Minnesota judges find joy in jamming, and a break from the stress of the bench
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It all began a year-and-half ago, when Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig sent out an email blast to professionals across the judicial system asking if anyone wanted to join a band. There were no auditions. Anyone who wanted to join was in.
McKeig got nine takers. Now, almost every weekend, the current and retired judges and justices drive to practice from all over the state.
Because fairness is always top of mind, they hold practice in centrally located St. Cloud. One band member, a retired judge in Duluth, drives two-and-a-half hours one-way to get to practice.
Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sarah Hennesy jumped at the chance to join her colleague on the bench McKeig. For Hennesy, she was exploring a path not taken. Hennesy had a music scholarship to go to college.
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“Law pulled me into its arena, and then I left music for a long time,” said Hennesy, who now sings in the band.
It took some more convincing for Judge Luis Bartolomei, who was once a part of several college garage bands. “I put away the guitar for years and years and years. I really didn't know if I could do it.”
It was the nostalgia of playing in a band that pushed Bartolomei to now play lead guitar.
And for Ramsey County Judge Mark Ireland — who tries most of his cases over Zoom — his wife pushed him to join. “Being a judge inherently lends itself to isolation,” said Ireland. “So she was like ‘you have to go interact with people.’”
Ireland plays the harmonica and sings in the band too.
Their band name, Reasonable Doubts, is a nod to the legal standard of proof required to convict a criminal. Alternate band names considered included: A Year and a Day, which is the minimum common law sentence for a felony; and Reversed and Remanded, which means a case was appealed and sent back to a judge to retry. But that one was “kind of a bummer,” to Judge Ireland who voted against the name.
‘A counterbalance’
The band practices for two to three hours. They squeeze into a small room and play in the round. Their repertoire spans from Beyoncé to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. A law theme makes its way into the music selection, including “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley, “I Fought the Law” by the Crickets and “Authority Song” by John Mellencamp. But even though they’re singing about the law, there’s no talk about the law.
“We don't talk about cases. But there is no rule about that. It just doesn't come up,” shared Bartolomei, “and it's because I feel it would be the most unnatural thing to do.”
For Bartolomei, the minute he plugs in the guitar, it’s an escape from the gavel.
“This is why I say this is entirely this project is entirely separate from work, but it's related to it as a counterbalance.”
Hennesy believes the band is healing and therefore can help relieve the stresses of the job.
“Having judges who are mentally and emotionally healthy is good for the people that we serve.”
“This is often the worst day of their life, to be in front of a judge,” explained Ireland, “I don't think it's a secret that the law is a really unhealthy profession.”
A 2019 nationwide study that looked at the mental health of judges found more than a third of respondents reported indicators of depression and anxiety.
The band serves as a respite from the stress of the bench, but band members say it’s also helped them in their jobs.
For Ireland, he takes lessons from the band to the bench.
“Every day, you're put on a pedestal at a bench that's higher than everybody else in the room,” said Ireland. “And so I think the beauty of the band, at least is for me, is that there is that you're making mistakes. And that mindset also, I think, carries over to the people that you're working with on your day-to-day level.”
The Reasonable Doubts aren’t exactly on tour. They don’t get paid, it’s against ethical rules. They mostly perform at judge’s conferences and lawyer’s galas. But for the band, that’s the exact audience they want to see the healing power of their music.
At one performance at a judges’ conference, some judges took the stage with them, grabbed a mic and began singing along.
“It's like we're doing something good here. This is working,” Bartalomei recalled.
So, the verdict is in. The Reasonable Doubts are bringing people to their feet. And this time, it’s not because someone said “all rise.”
Use the audio player above to hear music from the band.
