The business meeting of the Judicial Conference was called to order at 8:45 a.m. Roll was taken. It was announced that Judge Lester Ketterling has resigned as a surrogate judge. Chief Justice VandeWalle called a special roll of the South Central Judicial District, which included all members of the judiciary who have assisted the South Central Judicial District during the past year while Judge Romanick has been on active military duty. Having concluded the roll call, it was announced that there were 43 members present for the meeting. A quorum was declared and the business meeting proceeded. A quorum was reported present.
Donovan Foughty
Lee A. Christofferson
Laurie A. Fontaine
M. Richard Geiger
John C. McClintock, Jr.
Michael G. Sturdevant
Joel D. Medd
Karen K. Braaten
Sonja Clapp
Debbie Gordon Kleven
Gail Hagerty
Sonna M. Anderson
Bruce B. Haskell
David E. Reich
William A. Herauf
Douglas L. Mattson
David W. Nelson
Georgia Dawson
Douglas R. Herman
John C. Irby
Steven E. McCullough
Frank L. Racek
Cyntha Rothe-Seeger
John T. Paulson
John E. Greenwood
Mikal Simonson
Robert A. Keogh
Julie Evans
Norman J. Backes
Ronald E. Goodman
William F. Hodny
Lawrence A. Leclerc
Everett Nels Olson
Michael F. Daley
Steven J. Lies
Sherry Mills Moore
Judge Haskell made a motion to approve the minutes of November 19, 2007, seconded by Judge Paulson. The motion carried and the minutes were approved.
Chair Herman than called upon Judge Hagerty to deliver the report of the Committee on Legislation. Judge Hagerty asked attorney Sherry Mills-Moore, chair of the State Bar Association's Custody and Visitation Task Force, to come forward and present a summary of the proposed legislation that the task force intends to present to the Interim Legislative Committee on Judicial Process. Ms. Mills-Moore handed out a "Report of the Custody & Visitation Task Force," a copy of which is attached to these minutes. Members of the Judicial Conference were asked to review the report prior to June 24, 2008 and to contact Ms. Mills-Moore with any concerns.
Next, Judge Hagerty handed out the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law "Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act," copy of which is attached to these minutes.
She then recognized Judge Christofferson who said a concern has been raised regarding the use of multi-county jury pools and whether there is a conflict between 27-09 and 29-01. He suggested a modification to two statutes would reconcile any potentially conflicting language. He agreed to put together a bill draft and to locate a sponsor for the proposed amendment.
Following the report of the Committee on Legislation, Chair Herman called upon Judge Geiger to deliver a summary of the changes to the Bench Book. Following the summary, Judge Herman noted that the Bench Book is the sole product of Judge Geiger's hard work and dedication. Judge Geiger was then recognized by his colleagues with a round of applause.
Judge Herman handed out a newspaper report from the June 8, 2008 edition of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune regarding the commitment of sexually-dangerous offenders. He noted that the report was the first of a four-part series and recommended it as important reading for the members of the judiciary.
There being no further discussion, the meeting was ended at 9:15 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Holewa
State Court Administrator
Executive Secretary to the Judicial Conference