FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 15, 2019
Contact: Teddy Tschann
teddy.tschann@state.mn.us
651-402-8841
Governor Walz Reappoints the Honorable Edward Cleary as Chief Judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals
ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Tim Walz announced the reappointment of the Honorable Edward Cleary as Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Chief Judge Cleary will continue to serve as the Chief Judge until his retirement on April 30, 2020, which he announced earlier today. At that time, a new Chief Judge will be selected to serve the remainder of the term, which will expire on October 31, 2022.
“It is my honor to reappoint Chief Judge Cleary to his role on the Minnesota Court of Appeals,” said Governor Walz. “His tenure on the Minnesota Court of Appeals has been a remarkable example of leadership in our courts. I am grateful that Chief Judge Cleary has agreed to remain in his role until his retirement next spring.”
“I’d like to thank Chief Judge Cleary for his 17 years of service to the Minnesota judiciary and express my appreciation that he will continue in his role as Chief Judge until April 2020,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “The Minnesota Court of Appeals is an integral part of a judiciary system that decides the vast majority of appeals in Minnesota. The value of Chief Judge Cleary’s service cannot be overstated.”
About Chief Judge Edward Cleary
Chief Judge Cleary has served on the Court of Appeals since his appointment by Governor Dayton in 2011 and was later designated as the Chief Judge in 2013. Prior to the Court of Appeals, Chief Judge Cleary spent nine years as a Ramsey County District Court Judge. He has also served as the Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility and was Of Counsel at Bannigan and Kelly, during which time he was also a Ramsey County Public Defender. As an attorney, he successfully argued a case before the United States Supreme Court and authored an award-winning book on the case.
Chief Judge Cleary earned his B.A.,
magna cum laude, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota, where he then served as an adjunct professor from 2000 to 2011.