News Item
The Honorable Sally L. Tarnowski re-elected to Chief Judge
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2018
The Honorable Michael J. Cuzzo re-elected to Assistant Chief Judge
The Honorable Sally L. Tarnowski has been re-elected to serve as chief judge for Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District by her fellow judges in the district. The Honorable Michael J. Cuzzo has also been re-elected to his post as assistant chief judge. Both will begin serving their second, consecutive two-year terms on July 1, 2018.
Judge Tarnowski was appointed to the bench March of 2007. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Duluth and earned her Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law. Before her appointment to the bench she spent four years in her private practice and 17 years with Johnson, Killen and Seiler in Duluth. Judge Tarnowski is chambered in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth.
“It is an honor to have earned the trust and support of my colleagues. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Assistant Chief Judge Cuzzo and the rest of the bench as we continue to embrace the important and necessary changes to the Minnesota judicial system,” Judge Tarnowski said. “Serving as chief judge of the district is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I look forward to the continued collaboration and responsive improvements we will take together to ensure every Minnesotan in the Sixth Judicial District has fair and equitable access to justice.”
The Honorable Michael J. Cuzzo has also been re-elected to his role as assistant chief judge of the Sixth Judicial District. Judge Cuzzo was first elected to the bench in 2010. Judge Cuzzo graduated from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School. His chambers are located in Lake County, but he also serves Cook County.
A more detailed profile of Chief Judge Tarnowski can be found
here and a profile of Assistant Chief Judge Cuzzo can be found
here.
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.