Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday appointed three people to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, including one who was a colleague at his former Minneapolis law firm.
The three new judges, one of whom has not sat on the bench before, will fill vacancies created by two retirements and the promotion of Christopher Dietzen from the appellate bench to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The appointees are:
Louise Dovre Bjorkman, a former Ramsey County judge and partner in the law firm of Rider, Bennett, Egan & Arundel, Pawlenty's former firm. Bjorkman, 48, now in private practice with the St. Paul firm of Larson King, will fill a vacancy resulting from the retirement of Bruce Willis in September.
Michelle Larkin, a judge in Wright County who was appointed by Pawlenty in 2005, will succeed Dietzen. Before being appointed to the bench, Larkin, 41, was a senior attorney and trial team supervisor in the Hennepin County public defender's office.
Lawrence Stauber will fill a vacancy caused by the retirement in April of R.A. (Jim) Randall from the Eighth Congressional District. Stauber, 61, was in private practice in Duluth.
Although Bjorkman and Pawlenty worked in the same law firm in the 1990s, the governor said they had little interaction with each other and never worked substantively on a case together.
The selection of Stauber, who has not previously been a judge, reflected an interest in providing diverse backgrounds and life experiences on the court, Pawlenty said.
