G. Barry Anderson, last GOP-appointed Minnesota Supreme Court justice, will retire

All seven justices of Minnesota’s Supreme Court will soon be Democratic-Farmer-Labor governor appointees.

Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson, the last Republican appointee to the state’s highest court, is retiring in the spring after two decades in the position, Gov. Tim Walz’s office announced late Thursday.

Anderson has served on the Supreme Court since Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed him in October 2004, and will reach Minnesota’s mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 in October.

He’ll step down on May 10 after delivering remarks at attorney admission ceremonies at the Capitol, according to his resignation letter.

“I want to thank Justice G. Barry Anderson for over 25 years of service to the Judicial Branch and for his dedication to public service,” Walz said in a statement. “As one of Minnesota’s longest serving justices, his legacy and work on the Supreme Court will endure for generations to come.”

Before joining the Supreme Court, Anderson was a member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which he was appointed to by Republican Gov. Arne Carlson in 1998.

Now that Anderson is retiring, Walz will appoint his replacement. The governor said he’ll announce more details of the application process in the coming weeks.

It’ll be the third new justice Walz appoints to the Supreme Court. Walz has been governor since 2019 and started his second four-year term last year.

Last year, Walz appointed Karl Procaccini to an associate justice position after Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, a 2006 Pawlenty appointee, announced her retirement. Natalie Hudson, a 2015 appointee of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, became the new chief justice after Gildea’s departure.

Walz also appointed Associate Justice Gordon Moore in 2020. Moore succeeded Associate Justice David Lillehaug, a Dayton appointee.

Associate Justices Margaret Chutich, Anne McKeig and Paul Thissen are also Dayton appointees. Democrats have held the governor’s office since 2011.

Minnesota Supreme Court justices are typically appointed by the governor when there’s a vacancy on the court, though they do face election and serve six-year terms.

Judicial positions are nonpartisan in Minnesota.

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