Supreme Court shows its softer side

This is not your father’s Supreme Court.

The seven justices who sit on Minnesota’s highest court have personalities as diverse as their backgrounds – and it was all showcased in Owatonna last week.

Members of the Court and their staff were guests of honor at a community meet-and-greet Oct. 7 at Torey’s Restaurant & Bar, where they dined with members of the public and shared their stories.

The next day, they donned their robes for oral arguments in the case of State of Minnesota vs. Steven Douglas Nelson. (See related story on A11.)

That event was held at Owatonna High School; in attendance were several judges and attorneys from the Third Judicial District, which covers 11 counties in southeast Minnesota, including Steele, Dodge, Freeborn and Mower.

Juniors and seniors from OHS, Blooming Prairie and Medford high schools also sat in on the arguments.

Christine Long, Chief Judge of Minnesota’s Third Judicial District, provided the welcome and introductions at both events.

“I like to refer to Owatonna as the Center of Justice in southeast Minnesota,” she said, “because there are so many judges who live here, and so many judges on the bench throughout the state spent part of their careers in Owatonna.”

Community cases

Natalie Hudson has been the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court since 2023, after being appointed in 2016. She served on the Minnesota Court of Appeals for 14 years; worked for the Minnesota Attorney General and as the St. Paul City Attorney, among other roles.

“Community dinners are truly, truly one of the highlights of the tradition we started almost 30 years ago,” she told the crowd gathered at Torey’s.

Twice each year, the Court convenes to hear cases outside St. Paul: once in the spring to visit a high school in the Twin Cities Metro area, and once in the fall in Greater Minnesota.

“They will witness a real case, real attorneys and real justices – we are real,” Hudson said of the hearing at OHS, “and they’ll see how decisions are made in the courtrooms that affect their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens. … We simply have taken what we do in St. Paul and just transported the whole thing here to Owatonna.”

After what Hudson called their “first-hand look at how justice is served,” the students had a chance to ask their own questions about what they have seen. That’s always a very fun time with the Court.”

Purpose-driven

The judicial system belongs to all Minnesotans, “not just those who appear before the Court when we are in St. Paul,” she said.

“For many Minnesotans, the courts can feel distant or unfamiliar, and that’s why community programs like this are so important,” Hudson said. “By bringing the Minnesota Supreme Court into communities and by opening up our process to students and the public, we really hope to make the work far more transparent and more accessible.”

One more thing: “We also hope that these visits will inspire the next generation of young people to consider a career in law,” she said.

“Beyond inspiring future lawyers or judges, we want every student and every person in this community to come away with greater confidence that our courts are fair, impartial and worthy of their trust.”

Meet the Court

“At our court, one of the things you will quickly find, if you look carefully, is that we do everything in order of seniority,” Hudson said before starting the introductions. “I know, it’s kind of weird.”

Justice Anne McKeig was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2016, the first female Native American to serve on the state’s highest court. She is a descendant of the White Earth Nation and a passionate advocate for child protection.

Before her appointment, McKeig served as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney and as a judge in Hennepin County Family Court. She has developed programs to improve child welfare in the state, Hudson said, “which is why I recently appointed her to lead our Supreme Court Council on Child Protection and Maltreatment Prevention.”

A native of Federal Dam, a town of 106 people near Leech Lake in Cass County, McKeig is clearly the prankster/jokester of the Court.

She introduced the third most-senior member of the Court, Justice Paul Thissen, by saying he was hoping to write lyrics for Bruce Springsteen, and would be performing his latest poetry for the crowd gathered at Torey’s.

Thissen, for his part, was unprepared – but came through with a limerick featuring McKeig.

When speaking with the students after oral arguments, McKeig wrapped up the summary of her past accomplishments by saying, “most importantly, I am a member of the Reasonable Doubts, which is, of course, an all-judge band.”

Thissen joined the Court in 2018; he also spent 15 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving as Speaker of the House for two years.

It was in the House that he met Kory Kath, who served in the legislature from 2009-2013 and is now the principal of OHS.

“I do want to acknowledge how lucky you are to have a principal like Kory Kath,” Thissen said. “I can’t imagine the kind of energy he brings every single day to a school and to the student body.”

Thissen has roots in Steele County: His father grew up on a farm outside Blooming Prairie.

“If I get off track, it’s because I’m trying to think of a poem,” he said, pacing. “(McKeig) once told the crowd I planned to sing a song – and I did.”

Justice Gordon Moore came to the Court in 2020, Hudson said by way of introduction. “He came in the dark of night: He’s the COVID judge.”

Moore spent time as a judge in Nobles County and as the Nobles County Attorney after growing up in Rochester.

“I can remember some less positive moments in Owatonna, being associated with the Rochester Mayo basketball team,” he said. “I don’t think we were beloved by the Owatonna student section. And I live in Northfield now, so yeah, apologies for that, too.”

As the laughter died down, Moore spoke of the “incredible Owatonna High School; I mean, this is just a testament to what is possible with a community, when it comes together to support education. So impressive.”

Justice Karl Procaccini was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2023 after serving as a law professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School and the former William Mitchell College of Law. He was also general counsel to Gov. Tim Walz.

“Following Justice Thiessen and Justice Moore, I have to be candid with you,” he said. “I don’t have deep, lifelong connections with Owatonna.”

Procaccini grew up in Mystic, Conn., best-known for a 1988 movie starring Julia Roberts and Matt Damon.

“But growing up in Mystic, we always liked to think of ourselves as the Owatonna of Connecticut,” he said, drawing laughs. “I’m just happy to be here, finally, in this role, and get to meet with all of you.”

He was learning about the new high school and “the Steele County Fair – I hear it’s a pretty good fair?”

Justice Sarah Hennesy served as the Chief Judge of the Second Judicial District, chambered in St. Cloud. She practiced law in appellate and trial court, and was a criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

She and Justice Theodora Gaitas were appointed by Gov. Walz on the same day in 2024.

“I’m one of the two baby justices on the Court,” she said, “but we were sworn in at different times. That means that in order of hazing, she gets more of it than I do, which I really appreciate – because as you’ve seen, we are subject to the hazing of Justice McKeig.”

Hennesy, an Iowa native, explained what it’s been like to be part of the Supreme Court for the past year and a half.

“For 12 years before that, I was a district court judge,” she said. “I made decisions by myself every day for 12 years – just me, doing what I thought was right.

“Now I want you to try to imagine making all of the major decisions in your life with six other people who you don’t know very well, and who have very different lives than you, and very different ideas about the world, and who are very smart, very educated – and very opinionated,” Hennesy said.

“That’s my job.”

Gaitas was sworn in in August 2024 after serving four years on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and two years as a district court judge in Kanabec County. She was an assistant public defender in the office of the Minnesota Public Defender for 15 years, handling criminal appeals from across the state for indigent clients.

“If this was the Von Trapp family, I am the Gretl of the Court,” she said of the seven justices. “I’m so used to being hazed that I’m just going to sing.”

She didn’t – then.

“Being the most junior justice on the Supreme Court really just means that I usually speak last,” Gaitas said, again to laughter. “I have a few other responsibilities, the primary one being setting out coasters around the conference table before we conference cases. … if you don’t have a place to put your beverage, you can’t talk and you can’t conference the case. So really, I’d like to think I hold power in the Supreme Court.”

Joining the competition of connections to Owatonna, Gaitas spoke of a previous visit to Costa’s Candy.

“It was founded by a Greek, and I’m also Greek,” she said, “so I feel particularly connected to Owatonna for that reason.”

After a few more comments, Gaitas asked the crowd if she should “sing us out.”

She led the crowd in a rendition of “Edelweiss” – and sang it all.