Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Minnesota's highest court will lose one of its best and brightest jurists this fall when Chief Justice Lorie Gildea leaves the state Supreme Court. After 13 years as the state's top judge, Gildea recently announced that she would step down in October.

She led the court with great skill during her tenure, emphasizing transparency, making the judicial system easier to navigate and generally modernizing operations. Gildea guided significant changes in court functions during the pandemic and wisely adopted some of those online approaches to make the courts more accessible.

Her departure was a surprise because, at age 61, Gildea is far short of the mandatory retirement age of 70. She has been actively involved in her work and had not spoken publicly about any imminent plans to retire.

"I believe it is the right time to initiate a transition in leadership within our organization," she wrote in an email to judges and staff. "After three difficult years, we have reached the other side of the pandemic and have made great strides in eliminating the pandemic backlog."

It was her job to lead the state's highest court and manage Minnesota's 87-county district court system. And recently, Gildea oversaw a welcome move to finally allow more cameras in courtrooms.

Writing for the majority, Gildea said the change would "promote transparency and confidence in the basic fairness that is an essential component of our system of justice in Minnesota and protect the constitutional rights and safety of all participants in criminal proceedings in the state."

Gildea was named chief justice in 2010 by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had appointed her to the court four years earlier. Her decision to leave the post gives DFL Gov. Tim Walz his second appointment to the state's highest court since he took office in 2019.

Although Walz has occasionally had differences with Gildea, he nonetheless issued a statement thanking her for her service and calling her a strong defender of the judiciary.

"I have seen firsthand the balance and thoughtfulness she brings to her work each and every day — whether it's improving and modernizing the judicial branch or serving on the Board of Pardons," he wrote.

After over a decade of strong, steady leadership of the courts, Gildea deserves praise and thanks from Minnesotans for a job well done.