Deborah Hedlund

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Born: Aug. 19, 1947; Minneapolis

Education:

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1972
• University of Kansas, B.S., 1969

• Minnesota 4th Judicial District, judge, 1980-present
• Northwestern College, adjunct professor, 1997-present
• Minnetonka City Attorney's Office, attorney, 1974-80
• Kimberly-Clark, general counsel, 1974
• Minnesota 4th District Public Defender's Office, assistant public defender, 1972-74
• Minnesota Attorney General's Office, law clerk to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 1970-71
• Kansas City Missouri Schools, teacher, 1968-69

• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Minnesota District Judges Association
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• National Association of Women Judges

• Adopt-A-Defendant Mentor Program
• Wayzata Free Church

Hobbies/Interests: Gardening, golf, hiking, promoting human rights for women and the politically dispossessed, skiing, tennis, writing

Family: Three children

Why did you opt to become a judge?
My uncle Cyrus knew I was named after "Deborah" in the Bible - a judge. By age 11, he had convinced me that I could help people and make a difference by being a judge who as Micah 6:8 says, "did justice, loved mercy and walked humbly with my God." All of my education and employment were focused on preparing me to become a judge. For 28 years I've had the best preparation possible to serve on the Supreme Court, being a trial judge in Hennepin exposed me to one-half of all the cases filed in the state.

Why should voters select you rather than your opponent?
EXPERIENCE!

• Trial judge: 28 years handling virtually every type of case the Supreme Court reviews: Murder 1, medical malpractice, complex civil, family, juvenile, probate, mental health.
• Criminal trial attorney: prosecutor, public and private defense lawyer.
• Civil trial attorney: solo practitioner, corporate counsel, city attorney, pro bono tax appeals and Legal Aid volunteer.
• Belief in diversity: English teacher of 125 black students, adopted Quechua Indian, Asian niece, Hispanic nephew, grandmother of African-American/Native American/Swedish/Norwegian Jewish grandchild.
• Knowledgeable in the law: teaching criminal law since 1997, CLE instructor since 1975.

What have been some of your accomplishments during your time on the bench?

• Work capacity: handled over 500 civil cases each year with no additional staff when typical caseload was 100 to 200 cases.
• Innovation: started Adopt-A-Defendant to match nonviolent defendants with volunteer mentors, helping defendants make restitution and complete probation conditions, stay out of jail, avoid re-offending.
• Alternative sentencing: developed incentive sentencing, established STS as an alternative to incarceration/fines, served on C.A.R.E. committee (purpose: to coordinate chemical treatment programs outside and inside prison and evaluate their effectiveness).
• Encouraged reconciliation: gathered free counseling sources for litigants in family court who wanted to stay married, saving marriages and money.

What are the major issues facing the court on which you wish to sit?
A primary job of the Supreme Court is to review decisions of over 275 trial judges, including direct appeals on Murder 1 cases. Unfortunately, of the seven justices currently serving on the Supreme Court, only one has ever been a trial judge, and then only four months. None of them have tried a Murder 1 case as an attorney or trial judge. Reviewing cases with pro se litigants, unfamiliar law, diverse parties and trials with interpreters all add to the difficulty of each justice authoring more than one opinion each week and attempting to provide consistent guidance to trial judges, lawyers and litigants.

How can these issues realistically be addressed?
Add a trial judge to the Supreme Court to balance the lawyer and appellate judge perspectives already present. While I am of Norwegian/Swedish descent, I also bring significant exposure, concern and understanding of diversity from my family and daily contact with litigants of diverse racial backgrounds who represent 25 percent or more of Hennepin criminal, juvenile and family caseloads. By measuring results and examining unintended consequences of Supreme Court rules and policies, we can better focus dwindling judicial resources. Efficiency is also gained by electing a hardworking judge familiar with making decisions and writing opinions based on the law.

What role, if any, should politics play in judicial campaigns? (for example, party endorsements, discussions of political views, etc...)
NONE. Citizens have a right to expect and demand that Supreme Court justices are obligated to no one and nothing other than following and applying the law to the best of their ability. Discussions of political views are irrelevant if one is committed to following the law, whether approving of it or not. I have signed a pledge to not insert politics into the campaign for a Supreme Court seat. It's about qualifications and experience, not politics. An impartial judiciary is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy so people are assured of a fair and impartial system of justice.

What else would you like voters to know about your candidacy?
I've worked in our court system for four decades, most recently 28 invaluable years as trial judge. The Supreme Court should be the last job one holds in the court system, not the first. My three children remind me of my frailties and of my unworthiness to be the final arbiter of legal controversies. I believe in God, country, doing justice and loving mercy. I love the law. It's the great leveler of all things. It's our guarantor of all our other rights. I believe in the American dream. I am living it.