, Jewish Community Relations Council Executive Director. “By that standard Susan Segal would bring ‘her eyes’ of a long and richly diverse legal career to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She has seen the practice of law from ‘all sides now’: iconic law firm; establishing her own firm; leadership at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office; and as the Minneapolis City Attorney. ‘Her own eyes’ includes her heritage and perspective on life, as I know Ms. Segal to be a proud and active member of the Jewish community and an important link in the community’s long and proud tradition of participation and engagement in our legal community.”
Ms. Segal earned her B.A. from the University of California – Berkeley and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.