Arden Hills attorney John H. Guthmann, 53, has been appointed a Ramsey County district judge, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Thursday. He will fill the seat created by the Jan. 1 retirement of Judge A. James Dickinson.
Guthmann, of St. Paul, has been a partner since 1990 in the Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug and Bradt law firm and specialized in civil litigation cases. He represented a plaintiff in the 1993 gas explosion at 3rd and Maria on St. Paul's East Side and a defendant in the 1998 gas explosion in St. Cloud.
He graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1980 and clerked for state Supreme Court Justice Robert Sheran from 1980-81.
Guthmann said he has great respect for the way judicial selection is handled in Minnesota, having now seen both sides of the process. He was a finalist for the Minnesota Court of Appeals last October.
"John has achieved a high level of respect in the legal profession for his strong intellect and adept handling of complex civil cases," Pawlenty said.
PAT PHEIFER
