ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointments of Juanita C. Freeman and Karen B. Schommer as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District. Ms. Freeman will be replacing the Honorable Susan R. Miles and will be chambered at Stillwater in Washington County. Ms. Schommer will be replacing the Honorable Gary R. Schurrer and will be chambered at Elk River in Sherburne County. 

 

“Throughout their legal careers, Ms. Juanita Freeman and Ms. Karen Schommer have demonstrated exemplary commitments to public service,” said Governor Dayton. “In service to their communities and to the cause of justice, Ms. Freeman and Ms. Schommer have shown great judgment and professionalism. I thank them for their continued service to the people of Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District.”

 

Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District consists of Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington, and Wright 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. Freeman is a Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Adult Prosecution Division, where she manages a team of attorneys and maintains her own felony caseload. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline College of Law, teaching advocacy to online and traditional students. Previously, she was a Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Child Protection Division and an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Adult Prosecution Division & Gang Team. She earned her B.A. from Hamline University and her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. 

 

Ms. Freeman serves on the board of Mitchell Hamline’s Gateway to Legal Education, and volunteers at Red Rock Elementary and Epiphany Covenant Church.

 

A headshot of Ms. Freeman is attached.

 

Ms. Schommer is the Deputy Criminal Chief of the Major Crimes and Priority Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, where she supervises 12 attorneys and prosecutes criminal cases. Previously, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division for the Southern District of West Virginia and an Associate at Robinson & McElwee P.L.L.C. She earned her B.S. from Virginia Tech and her J.D. from the University of Richmond. 

 

Ms. Schommer is a member of the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and co-chairs their Community Outreach Committee, and is a volunteer at Northpoint Elementary and Feed my Starving Children.

 

A headshot of Ms. Schommer is attached.

 

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