The Reasonable Doubts, Minnesota’s only all-judge band, is more than a guilty pleasure

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig was thinking about the mental toll of judicial work on the state’s judges, and she wondered what she could do to help ease their burden and bring people together.

So McKeig, who grew up in Federal Dam, Minn., dreaming of being a country singer in Nashville, sent out an email to the rest of the judges in the state: “Let’s start a court band.”

“I got a lot of great responses and a lot of enthusiasm,” she said. “So we just sort of went down the line. I’m like, ‘OK, you’re the drummer, you’re the guitar player.’”

They dubbed the band the Reasonable Doubts, a nod to the legal standard of proof in most criminal cases (as in, beyond a reasonable doubt). As the band came together, judges from all over the state joined.

“It’s a group of people that probably would not normally be hanging out with each other, but who have really come together just out of the joy of music,” McKeig said.

The group, which members say is the only all-judge band in Minnesota, began holding practices at the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts in St. Cloud after working hours.

Supreme Court Justice Sarah Hennesy, Wirth Center Executive Director James Newman’s wife, is a member of the group. Newman said music can help develop skills for professional success, so he wasn’t too surprised when the all-judge group came together.

One of the group’s members is Hennepin County District Judge Luis Bartolomei, who joined the band after Hennesy approached him at a judicial conference.

“I remember Justice Hennesy ... saying, ‘Hey, I heard you play guitar ... Would you want to join the Reasonable Doubts?’” he said. “I said OK, and so that’s how I got in there.”

The band’s repertoire includes country, pop and rock, with covers ranging from Elvis Presley to AC/DC and Beyoncé. Several members of the group switch between singing and playing instruments, depending on the song.

At a recent practice at the Wirth Center, the group bantered and practiced in almost equal measure, downplaying their skills even as they ran through some 15 songs — mostly without a hitch.

The band includes a retired Supreme Court justice, Margaret Chutich, along with Wright County District Judge John Bowen, Isanti County District Judge Amy Brosnahan, retired St. Louis County District Judge Dale Harris, Mille Lacs County District Judge Mark Herzing and Ramsey County District Judge Mark Ireland.

So far they’ve mostly performed at judicial conferences and law-related events, though they’re also interested in playing for the general public. They plan to appear next June at Bena Fest on the Leech Lake Reservation.

For McKeig, the group serves as a reminder that judges are people, too. It serves as a break from the gravity of being a judge.