Senior Judge Michael F. Fetsch
(retired 2009)

Appointed/Elected:

Appointed:  October 1996
Elected:  1998 and 2004
Retired: Oct. 30, 2009

Appointed and assigned to serve statewide as Senior Judge from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2013.

Education:

1966, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, Juris Doctor

1961, St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, B.A.

Admitted to Practice:

Supreme Court, State of Minnesota, 1967
United States District Court, District of Minnesota, 1969
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1970
United States Supreme Court, 1971

Employment History:

1996 - 2009, Judge, Second Judicial District, Ramsey County District Court

1994 - 1996, Referee, Second Judicial District, Ramsey County District Court

1975 - 1994, Private Practice 

1973 - 1975, Executive Director/Chief Attorney, Neighborhood Justice Center, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota

1968 - 1975, Legal Assistance of Ramsey County, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota 
   Staff Attorney, Directed Selby/Dale Office
   Chief Attorney for Misdemeanor 
   Public Defender Program   1964 - 1968, Accounts Manager, West Publishing Company, Eagan, Minnesota
   1962 - 1964, Account Executive/Personal Lines Underwriter, Sentry Insurance  

Professional Experience:

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE, 1996 to 2009 The Minnesota Constitution created the District Courts which are courts of general jurisdiction, encompassing everything from capital crimes (treason and murder) to parking tickets, from class actions to conciliation courts and including the legislatively created courts.   REFEREE, 1994 to 1996 The legislatively created courts are the areas in which Referees act as judicial officers, i.e., Probate (decedent’s estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental commitments), Family (dissolution, post-decree, custody, visitation, support, paternity), Uniform Child Custody Act proceedings, Interstate Support Proceedings, Housing (civil and criminal) and Juvenile (delinquency, status offenses, traffic).

PRIVATE PRACTICE

CIVIL: Concentrated in the areas of Personal Injury, Contract and Domestic Relations.  Other significant, past participation in the areas of Civil Rights, Labor Relations, Arbitration, Grievance, Probate and Administrative Law Matters.  Trial practice in all areas.   CRIMINAL: Misdemeanor, Gross Misdemeanor and Felony defense in State and Federal Courts.  Trial practice in all areas.   APPELLATE PRACTICE: Argued cases in the Minnesota Supreme Court, Minnesota Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Other Activies (Past and Present):

PROFESSIONAL

Minnesota District Court Judges Association, 1996 - Present

Adjunct Professor, Litigation Practice, 1992 - Present
Hamline University, School of Law

Adjunct Professor, Trial Advocacy, 1978 - 1988
William Mitchell College of Law

Office of Ramsey County Public Defender, 1976-1994
part-time public defender representing indigents charged with crimes

Minnesota State Bar Association: Business Law Section, Civil Litigation Section, Corporate Counsel Section, General Practice Section, Family Law Section, Criminal Law Section, Lawyers’ Advertising Committee.

Ramsey County Bar Association: Criminal Law Committee, Continuing Legal Education Committee (past member), Jurisprudence and Law (past member), Ethics (past member, past chair), Sub-Committee Adult and Youth Corrections, Executive Council.

Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, 1985 - 1991
Member Board of Directors

Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association

American Bar Association (past member)
Young Lawyers Committee

Minnesota Public Defender’s Association
Secretary (1975 - 1976)
Vice-President (1976 - 1977)

National College of Criminal Defense
Lawyers and Public Defenders (past member)

Federal Public Defender’s Office
Panel Member (formerly, Community Defender Organization of Minnesota)

American Arbitration Association
Panel Member

St. Paul Human Rights Department
Hearing Law Officer

State of Minnesota, Bureau of Mediation Services
 Arbitrator

Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Lecturer:  Ramsey County Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education; National Lawyers Guild; Minnesota Institute of Legal Education; William Mitchell Moot Court Competition (Presiding Judge).

Community Involvement:

Project Remand, Inc., Member, Board of Directors

Maple Hills of Red Wing, Inc., Member, Board of Directors

Greenvale Place of Northfield, Inc., Member, Board of Directors

Community Development Corporation of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Member, Board Directors

Pupils Problems Committee, Member, St. Paul School Board

Special Recognition:

Voted one of the most courteous lawyers by the October – November, 1991, Minnesota Lawyer, “The Most Courteous”.

Voted one of the best lawyers in Minnesota by the August, 1994 Law & Politics “Super Lawyers 1994”.

Winner, 1995 Ramsey County Judicial Plebiscite for the Second Judicial District

Voted one of “Leading Minnesota Attorneys” for “Criminal Law:  DWI and Misdemeanors, Criminal Law:  Felonies and White Collar Crime”, 1996.

Voted one of “100 Who Make a Difference” in the William Mitchell College of Law Centennial Celebration Publication, 2000.