Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced that he has accepted the recommendations of the ad hoc screening committee that reviewed résumés and conducted interviews for the three new judgeships on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. These judgeships are new positions created by the 2007 Legislature (Laws of Minnesota 2007, Chapter 54, Article 1, Section 4).

They are all at-large positions and become effective on January 1, 2008. The finalists are Leonardo Castro, Francis J. Connolly, John H. Guthmann, Matthew E. Johnson, Raymond R. Krause, Laurie J. Miller, John R. Rodenberg, and Heidi S. Schellhas.

Castro, of White Bear Township, is the Fourth Judicial District Chief Public Defender in Hennepin County, a position he has held since 2001. He has also been an adjunct professor at St. Thomas School of Law in St. Paul since 2004, and was an adjunct faculty at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul from 2002 to 2003. Castro was the Fifth Judicial District Chief Public Defender from 1994 to 2001, an attorney with the Riha Law Office in Owatonna from 1992 to 1993, and served in the United States Air Force from 1981 to 1989. Castro earned his juris doctorate degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law in DeKalb in 1992, and his bachelor of science degree from the University of Maryland in 1988.

Connolly, of Minneapolis, is a Fourth Judicial District trial court bench judge in Hennepin County, a position he has held since 1998, and is currently presiding judge of the civil division. Connolly was associate general counsel with Kraus-Anderson Realty Company from 1994 to 1998, an attorney with Rossini, Nelson and Rossini from 1992 to 1994, an attorney with Dorsey and Whitney from 1987 to 1992, an attorney with Popham, Haik, Schnobrich and Kaufman from 1986 to 1987, and was in the honors program of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. from 1984 to 1986. Connolly earned his juris doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1984, and his bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in New York in 1980.

Guthmann, of St. Paul, is general partner of the Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug and Bradt law firm in Arden Hills. He has been an attorney with the firm since 1981, and his practice is in civil litigation concentrating on natural gas explosions, automobile negligence, product liability, workers’ compensation, insurance and employment law. He was a law clerk to Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert J. Sheran from 1980 to 1981, and a law clerk to Hennepin County District Court Judge Harold Kalina in 1979. Guthmann earned his juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in1980, and his bachelor of arts degree from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa in 1976.

Johnson, of St. Paul, is an attorney and shareholder with the Halleland, Lewis, Nilan and Johnson law firm in Minneapolis. He has been an attorney with the firm since 2001, and his practice is in commercial and employment litigation, including contractual disputes, business torts, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and employment discrimination. Johnson was an associate attorney with the Smith Parker law firm in Minneapolis from 1995 to 2001, an associate attorney with the Popham, Haik, Schnobrich and Kaufman law firm in Minneapolis from 1994 to 1995, a law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Judge David R. Hansen from 1993 to 1994, and a law clerk for U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa Chief Judge Charles R. Wolle from 1992 to 1993. Johnson earned his juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1992, and his bachelor of arts degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield in 1985.

Krause, of Arden Hills, is the Chief Administrative Law Judge with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings, a position he has held since 2004. He was assistant commissioner for tax policy with the Minnesota Department of Revenue from 2003 to 2004, a Minnesota Tax Court Judge from 1998 through 2003, Dean and a professor of law at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul from 1994 to 1998, senior vice president of government and community affairs (1989 to 1994), and director of government relations (1984 to 1989) with the Pillsbury Company and Grand Metropolitan Inc. in Minneapolis, manager of federal relations for TRW, Inc. from 1981 to 1984, assistant director of government relations with Pfizer Corporation from 1979 to 1981, and a Congressional legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. from 1973 to 1978. Krause earned his juris doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1978, and his bachelor of science degree from Georgetown University in 1973.

Miller, of Edina, is an attorney and shareholder with the Fredrikson and Byron law firm in Minneapolis. She has been an attorney with the firm since 1989, practicing in the litigation department, with a special interest in appellate practice, in both state and federal courts. She was an attorney with the Dunlap and Seeger (then known as Dunlap, Keith, Finseth, Berndt and Sandberg) law firm in Rochester from 1986 to 1989, an attorney with the Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe law firm in San Francisco, California from 1983 to 1986, and a law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Judges Myron H. Bright and Richard S. Arnold in St. Louis, Missouri from 1981 to 1983. Miller earned her juris doctorate degree from Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1981, and her bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in 1978.

Rodenberg, of New Ulm, is a Fifth Judicial District trial court bench judge in Brown County, a position he has held since 2000. He was an attorney and partner in the New Ulm law firm of Berens, Rodenberg, and O’Connor from 1982 to 2000, and a staff attorney with the U.S. Social Security Administration in Minneapolis from 1981 to 1982. Rodenberg earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul in 1981, and his bachelor of arts degree cum laude from St. Olaf College in Northfield in 1978.

Schellhas, of Edina, is a Fourth Judicial District trial court bench judge in Hennepin County, a position she has held since 1996. She was an attorney and partner with the Rode, Lucas and Schellhas law firm in Edina from 1989 to 1996, sole proprietor of the Heidi S. Schellhas Law Offices in Edina from 1988 to 1989, and a clerk, associate attorney and partner with the law firm of Carlsen, Greiner and Law in Minneapolis from 1979 to 1988. Schellhas earned her juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1980, and her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1975.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of trial courts other than conciliation courts except for appeals in election contests, convictions of murder in the first degree and appeals from the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals and the Tax Court, which are appealed directly to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals consists of 16 judges; eight judges who serve at-large, and eight judges who are initially appointed – one each – from the state’s eight congressional districts. Seventy-seven people submitted their résumés for consideration for these judgeships.