Ellen Luger, Tom Sullivan to head Klobuchar judicial advisory committee

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has announced the formation of a Judicial Selection Committee to assist her in making a recommendation to the president to fill the vacancy on Minnesota’s Federal District Court that was created by Judge James Rosenbaum’s decision to assume senior status.

The Committee is co-chaired by Tom Sullivan, Provost for the University of Minnesota and former Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Law, and Ellen Luger, an attorney and the Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation. Other Committee members include Russell Anderson, former Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court; Leo Brisbois, the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association; R. Ann Huntrods, an attorney with an extensive federal practice; Tom Johnson, former president of the Council on Crime and Justice and Hennepin County Attorney; former Minnesota District Court Judge Carol Person; and Chief Judge Edward Toussaint Jr. of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

In announcing the Judicial Selection Committee, Klobuchar said:

“I look forward to the advice and counsel of these distinguished members of Minnesota's legal community.

“Federal judges are appointed for life, which makes it all the more critical that these individuals be fair-minded, have impeccable integrity, and take seriously their obligation to apply the law fairly. I am looking for someone with a deep knowledge of the law, a wide breadth of professional experience, and an excellent judicial temperament.

“Judge Rosenbaum has served Minnesota well for more than two decades, and we are lucky that we will still have the benefit of his service when he takes senior status this fall. I have no doubt that, with this Committee’s help, we will find an outstanding replacement that will carry on the fine work that Judge Rosenbaum has done for many years.”

Those wishing to be considered for the position of Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota should submit a letter of interest and resume by Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 to: Co-Chairs Tom Sullivan and Ellen Luger, Judicial Selection Committee, Office of Senator Amy Klobuchar, 1200 Washington Avenue South, Suite 250, Minneapolis, MN 55415. Materials may also be e-mailed to Sullivan and Luger at provost@umn.edu. References will be requested at a later date during the interview process. All other inquiries should be directed to Paige Herwig at (202) 224-3244.