ST. PAUL, MN – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending four candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill a current vacancy on Minnesota’s Supreme Court. This vacancy occurred upon the United States Senate’s confirmation of the appointment of Judge David R. Stras to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Jeffrey Bryan: Judge Bryan serves as a District Court Judge in the Second Judicial District. Prior to his appointment, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office and a civil litigation attorney at Robins, Kaplan, LLP. Judge Bryan serves on several committees with the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, is one of the Judicial Representatives serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee, and is a Co-Chair of the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. He also volunteers as a coach and team manager for the Saint Paul Blackhawks Football Club and as a board member for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.
Judge Bradford Delapena: Judge Delapena currently serves as the Chief Judge of the Minnesota Tax Court. Prior to his appointment, he was a solo practitioner at Bradford Delapena, Ltd., an Assistant Attorney General and Tax Litigation Division Manager in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, and an Assistant State Public Defender. Judge Delapena has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School and the Mitchell Hamline College of Law. Judge Delapena has served as an Officer, Director, and Instructor at the Twin Cities Aikido Center, and has regularly volunteered as a coach and judge for high school and college mock trial programs.
Judge Lucinda Jesson: Judge Jesson is an At-Large Judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Prior to her appointment, she was the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Associate Professor at Hamline University, partner at Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, LLP, Chief Deputy Hennepin County Attorney, and the Deputy Attorney General in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Judge Jesson currently Co-Chairs the Minnesota Tribal Court/State Court Forum and previously Co-Chaired the Child Protection Task Force. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Social Services, Southern Prairie Center for Community Health Improvement, Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul, and Close Gaps By 5.
Representative Paul Thissen: Representative Thissen is Senior Counsel of the Health Law Group at the Ballard Spahr Law Firm (formerly Lindquist & Vennum). He has been a Minnesota State Representative since 2003, serving previously as the Speaker of the House and Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. Representative Thissen was also a Shareholder at Briggs and Morgan, an Appellate Public Defender, and a Law Clerk for the Honorable James B. Loken at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Additionally, Representative Thissen is a board member for Healthy and Happy Kids, a Trustee of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and a former volunteer mock trial coach.
An announcement of Governor Dayton’s sixth appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court will be made following an interview process over the next few weeks.
