Lorie Skjerven Gildea (born October 6, 1961) is an American attorney and jurist serving as Chief Justice of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

. She served as an

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

on the Court from 2006 to 2010 and as a district judge for

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...

in the Fourth Judicial District from 2005 to 2006.

Early life and education

Gildea was born on October 6, 1961, and raised in

Plummer, Minnesota Plummer is a city in Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 276 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Plummer has been in operation since 1903. The city was named for Charles A. Plummer, who established two mi ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

, with distinction, from the

University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering ...

in 1983, and a Juris Doctor, '' magna cum laude'', from the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in 1986.

Career

After law school, she remained in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and entered private practice at

Arent Fox Arent Fox Schiff LLP (formerly Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn) is a national white shoe law firm and lobbying firm. It represents global corporations, local and national politicians, and large non-profit organizations. The firm is ranked ...

. Gildea later returned to Minnesota where, after working briefly as a special prosecutor for the city of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, she became an associate general counsel for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. She represented the University system for 11 years, including during the scandal involving former men's basketball coach

Clem Haskins Clem Smith Haskins (born August 11, 1943) is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball coach. In the fall of 1963, he and fellow star player Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the W ...

. She served on the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission from 2001 to 2004 under Governors

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

and

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...

Judicial service

Pawlenty appointed Gildea an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2006. Her seat on the Court was up for election in 2008. She defeated three opponents in the primary election and Hennepin County District Judge Deborah Hedlund in the general election. In 2010, Pawlenty appointed her chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, replacing Eric Magnuson. Her term as chief justice began on July 1, 2010, and she was sworn in at a July 12 ceremony in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. In 2012, Gildea was reelected chief justice, defeating Daniel Griffith in the general election with 60% of the vote. In 2018, Gildea was again reelected chief justice, unopposed.

Personal life

Gildea lives in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of

. She is an accomplished

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

. She was married to Andrew J. "Andy" Gildea, whom she met in law school. He died on November 5, 2021."Andrew J. Gildea"
(obituary), ''

Minneapolis StarTribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'', November 9, 2021.

References

External links

Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea
Minnesota Judicial Branch. *Philip J. Trobaugh
Judge Lorie Skjerven Gildea
''Hennepin Lawyer'', December 22, 2005.
"New Minnesota Chief Justice on MPR's Midday program" MPR News: July 1, 2010
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gildea, Lorie 1961 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Chief Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Georgetown University Law Center alumni Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court People from Red Lake County, Minnesota University of Minnesota Morris alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States