Chief Justice Lorie Gildea to step down from Minnesota Supreme Court

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea announced Thursday that she will resign from the Minnesota Supreme Court effective Oct. 1.

Gildea is the third-longest-serving chief justice in Minnesota history, and the longest-serving since 1913. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed her to the state Supreme Court as an associate justice on Jan. 11, 2006. She became chief justice on July 1, 2010, becoming just the second female to hold the position.

“Serving as Minnesota’s Chief Justice has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am deeply grateful to the people of Minnesota for giving me this opportunity,” Gildea, 61, said in a statement.

She said although the decision to step down was not an easy one, “it is the right moment.”

“Our courts have largely recovered from the impacts of the pandemic, we secured important investments for our justice system in the recently completed Legislative Session, our judiciary is on solid fiscal footing, and the Minnesota Judicial Council has adopted an innovative Strategic Plan that will guide the work of our courts in the next biennium,” she said.

Gov. Tim Walz congratulated Gildea on her retirement, while saying she’s been a “strong defender of the judicial branch.”

“I have seen firsthand the balance and thoughtfulness she brings to her work each and every day — whether it’s improving and modernizing the judicial branch or serving on the Board of Pardons,” Walz said in a statement.

Walz will announce the application process for the vacancy on the court in the coming weeks.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Gildea served the state “nobly and honorably.”

“Under her leadership, Minnesotans knew that the process of justice was in steady and reliable hands,” he said in a Thursday statement. “Personally, I enjoyed working with her on the Pardon Board, and I always benefited from her insights. I am sure that she will be successful in whatever her next chosen path is, and I am grateful for her service to our state.”

Before joining the state Supreme Court, Gildea was a Hennepin County District Court judge and a Hennepin County assistant attorney. Prior to that, she was associate general counsel for the University of Minnesota from 1993 to 2004, and an associate attorney with the law firm of Arent Fox in Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1993.

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