Sam Hanson

Sam Hanson (born August 26, 1939, in Mankato, Minnesota) was an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2002 to 2008. When not serving on the bench, he has been an attorney with the law firm of Briggs & Morgan.

In 1961, Hanson earned a degree in Economics and History from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. In 1965, he received his Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul.

Hanson served as a law clerk before joining Briggs & Morgan, where he specialized in civil litigation and utility regulation. In 2000, he was appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals by Ventura, where he served until he was appointed to the Supreme Court.

Hanson was appointed in 2002 by Governor Jesse Ventura, and was sworn in on September 3 of that year. In 2007 he announced that he would step down from the Court, effective at the beginning of 2008. [cite web| last =Stawicki| first =Elizabeth| title =Hanson steps down from state Supreme Court| publisher =Minnesota Public Radio| date =2007-11-11| url =http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/11/hansonretires/| accessdate =2007-11-11] Governor Tim Pawlenty named Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen to succeed Justice Hanson. [cite web| title= Pawlenty Taps Dietzen for Minnesota Supreme Court| url =http://wcco.com/local/minnesota.supreme.court.2.596588.html| accessdate =2007-12-04]

Hanson is married to Mirja Hanson, and has six children, Greta, Chrystina, Benjamin, Leif, Luke and Jai.

References