News Item
Taylor Appointed as Sixth Judicial District Administrator
Posted: Thursday, December 5, 2019
The Minnesota Judicial Council has approved the appointment of Sara Taylor as the Sixth Judicial District Administrator. Her appointment was put forward by
Chief Judge Sally L. Tarnowski on behalf of the 16 judges of the Sixth Judicial District at the Judicial Council meeting on November 14, 2019. The appointment was effective on November 15, 2019.
“Sara Taylor is a highly qualified and experienced leader. The Sixth Judicial District is known as a pioneering and change-oriented District. I look forward to working closely with Sara to continue to innovate and improve the administration of justice,” said Chief Judge Tarnowski. “The District’s reputation for innovation is due in no small part to the leadership of our outgoing District Administrator, Marieta Johnson. I thank Marieta for her outstanding service to the District throughout her 26 years of service.”
Prior to her appointment, Taylor served as the manager of the Guardian ad Litem Program for the Sixth and Ninth judicial districts, where she worked for five years. During her time with the Guardian ad Litem Program, she developed the strategies to successfully merge the two judicial districts’ Guardian ad Litem programs. Taylor developed the vision and implemented hiring practices that ensured diversity and inclusivity in the workforce in her service areas. During her tenure with the Program she was involved in a variety of committees that handled labor management, union negotiations, and tribal-state partnerships. Taylor earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the College of St. Scholastica, and a Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Taylor replaces outgoing Sixth Judicial District Administrator Marieta Johnson, who recently announced her retirement after 26 years of service to the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Johnson has led a variety of district centralization efforts that became models locally and for other districts across the state. She pioneered the sharing of work across district lines, and implemented the central minor civil case processing unit, which has been expanded to include almost 80 percent of Hennepin County District Court’s Default cases. Under her leadership, the Sixth Judicial District became the only multi-county District with a single court administrator, which brought greater consistency and cohesiveness between courts.
“Marieta Johnson is a true trailblazer and visionary leader,” said
State Court Administrator Jeff Shorba. “For Marieta, leadership has never been doing what is easiest, fastest, or simplest. It’s always been about doing what is right – doing what is best for the people the Minnesota Judicial Branch serves and the people who depend on the courts.”
Johnson earned a Master of Judicial Administration from the University of Denver, College of Law, and worked for the Denver District Court prior to moving to Virginia, Minnesota. She began her tenure at the Minnesota Judicial Branch as the Deputy Court Administrator for northern St. Louis County courts in Hibbing and Virginia. Johnson became the St. Louis County Court Administrator in 2010, and was appointed Sixth Judicial District Administrator in 2012.