Minneapolis city attorney among 5 finalists for state Appeals Court

Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal is among five finalists under consideration to fill two openings on the state Court of Appeals.

The five were chosen by a panel made up of representatives of Gov. Tim Walz's administration and the state Commission on Judicial Selection. The Appeals Court's 19 judges are elected to six-year terms, with the governor appointing midterm replacements when a vacancy occurs.

Two vacancies will be created later this year by the retirements of Judges Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks and Heidi Schellhas. Halbrooks' seat represents the Fifth Congressional District, while Schellhas serves in an at-large capacity.

The finalists, with biographical information provided by Walz's office, are:

• Jeffrey Bryan, a trial judge in the Second Judicial District and co-chair of the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Bryan has worked as an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuting economic fraud and drug-trafficking conspiracies, and as a civil litigation attorney for Robins Kaplan.

• Jamie Cork, a judge in the First Judicial District, where she presides over criminal, juvenile and family law cases, conducts legal research and analysis, and drafts court orders. Previously, she was an assistant Hennepin County attorney representing the county's Human Services and Public Health Department.

• Theodora Gaïtas, a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, where she presides over felony cases as a member of the property/drug team and is co-chair of the Domestic Violence Steering Committee. Previously, Gaïtas was an attorney with Matonich Law, where she represented plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions. She also served as an assistant state public defender in the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender.