The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
Providing justice to Minnesota
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea returned to campus to speak to the retirees association at our March forum. She offered a comprehensive review of the Minnesota judicial system, addressing everything from the selection of judges and the handling of 1.3 million cases annually, to the emergence of treatment courts throughout the state. Gildea has been chief justice for nine years. During her tenure, Minnesota’s court system has been called out by experts as one of the two best-managed in the country (along with Utah).
Gildea is an iconic University of Minnesota success story. She is from a small town in northern Minnesota, a distinguished graduate of U of M Morris, and a lawyer who represented the University for 11 years. She told us her great passions in life are the University and providing justice to the citizens of Minnesota. One of her major issues, Gildea said, is assuring that self-represented litigants are properly supported in Minnesota’s judicial system. “If U.S. Bank Stadium (66,000 people) were filled with individuals in need of legal aid there would be only 22 legal aid attorneys to assist them,” is how she characterized the current “justice gap.”
She also described a number of treatment courts that have been created across the state to assure justice and appropriate referrals for drug and DWI offenders, family dependency cases, as well as juvenile, mental health, and veterans affairs. “Studies show these courts work,” she said.
Gildea emphasized the need for judicial selection to be free of partisan politics. In her view we need to avoid the politicization of judicial elections and promote the selection of men and women for our courts based on their merits and experience, not their affiliations.
Finally, she talked about the modernization of the courts through electronic filing systems, and ended with a call for us to assist in keeping Minnesota’s judiciary among the nation’s leading systems. Specifically, she urged us to become involved in guardian ad litem programs, which are desperately in need of volunteers.
It was an engaging presentation that concluded with an enthusiastic set of questions from our members, which were addressed articulately.
Go here to see the slides from Gildea’s presentation.
—Bill Donohue, Program Committee chair and president-elect
We welcome Lorie Gildea back to campus
Tue, March 26, 2019, at 11:30am
West Wing Dining Room, Campus Club, Fourth Floor, Coffman Memorial Union
We are pleased to announce that Lorie Skjerven Gildea, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, will speak to UMRA at our March 26 luncheon. Among other things, she will comment on the effectiveness of the judicial system in Minnesota and her own work as chief justice. Gildea is a devoted fan of Gophers athletics and we expect she will express her thoughts in that realm as well. She is an engaging and eloquent speaker you will enjoy hearing.
Gildea is Minnesota’s 22nd chief justice and has served in that role since 2010. Before that appointment she served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court for four years, and as a district court judge and prosecutor in Hennepin County.
Perhaps more importantly for our purposes she is an outstanding graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris, a perfect 4.0 student who earned her undergraduate degree in three years and once said, “The day I decided to attend UMM was one of the best days of my life.” She was honored with UMM’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007.
From 1993 to 2004, Gildea, a native of Plummer in northwest Minnesota, served as a litigator in the University’s Office of General Counsel, representing the University in the most difficult and controversial matters.
Gildea graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and for several years worked in private practice for a well-known firm in Washington, D.C. She currently serves as chair of the Minnesota Judicial Council and last year was appointed by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction.
Chief Justice Gildea is a hugely accomplished lawyer and an even better human being. Please welcome her back to campus and to our March forum.
—Bill Donohue, president-elect and chair, Program Committee
Upcoming Events
Bev leads the Nokomis walk to Minnehaha Falls.
You are invited to a discussion of the Minnesota midterm elections. We have set the date after the primary, which is on August 11 so we can discuss the candidates who will be in the election.
Nanette leads a trail of two cities hike.
10:30 a.m. check in; 10:45 boarding; cruise from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Join UMRA friends and colleagues for a summer cruise and lunch aboard the Paradise Destiny II on beautiful Lake Minnetonka. Paul Maravelas, sailor, historian, and author of The History of Big Island, Lake Minnetonka will join us to share stories from 200+ years of lake-dwellers. Come early or stay after the cruise to explore Excelsior, a charming small town on the big lake.
Ticket price includes lunch: chef's sandwich, garden salad, fruit, chips, and cookies. Coffee, iced tea, and lemonade are complimentary and there will be a cash bar for other beverages. A vegetarian sandwich can be selected during registration.
UMRA’s Book Club I will discuss the debut novel Buckeye by Patrick Ryan when it meets via Zoom at 2 pm. on Friday, August 21.
The theme for September is "Monuments."
Bev leads a Lake of the Isles hike with Bun Coffee afterwards.
Critical issues facing detained immigrants and their families will be discussed.
Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers leads the hike at William O'Brien State Park.
Topics include longevity, distributions, long term care, Social Security, and comprehensive planning.
The theme for October is "Hands."
UMF CEO John Morris