News Item
Patrick W. Flanagan and Karin L. McCarthy Appointed to Fill Tenth Judicial District Vacancies
Posted: Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointments of Patrick W. Flanagan and Karin L. McCarthy as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District. Mr. Flanagan will be replacing the Honorable Sharon L. Hall, and will be chambered at Pine City in Pine County. Ms. McCarthy will be replacing the Honorable B. William Ekstrum, and will be chambered at Anoka in Anoka County.
“Working within Minnesota’s judicial system and in private practice, Mr. Patrick Flanagan and Ms. Karin McCarthy have demonstrated their strong commitments to justice in our state,” said Governor Dayton. “I thank them both for their continued service to Minnesotans, as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District.”
Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District consists of Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington, and Wright Counties.
More information on the Commission on Judicial Selection, as well as vacancies it is currently considering, can be found at
http://mn.gov/governor/appointments/judicial-appointments/.
About Patrick W. Flanagan
Mr. Flanagan is a solo practitioner at Flanagan Law Office and a part time Assistant Public Defender in the Tenth Judicial District. In his practice, he handles criminal defense, family law, and civil matters. Additionally, he was appointed to the Federal Criminal Justice Act Panel, where he represents indigent clients in Federal Court. Previously, he was the Mower County Attorney, an Assistant Mower County Attorney, and in private practice at Heuer & Vandelist, P.A. He earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.
Mr. Flanagan is a professor, teaching criminal justice though the University of Phoenix Master’s Program. He also coaches sixth grade football and basketball in the City of Mounds View.
About Karin L. McCarthy
Ms. McCarthy is an Assistant County Attorney in the Washington County Attorney’s Office, where she works in the criminal division primarily handling felony cases. Previously, she was a staff attorney for Tubman, an attorney for the Family Violence Network, associate attorney at Caswell and Associates, and an Adjunct Professor at the William Mitchell College of Law. She earned her B.A., with honors, from the College of St. Catherine and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Law.
Ms. McCarthy serves as the Chair of the St. Croix Valley chapter of Minnesota Women Lawyers, is a member of the Alumna Council for St. Catherine University, and the President of the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board.