News Item

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The Honorable Sally L. Tarnowski Elected Chief Judge of Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District

Posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2016

The Honorable Sally L. Tarnowski has been elected to serve as chief judge of Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District by her fellow judges in the district.  She will assume her duties on July 1, 2016, after current Chief Judge Shaun R. Floerke completes his second two-year term in the role.
 
Judge Tarnowski has been a judge in the Sixth District since February 2007.  Before her appointment to the bench, Judge Tarnowski spent four years in her private practice and seventeen years with Johnson, Killen and Seiler in Duluth. She is chambered in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth.
 
“Over the past few years, our judicial district has embraced a major redesign initiative which has improved our efficiency and enhanced our service to the public,” said Chief Judge-designate Tarnowski. “I am honored to have been chosen chief judge of the Sixth Judicial District, and look forward to working with my colleagues and staff in our district to build upon these great innovations.”
 
The Honorable Michael J. Cuzzo was elected to replace Judge Gary Pagliaccetti as the next assistant chief judge in the Sixth District.  Judge Cuzzo was first elected to the bench in 2010.  His chambers are located in Lake and Cook Counties.
 
Profile of Judge Tarnowski

Profile of Judge Cuzzo
 
By statute, the chief judge of a judicial district exercises general administrative authority over the courts within the district, including assigning judges to serve in locations throughout the district. The chief judge of each judicial district also serves as a member of the Minnesota Judicial Council, the administrative policy-making authority for the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
 
Chief judges and assistant chief judges are elected to two-year terms by the judges within the district. No judge may serve as chief judge or assistant chief judge for more than two consecutive two-year terms. New two-year terms begin on July 1.
 
About Minnesota Sixth Judicial District
 
Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District serves Minnesota's Arrowhead Region in Carlton, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties (Duluth, Hibbing, and Virginia). The district bench includes 16 district court judges who are chambered throughout the District. In 2015, nearly 48,000 cases were filed in Sixth Judicial District courts.