2. Kevin Kolosky v. LaJune Lange (incumbent).
Kolosky has run for judge in every election since 1996. The rumor is that he goes to the election office right before the deadline and randomly chooses an incumbent to challenge. He has managed to randomly choose three
out of the four African American judges on the Hennepin County bench as opponents, including in this election. It is not clear why Kolosky is so intent on running for judge. He began running for judge a couple of years
after finishing law school. There is no indication that he has distinguished himself in the law profession. His website is http://kjkolosky.com/default.htm Kolosky's perennial candidacy undermines the credibility of judicial elections. He received over 40% of the vote in
2002 against the seemingly popular Judge Harry Crump (who was known for issuing the injunction to keep the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota), indicating a benefit from mere name recognition from constantly running. He should not win.
Judge Lajune Lange has been on the bench for almost twenty years, and has also participated in outside activities. http://www.judgelajunelange.org/
Whatever her shortcomings (to be discussed below), she should be most remebered for her courageous stand against the political establishment in the mid 1990s. During the absurd politically opportunistic prosecution of
Malcolm X's daughter Qabilah Shabazz by the US Attorney for Minnesota, the US attorney contacted Judge Lange, then serving in juvenile court, to request Shabazz's child protection file from a case the Lange had handled.
This file had no relevance to the prosecution, but was merely sought out of desparation due to the public relations disaster of the prosecution. Indeed, upon reliable information, the prosecutor handling the case had
refused to pursue the file, leaving the US attorney to pursue it himself. Lange recognized that this was information that is confidential under the law, and she refused to turn over the file in the absence of a federal court order. Judge Lange followed by issuing an order requiring the file to remain private. Shortly thereafter, Judge Lange received a visit from chief Judge Kevin Burke, and the chief judge in the juvenile court division, where she was criticized for moving her caseload too slowly and threatened with transfer outside of juvenile court. She understandably linked this incident with her refusal to cooperate with the US attorney, and issued a press release to that effect. The other judges responded by making an ethics complaint with the Board on Judicial Standards, alleging she had made false statement and cast the court in a bad light. A panel of retired judges held
a hearing and exonerated Judge Lange. They held she acted within her rights to defend herself and the judicial hierarchy handle the situation poorly. There are few judges whose courage and principle is tested in such a manner.
There is no doubt that Judge Lange would be at or near the bottom of any popularity contest among attorneys. The most common complaint appears to be that she is inefficient in handling her caseload. I have never heard any substantive criticisms of Judge Lange's decisions. I have also appeared before her, and have not found any significant criticisms of her actual legal decision making. I have further not experienced significant delays in handling decisions. At the same time, I must acknowledge that appearing in front of Judge Lange is not the most gratifying experience. She usually has her law clerk handle as much communication as possible with attorneys before coming to the bench to hold hearings. Lawyers usually have to wait a long time for Judge Lange's attention. Typically, judges appear on their own for
cases or invite attorneys into their chambers to discuss cases before coming into the courtroom. It is understood that the judge's role is to handle substantive communications regarding the case, whereas the law clerk assists the judge. The delay usually leads to an ugly scene of attorneys waiting in the courtroom complaining about her while waiting, thereby increasing her unpopularity. (Frankly, I do not observe this happening with many white male judges who keep attorneys waiting). When Judge Lange appears, the delay combined with her demeanor often suggests is not enthusiatic about
hearing the case. I cannot read her mind to know if this is the case, but appearances often carry more weight than reality in the court process.
The problems with style, however, should not outweigh the lack of substantive fault. Lajune Lange is also clearly more qualified than her opponent.
3. Julie Delgado O'Neil v. Thorwald Anderson (incumbent)
No clear recommendation in this race. This is where I could find basic data: www.hcba.org/District%20Court/DistrictCourt-2004Candidates1.htm
Julie Delgado O'Neil had been a Minneapolis City Attorney handling misdemeanor cases for several years. Although IMO misdemeanor prosecutions do not
provide sufficient experience to handle the varied and more complex legal cases, it appears that O'Neil has prior experience in other areas of law, and in accounting. It appears that what distinguishes her from the incumbent is O'Neil's involvement in community activities, specifically with employment and volunteer activities in the central city where she also lives. This experience could give her insight into the most pressing social issues and concerns that play themselves out in Hennepin County court.
O'Neil would also be the second Latino judge on the Hennepin County bench, and more significantly, a judge who has been actively involved and otherwise in touch with the greatly expanded immigrant community that are substantial participants in the court system with unique needs. I do know from indirect experience that as a city attorney, O'Neil has taken initiatives with helping immigrants who are mistreated in the system.
Thor Anderson spend most of his career in the U.S. Attorney's office before becoming a Hennepin County judge 8 years ago. For at least a large part of that time, he was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, a predominantly managerial position second in command to the US attorney. His background as exclusively a prosecutor and former Republican legislator makes him a
little conservative for my preference, but he is undoubtedly competent and dispassionate about applying the law. The unsual aspect of this contested race is that there are no serious criticisms of his performance within the legal community, and in fact he is well-regarded. The only three Hennepin county judges who have been defeated in the past 8+ elections, and most of those challenged have conducted themselves to raise serious issues about their fitness as judges. The underlying reason for opposing Thor Anderson appears to be that he will reach mandatory retirement in about two years, and will have to be replaced anyway. This seems to be a problematic reason for challenging a judge. Whether a judge without significant problems should be replaced by a candidate who is eager to be judge and has new qualities to offer is a question of values and priorities.
Jordan Kushner works downtown resides in Golden Valley, previously in Minneapolis 14 years.
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