Panel sends Dayton names of 3 women for Supreme Court slot

admin//July 27, 2015//

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The names of two judges and the city attorney for Minneapolis, all of them women, were forwarded Monday to Gov. Mark Dayton as the candidates he should consider to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Alan Page.

Appeals Court Judges Margaret Chutich and Natalie Hudson as well as Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal have been listed as recommended candidates by the Commission on Judicial Selection. Dayton isn’t obligated to pick from that list, but he intends to begin his interview process soon. Page will leave the court Aug. 31 after hitting the mandatory retirement age of 70.

There are two women currently on the seven-member court, but Justice Wilhelmina Wright is awaiting confirmation to a federal judgeship and could depart soon.

Dayton has made two prior picks.

Chutich, a former federal prosecutor, has been on the appeals court since Dayton selected her in 2011. Hudson was an appointee of former Gov. Jesse Ventura in 2002. Segal has managed the Minneapolis city attorney office since 2008 and has had a long career in private practice.

In Minnesota, gubernatorial appointments to judgeships don’t require legislative confirmation. But judges must periodically stand for election, though few incumbents face serious challenges.