Minnesota chief justice says departure opens new chapter for her, court
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Set to step down from the Minnesota Supreme Court in October, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea still has a final Board of Pardons meeting ahead and is already relishing the chance to spend more time on her show horse, Goldy.
After a news conference Friday where she explained a decision announced the day before, Gildea showed off a picture of her on her horse — her companion in riding contests.
“The sport is called reining. That’s why I talked about handing the reins over to a new chief justice,” Gildea said.
But she wants it known her decision to depart shouldn’t be regarded as retirement.
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“I’ve been a decision maker now for some time and I’ve made one decision. And that’s what we’re talking about today. And now it’ll be time for me to explore the next adventure,” Gildea said from her traditional center seat in the court’s original Capitol chambers.
She added, “I don’t intend on retiring from the workforce. But I’m only, with this decision being made, I’m only now just beginning to think about what my next adventure might be. I would say stay tuned.”
For the court itself, it’ll mean a fresh face in that center seat — and as leader of the state’s judicial branch — for the first time since 2010. Gildea’s longevity made her one of Minnesota’s most seasoned chief justices.
She steered the courts through COVID-19, which forced many proceedings to be conducted virtually. And she’s nudged fellow judges to invite more public access through video and audio coverage, including another big expansion set for January.
But Gildea, 61, said both she and the court are due for a transition.
“You need to look back in our history more than 100 years — I think it's 1913 — to find somebody who has served in the role as chief justice longer than 13 years,” she said. “And I think that’s pretty good evidence that it’s time for somebody else to have a chance.”
She was the 22nd chief justice and second woman in the role.
Had Gildea remained on the court she would have stood for a new term in the 2024 election. Gov. Tim Walz, who has made one prior appointment to the court, will name a replacement. Most chief justices tend to come from within.
Gildea said she would offer Walz advice on a selection if he seeks it but wouldn’t otherwise speak publicly about how he should go forward.
All but one chief justice since 1933 — Gildea’s predecessor Eric Magnuson — was an associate justice first. Gildea, who put four years in before her elevation, said in general terms that there’s value in prior service.
“I think that was helpful for me because I had a chance to get comfortable with the role of helping the court decide cases and understand the processes,” she said. “We’re such a creature of our precedent — and why does the court do things the way that it does. It was important to have that understanding for me.”
Five of seven current justices were picked by Democratic governors; Gildea was appointed by a Republican.
If the new chief justice is seated before November, that person would be required to stand for election in 2024.
Unlike several states, Minnesota’s judicial elections have largely remained free from partisan influence. Gildea hopes it remains that way.
“I think we do have something very special in Minnesota in that our judicial elections have not turned into the sort of mud-wrestling contests that we've seen in other places,” she said. “And I hope that we're able to maintain that.”
Gildea isn’t ready to pack up yet. While the court’s next term won’t start until October, she is a member of the Board of Pardons that decides whether to wipe records clear for people who believe they’ve demonstrated a meaningful change from their past. It usually meets in the summer.
Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, the two other members of the pardons board, praised her in written statements.
“I always benefited from her insights,” Ellison said. “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.”
Gildea said work on that board has been both difficult and rewarding.
“It’s an incredibly difficult decision that the pardon board members have to make,” she said. “The people are right there, and you are engaging in a bit of fact-finding kind of on the fly, which is a much different decision-making process than we engage in at the Supreme Court.”