MN-Sen: Who Sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court

[ccharles000]

http://www.senateguru.com/diary/639/mnsen-who-sits-on-the-minnesota-supreme-court

It was announced this week that the Minnesota Supreme Court's Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson and Justice G. Barry Anderson will recuse themselves from any appeal before the state Supreme Court regarding the Minnesota Senate race. They are, quite responsibly, doing this because they served on the statewide Canvassing Board earlier in the post-election process. The Minnesota Independent's Paul Demko offers the following political analysis of the recusals:

The absence of Magnuson and Anderson from any appeal deliberations is potentially another blow to Norm Coleman's (already slim) prospects at prevailing in the state courts. Both justices were appointed by Republican governors.
That naturally got me thinking, who else sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court? The Court has seven members. Currently, Justices are elected in staggered, non-partisan elections to six-year terms, unless a vacancy occurs in the middle of a term (in which case, a gubernatorial appointment occurs). In addition to the two recusing themselves, there are Justice Alan C. Page, Justice Paul H. Anderson, Justice Helen M. Meyer, Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea, Justice Christopher J. Dietzen. What do we know about the possible partisan leanings of these five Justices?

Justice Christopher J. Dietzen has the clearest partisan background of any of the Justices, and he appears to lean Republican (emphasis added by me):


He was appointed to the court by Governor Tim Pawlenty after the resignation of Justice Sam Hanson. Before joining the Supreme Court, Dietzen served as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 2004-2008. He was likewise appointed to that judgship by Governor Pawlenty, and then elected to it in 2006. ...
Dietzen also served as an attorney for Pawlenty during his gubernatorial campaign in 2002.

So, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's campaign lawyer is one of the five judges that will decide Republican Norm Coleman's appeal. Nothing wrong with that.

Although Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea didn't work (so far as I know) as a campaign lawyer for a Republican statewide candidate for office in Minnesota, she was also appointed to the state Supreme Court by Republican Gov. Pawlenty. Also, Gildea's husband, Andy, is "a top staffer in the Minnesota House Republican Caucus." So, that's two out of five appointed by Republican Pawlenty.

Justice Paul H. Anderson was appointed to the Court in 1994 by Republican former Gov. Arne Carlson. This Minnesota Public Radio story describes Anderson as "active in Republican politics."

Justice Helen M. Meyer was a Jesse Ventura appointee.

Justice Alan C. Page was never appointed; he was first elected to an open seat on the state Supreme Court in 1992. However, in the mid-80's, he was appointed to multiple roles in the state Attorney General's office under Democratic then-Attorney General Hubert "Skip" Humphrey III. Further, Page's name was raised early in the 2006 cycle as a possible Democratic candidate for Senate, coincidentally.

So that's how the judges who will rule on Republican Norm Coleman's appeal break down. Three are Republican appointees (at least two of whom have been active in Republican politics, and the third of whom has a spouse who is a top staffer for state Republicans). One is an independent appointee, for whom I am unable to find indications of partisan leanings. And just one of the five appears to be Democratically-inclined.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The Minnesota Supreme Court is considered to be generally fair and nonpartisan.

The fact that a justice came from one political party or another should not, and in the case of this court, does not, affect their decisions insofar as there is a political component. The only way to evaluate a court's tendencies is by analyzing its decisions, and this one is pretty neutral. Paul Anderson is not known to have a political bias; Helen Myer is a well-regarded judge, as is Page. I don't know much about Gildea. But I am very familiar with the Minnesota court system in general and it has never been seen as politically partisan. I would be very, very surprised if they pulled a Bush v. Gore monstrosity out of their asses.

[camera obscura]

2. I agree. I think they were very fair during the recount and trial.

I just hope that this doesn't take as long for them to decide.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I don't understand why they recused themselves.

I haven't heard of judges recusing themselves from cases where they were part of an appeals process and then goes before a full appeals court.

Now if there were a conflict such as previously being on Coleman's campaign committee or close family members was closely involved in the campaign. Then I could see the need to recuse.

But then again it might be best considering that they may be called for testimony by the other judges???

[Spazito]

4. It is because it is their decision that is being appealed....

it makes sense and is a responsible action, imo. By recusing themselves, they remove any possible claim, by the Coleman legal team, re appearance of a conflict of interest, unduly influencing the decision the Minnesota SC will hand down. The Coleman team will be looking for ANYTHING they can add to an appeal, no matter how frivolous, to the USSC if the Minnesota SC decision goes against them.

[BigDDDD]

5. Justice Helen M. Meyer

She is one of ours!

She is on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Paste this into your browser:
http://www.nndb.com/org/674/000171161/

[S_E_Fudd]

6. Amazing how Page has managed to move past his previous career

In the public eye...to the point where it is not even mentioned when giving his bio...

Of course he was an All-Pro Defensive End for the Minnesota Vikings...the first defensive player to be NFL MVP and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame...

He was my favorite player growing up...

[glinda]

7. I interviewed him for an article as well as hung with him a bit at an event.

He always thought education was important while he was in football. In my conversations with him, he has impressed me with being well informed, intellectual and totally non-partisan in that he comes from the rule of law. He is a fine person! We generally have a very very fine Court also. I admire him a great deal.