Minnesota's Chief Justice will step down: 'It's time to let someone else have a turn'

INTERVIEWER: Governor Tim Walz has a decision to make. Who will become the next Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court? That's because the current Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, announced last week that she is stepping down. Gildea is one of the longest serving chief justices on the state high court in its history. Chief Justice Gildea is on the line.

Thanks for your time. You surprised some people last week with your retirement announcement. You're only 61, far short of the mandatory retirement age on the bench. With society and the court coming out of the pandemic, why is now the right time to leave?

LORIE GILDEA: Well, I'm grateful for every day that I've had the privilege of serving the people of my home state, as their chief justice. But you have to go back to 1913 to find somebody who has served in this role longer than I have, and I think that's pretty good evidence that it's time for somebody else to have a turn. In terms of the court and the branch, I think that they're well-positioned for a change in leadership. The court's regular term ended on June 14, and in terms of the branch, we came out of the legislative session with record investments in our justice systems.

So the branch's budget is set for the next two years. The strategic plan is set for the next two years. We're out of COVID. More than half of our counties have cleared their criminal backlog. Our nation leading remote hearing policy is in place and getting great reviews from our court users. So for all of those reasons, I think now is a good time to hand the reins to the next chief justice.

INTERVIEWER: You've also been living with a heavy loss on your heart all this time. Not many people know that your husband Andy died suddenly, in 2021. So I'm wondering, how has his passing led to your decision to reassess your life?

LORIE GILDEA: Well, I think, Cathy, if you ask anybody who's walking this path that I'm walking, losing a spouse impacts all aspects of your life.

INTERVIEWER: It's very true. It's OK. You can take your time.

LORIE GILDEA: I'm good. I'm good. Thanks.

INTERVIEWER: Sure. It's not an easy job. So it sounds as if, though, that has obviously impacted you, clearly. The pandemic has too. I'm guessing that was one of the most difficult chapters of your professional life. Did it lead to some positive changes in the judiciary? Did you discover what could be done differently?

LORIE GILDEA: I think so. You want to try to be an optimistic person and a glass-half-full kind of person. And so the pandemic really gave us an opportunity to think more aggressively about how we can provide access to justice, when we all couldn't be physically gathered at the courthouse. And so the use of remote hearings was the answer for us, and I'm really proud of how our judges and staff immediately pivoted to the remote environment.

Our IT staff drove around the state and literally stood up virtual-- hundreds of virtual courtrooms in a matter of a few days and weeks. And our staff and judges really embraced the opportunity to provide access to justice in an alternative way. And we have a really good, muscular policy in place now for remote hearings going forward. And so I think that is something that came out of COVID, out of the pandemic, that is a good thing for us.

INTERVIEWER: I remember when you were appointed chief justice, back in 2010, one of your goals was to de-politicize the court. And you were in conversation with my former colleague, Gary Eichten at MPR News, about that. We're going to play a clip.

[AUDIO PLAYBACK]

- I think that there is a significant challenge facing the justice system right now to ensure that the people of Minnesota have trust and confidence in their judiciary in the face of threats by some to turn our judges into politicians. I think that the notion of political parties endorsing judicial candidates is misguided and wrongheaded, and I look forward very much to talking with the people of Minnesota about that.

[END PLAYBACK]

INTERVIEWER: So as you just last month, we saw a highly politicized Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Do you think you've been successful in keeping politics out of the court system here, in Minnesota, and do you worry about that maybe seeping in?

LORIE GILDEA: Well, I think it's an issue that needs to be top of mind for all of us who are given the privilege of serving as a judge. I think we ought to keep partisan politics as far away from judicial selection as possible, in Minnesota. When you're a judge in Minnesota, you need to be a judge for everybody, every political party and people of no political party, and we ought to modify our behavior to serve that ideal.

So it's a paramount consideration, and I hope that all judges have it top of mind, when they think about running for election. And methods used for judicial selection need to keep partisan politics as far away-- far, far out of the process as possible.

INTERVIEWER: So your last year on the high court is October 1, as I mentioned, and after that with the door open to New possibilities. And given you were a general counsel at the University of Minnesota, early in your career, would you consider being president of the U? I hear they're looking for a new one.

LORIE GILDEA: One decision at a time, Cathy. With this decision made, I can now turn to the next chapter for me. I'm really excited about beginning to think about my next adventure, and so I would say stay tuned.

INTERVIEWER: What do you want your tenure to be remembered for?

LORIE GILDEA: The constitutional promise of access to justice has always been top of mind for me. Every decision that we make in terms of administering the branch, thinking about how is this going to foster access to justice for the people of Minnesota? How are we making it easier for the people of Minnesota to access their justice system?

And the other thing I guess I would say is the collegiality of the court. I think the Minnesota Supreme Court really is one of the glories of the state of Minnesota. We are a very collegial, collaborative bunch, and I think it serves us really well. We struggle together address some of the most difficult legal issues facing Minnesota.

INTERVIEWER: All right. Chief Justice Gildea, thank you for your time.

LORIE GILDEA: Thank you, Cathy. Have a good day.

INTERVIEWER: You too. That's Chief Justice Lorie Gildea.