Minnesota

Justices

• Chief Justice Eric Magnuson – Term expires 2014 (leans conservative)

• Associate Justice Alan Page – Term expires 2010 (leans moderate)

• Associate Justice Paul Anderson – Re-elected 2008, term expires 2014. (leans conservative)

• Associate Justice Helen Meyer- Re-elected 2008, term expires 2014 (moderate)

• Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson – Term expires 2010 (leans conservative)

• Associate Justice Lorie Gildea – Term expires 2014 (leans conservative)

• Associate Justice Christopher Dietzen – Appointed 2008 (leans conservative)

About the court

Court is non-partisan with a conservative majority.

The Minnesota court is non-partisan with a conservative majority. This court recently played a critical role in determining the outcome of the bitterly contested U.S. Senate race between incumbent Senator Norm Coleman and his challenger Al Franken. When this race was too close to call in November 2008, the ballots were all re-counted, by hand, and the Statewide Canvassing Board unanimously ruled that Franken had won by 225 votes. As was his right under Minnesota’s election laws, Senator Coleman, however then appealed to the state’s Supreme Court. This body ruled unanimously against Coleman, ceding the race to Al Franken, and giving our nation an even more poignant picture of how important state supreme courts can be in determining matters of national importance.

Terms are 6 years. The next cycle is 2010.