Governor’s Merit Selection Panel Recommends Supreme Court Candidates
ST. PAUL, MN – Earlier this year, Governor Walz asked a merit selection panel to solicit applicants, review candidates, and recommend finalists for appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The merit selection panel includes leadership in his administration, the chair of the Commission on Judicial Selection, and the at-large members of the commission.
The panel announced today that it is recommending six candidates for consideration to fill the upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Supreme Court. These vacancies will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable G. Barry Anderson and the Honorable Margaret H. Chutich, who serve as associate justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Lisa Beane: Lisa Beane is a senior associate general counsel in the University of Minnesota’s Office of the General Counsel. She previously was an associate in the Minneapolis office of Jones Day and at Robins Kaplan LLP. Beane also previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Wilhelmina M. Wright on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and Minnesota Supreme Court. Her community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association and the Minnesota Women Lawyers Foundation.
Elizabeth Bentley: Elizabeth Bentley is the founder and director of the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic and a visiting assistant professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School. She was previously special counsel to Senator Amy Klobuchar during the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and an attorney in the appellate practice group at Jones Day. Bentley also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Her community involvement includes serving on the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee of the Appellate Practice Section Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association and as co-chair of the Justice and Democracy Center Committee, which is a civic education initiative of the Minnesota Federal Bar Association.
Keala Ede: Keala Ede is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He previously served as a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, an assistant federal defender in the Office of the Federal Defender in Minneapolis, an assistant attorney general in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, and a law clerk to the Honorable Steven H. Levinson on the Hawai’i Supreme Court. Ede’s community involvement includes providing meal delivery for the Wilder Foundation’s Meals on Wheels and volunteering as a youth sports official. He also serves on the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association’s Scholarship Committee, the Minnesota Court of Appeals Equal Justice Committee, and the board of directors for the Division of Indian Work.
Theodora Gaïtas: Theodora Gaïtas is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She previously served as a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, where she presided over a felony caseload in the criminal division and as co-chair of the Domestic Violence Steering Committee. Gaïtas is co-chair of the Tribal Court State Court Forum, a committee that promotes collaboration between tribal courts and state courts in Minnesota, and co-chair of the Court of Appeals’ Equal Justice Committee and law clerk recruiting committee. Gaïtas’s community involvement includes presenting at legal education events, serving as a moot court judge, and volunteering with Meals on Wheels.
Sarah Hennesy: Sarah Hennesy is the chief judge of the Seventh Judicial District and is chambered in St. Cloud. She previously practiced law in both appellate and trial courts as an appellate public defender in Iowa, as a criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and as a staff attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in St. Cloud. Hennesy also serves as chair of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice. Her community involvement includes speaking at Minnesota Women Lawyers Association and other legal organization events, volunteering as a judge and coach for mock trial teams, and working with local schools to help students learn about the judiciary.
Liz Kramer: Liz Kramer is the solicitor general for the State of Minnesota, where she defends the constitutionality of state laws and represents Minnesota in state and federal appellate courts. She was previously a partner at Stinson LLP, where she practiced complex commercial litigation, and a law clerk to the Honorable Helen M. Meyer on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Kramer’s community involvement includes serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Rules on Civil Appellate Procedure and the boards of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society. Kramer’s community involvement has also included serving on the Appellate Practice Section Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association and helping found the Appeals Self-Help Clinic for self-represented parties in appeals.
For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.