FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 1, 2024
Claire Lancaster
claire.lancaster@state.mn.us
651-219-2975
Governor’s Merit Selection Panel Recommends Supreme Court Candidates
[ST.
PAUL, MN] – Earlier this year, Governor Walz asked a merit selection
panel to solicit applicants, review candidates, and recommend finalists
for appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The merit selection
panel includes leadership in his administration, the chair of the
Commission on Judicial Selection, and the at-large members of the
commission.
The
panel announced today that it is recommending six candidates for
consideration to fill the upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Supreme
Court. These vacancies will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable
G. Barry Anderson and the Honorable Margaret H. Chutich, who serve as
associate justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Lisa Beane:
Lisa Beane is a senior associate general counsel in the University of
Minnesota's Office of the General Counsel. She previously was an
associate in the Minneapolis office of Jones Day and at Robins Kaplan
LLP. Beane also previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable
Wilhelmina M. Wright on the U.S. District Court for the District of
Minnesota and Minnesota Supreme Court. Her community involvement
includes serving on the boards of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association
and the Minnesota Women Lawyers Foundation.
Elizabeth Bentley: Elizabeth
Bentley is the founder and director of the Civil Rights Appellate
Clinic and a visiting assistant professor of law at the University of
Minnesota Law School. She was previously special counsel to Senator Amy
Klobuchar during the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and
an attorney in the appellate practice group at Jones Day. Bentley also
served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S.
Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann on the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff on the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Her community
involvement includes serving on the diversity, equity, and inclusion
committee of the Appellate Practice Section Council of the Minnesota
State Bar Association and as co-chair of the Justice and Democracy
Center Committee, which is a civic education initiative of the Minnesota
Federal Bar Association.
Keala Ede:
Keala Ede is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He previously
served as a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, an assistant federal
defender in the Office of the Federal Defender in Minneapolis, an
assistant attorney general in the Minnesota Attorney General's Office,
and a law clerk to the Honorable Steven H. Levinson on the Hawai'i
Supreme Court. Ede’s community involvement includes providing meal
delivery for the Wilder Foundation's Meals on Wheels and volunteering as
a youth sports official. He also serves on the Minnesota American
Indian Bar Association's Scholarship Committee, the Minnesota Court of
Appeals Equal Justice Committee, and the board of directors for the
Division of Indian Work.
Theodora Gaïtas:
Theodora Gaïtas is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She
previously served as a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, where she
presided over a felony caseload in the criminal division and as co-chair
of the Domestic Violence Steering Committee. Gaïtas is co-chair of the
Tribal Court State Court Forum, a committee that promotes collaboration
between tribal courts and state courts in Minnesota, and co-chair of the
Court of Appeals’ Equal Justice Committee and law clerk recruiting
committee. Gaïtas’s community involvement includes presenting at legal
education events, serving as a moot court judge, and volunteering with
Meals on Wheels.
Sarah Hennesy:
Sarah Hennesy is the chief judge of the Seventh Judicial District and
is chambered in St. Cloud. She previously practiced law in both
appellate and trial courts as an appellate public defender in Iowa, as a
criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and as a
staff attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in St. Cloud. Hennesy also
serves as chair of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General
Rules of Practice. Her community involvement includes speaking at
Minnesota Women Lawyers Association and other legal organization events,
volunteering as a judge and coach for mock trial teams, and working
with local schools to help students learn about the judiciary.
Liz Kramer:
Liz Kramer is the solicitor general for the State of Minnesota, where
she defends the constitutionality of state laws and represents Minnesota
in state and federal appellate courts. She was previously a partner at
Stinson LLP, where she practiced complex commercial litigation, and a
law clerk to the Honorable Helen M. Meyer on the Minnesota Supreme
Court. Kramer’s community involvement includes serving on the Minnesota
Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Rules on Civil Appellate
Procedure and the boards of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and
Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society. Kramer’s community
involvement has also included serving on the Appellate Practice Section
Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association and helping found the
Appeals Self-Help Clinic for self-represented parties in appeals.
For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.
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