ST. PAUL, MN – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending three candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill the current vacancy in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. By order of the Minnesota Supreme Court, a vacant referee position in the Fourth Judicial District has been converted into a district court judgeship, effective July 11, 2018. This vacancy occurred upon the appointment of Referee JaPaul J. Harris as Judge of the Second Judicial District, and will be chambered at Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
James Keeler: Mr. Keeler is a Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Civil Division, where he serves as general counsel to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and supervises the County’s Torts Team. Previously, he was an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Juvenile Prosecution Division, the Carver County Attorney, an Assistant Sherburne County Attorney, Mankato City Attorney, and an associate at Schwartz & Associates. Mr. Keeler is a Mentor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and serves as a volunteer with Cookie Cart, National Night Out, and Simpson Housing Services Emergency Services.
Rachna Sullivan: Ms. Sullivan is a shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., where she serves as the lead lawyer in commercial litigation cases. Previously, she was a partner at Rider Bennet LLP, law clerk to the Hon. James M. Rosenbaum, former Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and an Assistant District Attorney at the King’s County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Sullivan is a director of the Minnesota Chapter Infinity Project, a director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, and the Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Leadership Summit on Gender Equity in the Law.
Referee Angela Willms: Referee Willms is a Fourth Judicial District Referee in the Juvenile Division, where she currently presides over hearings and trials in juvenile delinquency and juvenile protection. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She was previously the staff attorney in Hennepin County Juvenile Court and a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Susan N. Burke. Referee Willms is a member of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiatives (JDAI), where she serves on the Executive Steering Committee and as the Co-Chair of the Eliminating Racial Disparities Committee.
Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District consists of Hennepin County.
An announcement of the appointment will be made following an interview process over the next few weeks.
