Deborah Hedlund
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Deborah Hedlund is a Minnesota district judge and was a candidate on the November 4, 2008 ballot for the Minnesota Supreme Court. The race is for a six-year term on the court. Hedlund ran against incumbent Lorie Skjerven Gildea and was defeated on November 4, 2008.
2008 General Election results
In the contest for seat 4, incumbent Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea garnered 1,103,429 votes (55%) and defeated Deborah Hedlund, who received 894,206 votes (45%).[1]
See the article Minnesota Supreme Court elections for more information.
Legal education and experience
Judge Hedlund earned her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1972.
Her experience includes:
- Minnesota 4th Judicial District, judge, 1980-present
- Northwestern College, adjunct professor, 1997-present
- Minnetonka City Attorney's Office, attorney, 1974-80
- Kimberly-Clark, general counsel, 1974
- Minnesota 4th District Public Defender's Office, assistant public defender, 1972-74
- Minnesota Attorney General's Office, law clerk to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 1970-71
- Kansas City Missouri Schools, teacher, 1968-69[2]
2008 campaign
Primary race: close call
While Hedlund would eventually prove victorious, she and fellow challenger Jill Clark were within a percentage point of each other with 99% of precincts reporting the morning after the election; Richard Gallo came in fourth. Justice Gildea garnered 168,892 votes (53%), Hedlund had 56,450 votes (18%), Clark had 55,086 votes (17%) and Gallo had 35,587 votes (11%).[3][4]
(For more information, see the County Recount Proofing Report here.)
Judicial philosophy
While Hedlund doesn't overtly espouse any judicial philosophy and focuses most of her comments on her extensive experience, she has remarked:"Citizens have a right to expect and demand that Supreme Court justices are obligated to no one and nothing other than following and applying the law to the best of their ability. Discussions of political views are irrelevant if one is committed to following the law, whether approving of it or not. I have signed a pledge to not insert politics into the campaign for a Supreme Court seat. It's about qualifications and experience, not politics. An impartial judiciary is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy so people are assured of a fair and impartial system of justice."[5]
Campaign platform
In press interviews, Hedlund has stressed her three decades of trial court bench experience, versus the approximately two months of trial court experience of incumbent Lorie Skjerven Gildea prior to Gildea's recent elevation to the high court.[6]
Video
See also
External links
- Profile of Deborah Hedlund
- Hedlund profile from Hennepin County District Court
- Hedlund Campaign Site
