FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 5, 2023
Contact: Claire Lancaster
claire.lancaster@state.mn.us
651-219-2975
Commission on Judicial Selection Recommends First Judicial District Candidates to Governor Walz
[ST.
PAUL, MN] – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that
it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill a vacancy
in Minnesota’s First Judicial District. The vacancy will occur upon the
resignation of the Honorable Arlene M. Ascencio Perkkio. This seat will
be chambered in Hastings in Dakota County.
Christopher Bates:
Christopher Bates is an assistant county attorney in the Civil Division
of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. He previously served as an
assistant city attorney for the City of Minneapolis, where he handled
criminal cases with a focus on domestic violence, and an assistant
county attorney for the McLeod County Attorney’s Office. Bates’s
community involvement includes serving on the board of Mental Health
Resources. He also volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of the Twin
Cities and as a mock trial judge with the Minnesota State Bar
Association.
Krista Marks: Krista
Marks is an assistant public defender in the Fourth Judicial District
Public Defender’s Office in Hennepin County. She was previously a staff
attorney and expungement program director at the Neighborhood Justice
Center, where her work centered around community advocacy. Marks’s
community involvement includes volunteering at her son’s school and
Neighbors, Inc., which is a local nonprofit that provides food,
clothing, and other services to those in need in her community.
Luis Rangel Morales: Luis
Rangel Morales is a staff attorney and director of community engagement
for the Neighborhood Justice Center, where he represents low-income
community members facing criminal charges in Dakota, Ramsey, and
Washington counties. He has also served as defense counsel for the
Ramsey County Veterans Treatment Court and Ramsey County DUI Court.
Rangel Morales’s community involvement includes serving as chair of the
St. Paul Planning Commission and vice-chair of St. Paul’s Board of
Zoning Appeals. He has also volunteered with organizations helping
at-risk youth.
For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.
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