News Item
Natalie Hudson sworn-in as 92nd Supreme Court Justice

Posted: Friday, November 20, 2015

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The Honorable Natalie E. Hudson was sworn in as the 92nd Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court during a public investiture ceremony on Friday, November 20, 2015. The ceremony was held at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul.
 
Justice Hudson was presented at the ceremony by Governor Mark Dayton, who appointed Justice Hudson to the Supreme Court in August to replace the retiring Associate Justice Alan C. Page.
 
Speaking on behalf of Justice Hudson at the investiture ceremony were United States District Court Judge Michael J. Davis, Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, and Clifford M. Greene of the law firm Greene Espel, P.L.L.P. President Michael Unger presented remarks on behalf of the Minnesota State Bar Association.
 
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea administered the oath of office, while Justice Hudson’s husband, the Reverend Willie Hudson, held the bible. Justice Hudson’s son, Kobie K. Hudson, Esq., assisted with the robing.
 
After taking the Oath, Justice Hudson spoke of the importance of ensuring access to justice for all Minnesotans.
 
“I am proud to become a part of that history and I vow to do my part in continuing what I think is a critical effort for the Supreme Court and the profession as a whole, and that is ensuring that all Minnesotans have access to our courts,” Justice Hudson remarked during the ceremony.
 
Justice Hudson continued: “It is an honor and a privilege to be licensed to practice law, and one of the pressing things we must do as officers of the court – and in particular as judges – is to ensure that justice is not just for those who can afford an attorney.” 
 
Justice Hudson comes to the state’s highest court from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, to which she was appointed by Governor Jesse Ventura in 2002. She was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2004 and re-elected in 2010.
 
Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Justice Hudson served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota in the Criminal Appeals and Health Licensing divisions.
 
Justice Hudson earned her B.A. from Arizona State University and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review and also served as Editor-in-Chief for the school’s newspaper.
 
After completing law school, Justice Hudson was an attorney for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. and Robins, Zelle, Larson & Kaplan. She then spent three years as the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Hamline University School of Law, and was later appointed as the City Attorney for the City of St. Paul.
 
Justice Hudson is a member of several associations, including the American Bar Association; the Minnesota State Bar Association; the Ramsey County Bar Association; the Advisory Board of Minnesota Women Lawyers; the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers; and the Minnesota Association of Black Women Lawyers.
 
From 1993 to 2001, she served on the Implementation Committee on Multicultural Diversity and Racial Fairness in the Courts. She also served on the Minnesota Supreme Court Racial Bias Task Force (1991-1993), and served on the Minnesota Legal Services Planning Committee from 2008-2011.
 
In September 2011, Justice Hudson was selected to serve on the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court as a group leader.  She also served on the Alumni Board of the University of Minnesota Law School from 2004 to 2010.  Justice Hudson is an active member of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church.
 
She also has served as a “reading buddy” with the Everybody Wins tutorial program at Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School and participates annually in the Minnesota Court of Appeals Dorothy Day Center cookout.
 
A headshot of Justice Hudson is available here.