FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 22, 2021
Contact: Teddy Tschann
teddy.tschann@state.mn.us
651-402-8841
Commission on Judicial Selection Recommends Fourth Judicial District Candidates to Governor Walz
[ST. PAUL, MN] – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending five candidates for consideration to fill two vacancies in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. These vacancies occurred upon the retirements of the Honorable Kevin S. Burke and the Honorable Mary R. Vasaly. These seats are chambered in Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
Anna Andow: Ms. Andow is a Child Support Magistrate at the Family Law Justice Center in Minneapolis. In her role, Ms. Andow presides over child support matters in expedited court. Previously, she was a staff attorney for over a decade at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. In her role as a staff attorney, Ms. Andow represented clients in court in a wide array of contested family law matters and advised many people in need from our state’s most diverse communities. Ms. Andow also worked extensively with a variety of public agencies, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders in Minnesota to help serve the needs of the most underrepresented populations.
Theresa Couri: Ms. Couri is a Managing County Attorney at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. She is responsible for managing the Adult Services (Mental Health) and Child Support Divisions, and the Community Engagement Unit. Previously, Ms. Couri served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and as a Litigation Associate at the Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly law firm. She has also been an adjunct professor of Legal Writing at Mitchell Hamline College of Law. She began her career representing indigent clients in domestic violence cases at the Legal Assistance Foundation in Chicago. Ms. Couri’s community involvement includes serving as a volunteer mentor for the Diversity Leadership Mentoring Program, a member of the Hennepin County Disparity Reduction Committee (Health Domain), a volunteer at Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, and a Commissioner on her local Planning Commission.
Julia Dayton Klein: Ms. Dayton Klein is a partner and trial lawyer at Lathrop GPM, where she represents clients in matters involving asylum, election and voting rights, employment, food safety and labeling, government investigations, housing, intellectual property, international arbitration, products liability, and regulatory issues. She also serves as the co-lead of Lathrop GPM’s Women’s Initiative Network and on its Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Previously, Ms. Dayton Klein served as General Counsel for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and as an associate at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi and Moss & Barnett. She also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Charles A. Porter, Jr. Her pro-bono activities include volunteering with The Advocates for Human Rights, the Volunteer Lawyers Network, and various voting rights organizations in voter protection efforts. Ms. Dayton Klein’s community involvement includes serving on the Board of the Friends of the Hennepin County Library, serving as a parent volunteer at Kenwood Elementary School, and volunteering at the North Community Herald Mezlie YMCA, assisting children with distance learning. She previously served on the Board of Women Winning.
Rachel Hughey: Ms. Hughey is a partner at the law firm of Merchant & Gould, where she litigates in the area of complex commercial litigation and is a member and past chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. Previously, Ms. Hughey served as a judicial law clerk on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Her current community involvement includes serving as a member of the ACLU-MN Board, a member of the Hennepin County Bar Association Board, a member and immediate past chair of the Volunteer Lawyers Network Board, and a co-founder and president-elect of The Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna Intellectual Property American Inn of Court. Ms. Hughey is also an active volunteer with the Advocates for Human Rights, Children’s Law Center, Volunteer Lawyer’s Network, and the State Public Defender’s Office. She previously served as a member of the YouthCARE Board, a member of the University of Minnesota Law School Board of Advisors, and a legal writing professor and moot court instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
Dana Mitchell: Ms. Mitchell is an Assistant Ramsey County Attorney. In that role, Ms. Mitchell has served as an attorney in mental health court, human services, juvenile prosecution, and as an employment attorney. She has been involved in several initiatives championing diversity, inclusion, and equity for which she has been recognized as a leader and mentor. Ms. Mitchell helped create and support a county-wide unit that investigates allegations of discrimination. Previously, she was an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a public defender, qualified neutral and mediator, and law clerk at Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Office of the Counsel to the President at the White House. Ms. Mitchell also worked as a staff attorney for a federal-appointed court monitor in the largest civil rights class action lawsuit in U.S. history. Her current community involvement includes serving on the board of Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, as a mentor to University of St. Thomas School of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law students, judge panelist with the William McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition, volunteer with Minneapolis Public Schools, and volunteer with organizations addressing food insecurity. Ms. Mitchell is a former Bush Fellow.
For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit our website: https://mn.gov/governor/administration/judicialappointments/
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