During the week, Governor Tim Walz was given a recommendation for Fourth Judicial District candidates following a vacancy on the bench and announced appointments for district court judges in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. On Aug. 13, Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced the appointments of Michael Leeser and Ole Tvedten as district court judges in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District.
Leeser will replace the Honorable Greta M. Smolnisky and will be chambered in Moorhead and Tvedten will replace the Honorable Sarah E. Hennesy and be chambered in St.
Cloud. “I am honored to appoint Leeser to the Clay County bench,” said Walz. “The determination and leadership that he has demonstrated throughout his career gives me confidence that he is the right person for this position.
” The Commission on Judicial Selection announced Aug. 9 that it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill a vacancy in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. This vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Kristin A.
Siegesmund. This seat will be chambered in Minneapolis, in Hennepin County. The candidates are as follows: Emily Froehle is an assistant county attorney in the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, where she prosecutes serious felony matters.
She was previously an assistant public defender in Hennepin County and a law clerk for the Honorable Gina M. Brandt and the Honorable Mark S. Wernick in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District.
She is a member of the MSBA’s Access to Justice Committee, the Hennepin County Bar Association Bar Memorial Committee, and the MSBA General Assembly. Her community involvement includes serving as a volunteer at Cornerstone and as a mock trial judge for both the MSBA and YMCA. Jennifer Olson is an assistant attorney general in the Employment, Torts and Public Utilities Commission Division in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, where she defends constitutional, statutory, employment, and tort litigation on behalf of the State of Minnesota and state agencies.
She was previously a partner at Best & Flanagan LLP, where she served as the firm’s pro bono partner, and an associate attorney at Stinson LLP. Olson’s community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Volunteer Lawyers Network Benefactors and the Minnesota Justice Foundation. She has also served in various leadership roles with the Hennepin County Bar Association and on the MSBA’s Pro Bono Council.
Olson has also volunteered as a pro bono attorney with the Advocates for Human Rights, representing clients seeking asylum. Andrew Tweeten is an assistant United States attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, where he pursues affirmative health care fraud matters on behalf of the United States and defends a wide variety of civil claims against federal officers and agencies. He was previously an assistant attorney general in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and a law clerk for the Honorable Donald W. Molloy of the United States District Court for the District of Montana and the Honorable Sidney R.
Thomas of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. His community involvement includes singing and volunteering with One Voice Mixed Chorus. He also volunteers with the Minnesota Urban Debate League and judges college and high school mock trial and moot court competitions.
Also on Aug. 9, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a limited-edition bobblehead of Walz, who was chosen by Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate on the Democratic ticket in the 2024 United States presidential election earlier this week. The bobblehead featuring Walz joins the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump 2024 Presidential Candidate bobbleheads and JD Vance Vice President Candidate bobblehead.
The special edition bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum..
