Minnesota Lawyer Blog

Centro Legal turns 27 this year, and is inviting members of the business and legal community to help it celebrate.

On the way to work this morning, we spotted a lawn sign advertising a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court. Glancing at the sign as we drove by, the first and last name on it looked familiar, but they were separated by what appeared to be a jumble of consonants.

It was only later that we realized the sign was advertising sitting justice Lorie Gildea -- that is, Lorie Skjerven Gildea. We're so used to referring to her by her married name only that we momentarily forgot her admirable Scandinavian roots.

We know Justice Gildea would never stoop to this, but it reminded us of the mini-flap a few years ago when, during her campaign for State Auditor, the candidate heretofore known as Pat Awada suddenly became Pat Anderson Awada. As political pandering goes, it's pretty mild stuff. But that's how we do things in de Gopher Staten.

Minnesota Lawyer is pleased to announce the launch of its online judicial elections guide providing a central source of information on the candidates for judicial office in Minnesota's upcoming elections. Currently, the site offers information about candidates running in the judicial primary, which will be held on Sept. 9. (Information on candidates in the general election will be made available after the primary.)

We pointed out in an earlier post that Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark -- one of three attorneys challenging incumbent Justice Lorie Gildea for seat #4 on the Minnesota Supreme Court -- has filed an action with the state high court seeking to get Gildea disqualified from the race or at least prevent the word incumbent from appearing next to her name on the ballot.

The Minnesota Supreme Court issued an order last Friday giving Clark until 1 p.m. today to serve a copy of her petition and any supporting materials on all the candidates for seat #4, which includes Gildea, public defender Rick Gallo and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund.

The respondents in Gildea's action -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Rice County Auditor Fran Windschitl -- and any of the candidates for the seat who want to have until 4:30 p.m. Thursday to respond. Clark has until 4:30 p.m. the following day to file any reply.

The reason for the expedited timeline is the proximity of the primary, which is just three weeks from tomorrow. One of the things the court has asked for from the respondents is the final date by which the court must reach a decision in order for the ballot to be modified.

The high court still has not publicly announced a decision about what format the hearing on the merits will take and exactly who the decision-makers will be. The order issued Friday states: "Any decisions about additional recusals and/or appointment of acting justices to participate in this case will be made in advance of any consideration of the merits."