Judge in rural Minnesota faces formal complaint, alleging retaliation and misconduct

A district judge in rural southwestern Minnesota is facing a formal complaint from a board on judicial standards after allegations that she retaliated against colleagues and engaged in a pattern of misconduct.

District Judge Jennifer Fischer, who is based in Willmar, Minn., is accused of claiming another judge was mentally ill and “an opiate addict,” failing to maintain a proper demeanor in court and removing herself from cases handled by specific lawyers.

The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards filed the formal complaint with the state Supreme Court last week. The complaint seeks a public hearing that could result in censure, suspension or removal from the bench.

Fischer has denied all allegations of misconduct and retaliation, in a formal response included in the filing.

Fischer has served as a judge in the Eighth Judicial District since 2013.

The board’s filing says Fischer violated a 2023 disciplinary agreement over alleged retaliation that, had it been completed successfully, would have resulted in a private admonition. The agreement said that if Fischer retaliated against anyone who had reported her, she could face a formal complaint.

In the 2023 complaint, Fischer is said to have agreed that she engaged in misconduct such as telling a juvenile, “Do you want me to get the duct tape out?” and saying a criminal defendant “presents as pathetic.” An investigator also found that court staff had expressed concerns with Fischer’s “erratic, explosive and unpredictable behavior” both in court and in the workplace.

The complaint against Fischer filed last week claims she retaliated against lawyers and staff who assisted in the previous investigation of her. Among those claims: Fischer privately accused Chief Judge Stephanie Beckman, who had lodged complaints during the first investigation, of being an opiate addict.

Against a public defender, she allegedly interfered with Carter Greiner’s opening statement by not letting him finish and accusing him of indoctrinating the court, before recusing herself from the case.

The complaint also alleges that Fischer began “recusing herself from an unprecedented number of attorneys and entities.” This included all cases handled by the Meeker County Attorney’s Office, which like others had cooperated with the earlier investigation against her.

This led to her caseload being significantly reduced. As of Feb. 10, she was no longer any criminal cases, and as of April 28, Fischer had no cases. “Her duties consist of administrative duties, such as research and writing,” the filing said.

In her formal answer to the complaint, Fischer denied all allegations of misconduct and retaliation and requested the Judicial Standards Board dismiss the entire complaint.

She said she signed under duress the 2023 agreement in which she admitted to misconduct. After she signed the agreement, Fischer said her privacy was violated when the Meeker County Attorney received a letter disclosing that she had been in inpatient mental health treatment. Her answer also claims that she is receiving harassment for being a whistleblower in a 1996 judicial sexual harassment case and that she has been discriminated against due to her diagnosed PTSD.

A date for the public hearing has not yet been set.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch declined to comment and added that judges are precluded from speaking about matters in front of the court.