By Pete Radosevich
Harrys Gang
We are getting a new judge in Carlton County
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Because of the way we set up judicial districts, Sixth District Judge Mark Munger's retirement means we are getting a new judge in Carlton County, since current judge Leslie Beiers wants to move her chambers to the Duluth courthouse.
It's a big deal, getting a new judge. While the governor appoints judges to replace those who retire midterm, and judges are re-elected every four years, Minnesota judges have an "understanding" that has kept politics out of the district courts. We should all be grateful for that. As an attorney who regularly practices in front of both Carlton and Duluth judges, I can tell you with certainty that no judge has ever inflicted their personal political views into any decision I have ever received from them - although private, after-hearing conversations with some judges have revealed that we have some pretty conservative judges in our mix. Still, their impartiality speaks to their effectiveness as judges. We can trust the judges in our district.
So that's why we need to be careful in choosing the next judge.
It will be Governor Mark Dayton's decision. He has a selection committee to review all the applicants, and the committee recommends - usually - three choices. He's appointed more than 130 local judges since he's been in office. And it's apparent he is making an effort to diversify the bench, by choosing more women, more people of color, including Native Americans, and other "nontraditional" jurists.
That may seem like bad news to us white, middle-aged males. But Gov. Dayton has, in fact, appointed quite a few white, middle-aged men - and women - to the bench. His goal has been to make the courts look more like the people using the courts. I can't tell you how many female clients have asked me for a female judge ... and I always tell them it doesn't make any difference. So if it doesn't make any difference, what's the harm in diversifying the bench? After all, no one gets past the selection committee if they aren't qualified to be a judge.
I would encourage the governor to consider another important factor, though - locality. While our state is divided into 10 judicial districts, it's no secret that much of the legal work is concentrated in the individual county. After all, each county has a courthouse, and each courthouse has a judge. It just makes sense to draw from the county when choosing judges.
So many people I come into contact with have stories about how retired Judge Dale Wolf or current Judge Robert Macauley treated them, usually fairly. I believe their decisions reflect the fact that not only do they chamber in Carlton County, they are also members of the community - we see them in town, at the grocery store and on the street - they're our neighbors. That perspective is important to the local judge and to the people.
Surprisingly, Gov. Dayton hasn't made locality a major factor in choosing Carlton County judges. He appointed the very qualified Leslie Beiers to replace Judge Dale Wolf, despite many excellent Carlton County applicants such as Frank Yetka, Joanna Wiegert and Nicole Carter, among others. And although Judge Beiers has served our community well, as soon as she had the chance, she asked to have her chambers moved to Duluth. We need a judge in Carlton County who wants to stay in Carlton County. Someone who has lives in Carlton County, and practices in Carlton County.
I encourage the governor to appoint one of the well-qualified local applicants to be the next judge in Carlton County.
Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper; he is an attorney in Esko and hosts the talk show "Harry's Gang" on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].
