Lorie Gildea

From Judgepedia

Lorie Skjerven Gildea is an Associate Justice (Seat #4) on the Minnesota Supreme Court, a position to which she was appointed on January 11, 2006 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Gildea was subsequently elected to the court in 2008 for a six-year term; that term expires in 2014.

2008 election campaign

For the main article, see Minnesota Supreme Court elections.

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] For more information see the article for the Minnesota Supreme Court elections.

Legal background

Gildea earned her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1986 and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1983. While in law school, Justice Gildea achieved high academic honors, including election to the Order of the Coif. She also served as an editor of the American Criminal Law Review.

Justice Gildea was associate general counsel for the University of Minnesota from 1993 to 2004, and an associate attorney with the law firm of Arent Fox in Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1993. She was appointed to a Fourth Judicial District judgeship by Governor Pawlenty in September 2005 and as Associate Justice in January 2006. She had previously served, since 2004, as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney.^[2]

Judicial philosophy

Justice Gildea described her judicial philosophy as leaning towards judicial restraint in response to a questionnaire from the League of Women Voters:

"When I was sworn in as Minnesota’s 87th Associate Justice almost three years ago, I made a commitment to the people of Minnesota that I would, as Alexander Hamilton foretold in the Federalist Papers, exercise my judgment, not impose my will, and that I would do my best to honor the law because, as Daniel Webster said, the law has honored us. Those commitments describe my judicial philosophy.^[3]

2008 election

Primary Results

For Seat #4, incumbent Justice Lorie Gildea will face Deborah Hedlund, who narrowly bested fellow challenger Jill Clark. (The two challengers were within a percentage point of each other with 99% of precincts reporting the morning after the election.) Richard Gallo placed fourth.

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%).^[4][5]

Endorsements

In her 2008 campaign, Gildea has been endorsed by three former chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court: three former chief justices, Russell A. Anderson, Sandy Keith and Kathleen Blatz.^[6]

In addition, eight past state bar association presidents also have announced support for her campaign.^[7]

Governor Tim Pawlenty has said:

"Justice Gildea has the intellect and common sense to serve our state with excellence. She has handled difficult and sensitive cases with professionalism and fairness - and has been a terrific addition to our Supreme Court."^[8]

The Star-Tribune has endorsed Justice Gildea, stating:

"With her sharp intellect, [Justice Gildea] is known for diligent preparation. She heads the judiciary's Gender Fairness Committee and is the court's liaison to the state Bar Association."^[9]

Lawsuit to remove from ballot

Jill Clark filed a 41-page petition in early August seeking to have Gildea's name removed from the September 9 primary ballot. Clark's position is that the judicial appointment process currently operative in Minnesota is unconstitutional because it undermines the election process. She is trying to prevent the word "incumbent" from appearing next to Gildea's name. Gildea was appointed to her current seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2006 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which is why she is an incumbent--she has not previously won election to the seat she holds.^[10]

The petition to remove Gildea from the ballot had to be considered by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Gildea's colleagues recused themselves, and chief justice Eric Magnuson appointed a special board of five retired justices to adjudicate the case. Three of the five retired justices sitting on the special 5-member board have previously endorsed Gildea's re-election campaign: Sam Hanson, Edward Stringer and Esther Tomljanovich.^[11]

As of September 8, Clark's efforts to remove Gildea's name failed at the state and federal level.^[12][13]

External links

• Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice Lorie Gildea biography
• Lorie Gildea for Justice, campaign website.

References

v • d • e Minnesota Supreme Court Current Chief: Magnuson • Anderson • Anderson • Dietzen • Gildea • Meyer • Page Former Stringer • Tomljanovich • Blatz • Anderson • Hanson • Keith