ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointments of Tracy Perzel and Vicki Vial Taylor as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s First Judicial District. Ms. Perzel and Ms. Vial Taylor will be replacing the Honorable M. Michael Baxter and the Honorable Erica H. MacDonald, and will be chambered at Hastings in Dakota County. 

 

“Throughout their distinguished careers in public service, Ms. Vicki Vial Taylor and Ms. Tracy Perzel have both demonstrated their deep knowledge of and firm commitment to justice,” said Governor Dayton. “I thank them for their continued service to Minnesotans as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s First Judicial District.”

 

Minnesota’s First Judicial District consists of Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott, and Sibley Counties.

 

More information on the Commission on Judicial Selection, as well as vacancies it is currently considering, can be found at http://mn.gov/governor/appointments/judicial-appointments/. 

 

Ms. Perzel is the Criminal Division Chief at the United States Attorney’s Office, where she leads and supervises 40 Assistant United States Attorneys, implements division wide policy, and prosecutes and oversees the prosecution of federal criminal cases. Previously, she served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and an Assistant County Attorney at the Kandiyohi County Attorney’s Office. She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota School of Law. 

 

Ms. Perzel is a small group leader at Easter Lutheran Church, a packing volunteer with Feed My Starving Children, and a volunteer at Red Pine Elementary.

 

A headshot of Ms. Perzel is attached.

 

Ms. Vial Taylor is a Senior Assistant County Attorney in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Adult Prosecution Division, where she leads the Gang Team and prosecutes serious violent felonies. Previously, she served as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney and an Assistant Carver County Attorney. In these roles, she has also represented the State of Minnesota in juvenile delinquency, child protection, foster care licensing, and childcare licensing matters. She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Central College and her J.D., cum laude, from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. 

 

Ms. Vial Taylor was a recent panelist on the National Institute of Justice Prosecutors Advisory Panel.

 

A headshot of Ms. Vial Taylor is attached.