Minnesota Supreme Court

Minnesota Supreme Court
State Seal of Minnesota
Established	1841
Jurisdiction	Minnesota United States
Location	St. Paul, Minnesota
Authorized by	Minnesota Constitution
Decisions are appealed to	Supreme Court of the United States

Minnesota

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Minnesota

Constitution United States Constitution Minnesota Constitution Executive Government Governor: Mark Dayton Lieutenant Governor: Yvonne Prettner Solon Attorney General: Lori Swanson Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie State Auditor: Rebecca Otto State Treasurer: 1858-2003 State Cabinet Legislature Legislature Senate President of the Senate: Michelle Fischbach Majority Leader: Amy Koch Minority Leader: Tom Bakk House of Representatives Speaker: Kurt Zellers Majority Leader: Matt Dean Minority Leader: Paul Thissen Judiciary Supreme Court Court of Appeals District Courts Specialty Courts Elections Elections Political Parties Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Republican Party Green Party Independence Party List of political parties in Minnesota National minor parties Political party strength Divisions Counties Cities and Towns Federal Relations Federal representation United States Senate Amy Klobuchar (DFL) Al Franken (DFL) United States House 1: Tim Walz (DFL) 2: John Kline (R) 3: Jim Ramstad (R) 4: Betty McCollum (DFL) 5: Keith Ellison (DFL) 6: Michele Bachmann (R) 7: Collin Peterson (DFL) 8: Chip Cravaack (R) Politics of the United States

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The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by President Zachary Taylor. The state court system was rearranged in 1858 when Minnesota became a state, and justices are now elected to six-year terms unless a mid-term vacancy occurs, in which case the governor appoints a replacement to finish the term. Justices have a mandatory retirement age of 70. Most vacancies occur during a term and are filled by the governor. The most recent election to an open seat on the court was in 1992, when former Minnesota Vikings player Alan Page was elected.

Appeals from the Minnesota District Courts went directly to the Supreme Court until the Minnesota Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court, was created in 1983 to handle most of those cases. The court now considers about 900 appeals per year and the court accepts review in about 1 in eight cases.^[1] Before the Court of Appeals was created the number of cases handled by the Minnesota Supreme Court amounted to about 1800. Certain types of appeals can go directly to the Supreme Court, such as those involving taxes, first degree murder, and workers' compensation. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court's chamber of the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center.

Current composition

Main article: Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Courts

The current members of the Court (as of July 1, 2010) and year they took office are:

• Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea (2006)
  (became Chief Justice in 2010)
• Justice Alan Page (1993)
• Justice Paul H. Anderson (1994)
• Justice Helen M. Meyer (2002)
• Justice G. Barry Anderson (2004)
• Justice Christopher Dietzen (2008)
• Justice David Stras (2010)

Images

• 

  Minnesota State Capitol Supreme Court Chamber

• 

  The historic court chamber seen from the side

• 

  Justices portray predecessors on Statehood Day

• 

  The Minnesota Judicial Center

References

1. ^ Minnesota Supreme Court, courts.state.mn.us

External links

• Minnesota Judicial Branch

Coordinates: 44°57′17″N 93°06′00″W / 44.954788°N 93.099947°W / 44.954788; -93.099947