Starts with K

There’s nothing like a shout-out from a Supreme Court justice to make you feel seen.

That’s exactly what happened Oct. 8, when Minnesota’s highest court traveled to Owatonna to hear a case.

After a lighthearted evening the night before, mingling with other judges and legal-types, the seven justices got down to business in the Wenger Performing Arts Center at Owatonna High School.

They listened as both sides presented their arguments in the case of the State of Minnesota vs. Steven Douglas Nelson. Nelson, who was charged and ultimately convicted of attempted second-degree murder, as well as first- and second-degree assault, believes he should have been allowed to personally waive his right to confront one of his witnesses.

Instead, his attorney did it for him.

The rest of the story – the attorneys’ arguments and the judges’ questions – was much less straightforward, to be expected in legal proceedings at that level.

The visit was part of the Supreme Court’s Traveling Oral Arguments program which, twice a year, sends the justices out of the courtroom to hear oral arguments at Minnesota high schools.

Unlike the night before, the public was not invited to the event at OHS. By design, only juniors and seniors from Blooming Prairie, Medford and Owatonna high schools were able to watch the case.

“These visits are the highlights of our year,” said Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, “because we get to interact with students one-on-one and answer their very insightful questions about what we do – and whether they might someday want to do this, too.”

The justices certainly made it approachable.

Had the traveling oral arguments program been around when Justice Anne McKeig was in high school, it would have solidified her career path earlier.

“I wanted to be a country-western singer,” she told the students during the Q&A session that followed the hearing, but when her parents suggested something more … practical, McKeig landed on law.

She spoke fondly of her childhood in Federal Dam, a tiny town of about 100 near Leech Lake, and her Native American roots.

If there was any doubt that McKeig was a regular person, despite her role in the justice system, it was erased before she even introduced herself.

“Is Afton Gomez here? Afton? I met your grandmother last night at the bar,” McKeig said, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd.

“She said you were really excited to be here and that I should personally call you out, so I’m glad you’re in attendance – because that would’ve been a problem.”

Other kids also got some personal attention.

“Where are the Blooming Prairie students?” Justice Paul Thissen asked.

“My dad grew up on a farm outside of Blooming Prairie, and we still have the farm in our family, so we go down there two or three times a year for family reunions,” he said, “but we used to come down much more often when I was a kid.”

On those trips, Thissen said, “I knew when we got off (the interstate) in Owatonna, we were going to stop at Wagner’s Lunch before we got to the farm – and I was always thrilled, because they really were the best hamburgers I’d ever had.”

Entering Wag’s, as it’s known locally, “felt like I was getting into this place where only adults could go, and so it felt super exciting,” Thissen said.

Much like sitting in on a Supreme Court hearing as a high schooler, I bet – or as an old reporter.