Posted: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointment of Mr. Gordon Moore and Mr. Terry Vajgrt as District Court Judges in Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District.  Mr. Moore will be replacing the Honorable Jeffrey L. Flynn who will retire later this month, and Mr. Vajgrt will be replacing the Honorable Timothy K. Connell, who retired in October. Mr. Moore’s seat will be chambered in Nobles County and Mr. Vajgrt’s seat will be co-chambered in Pipestone and Rock Counties.

About the appointments Governor Mark Dayton said, “Mr. Moore and Mr. Vajgrt are both very experienced attorneys and well-qualified for these appointments.  They will be excellent judges in Minnesota’s 5^th Judicial District.”

Mr. Moore serves as the Nobles County Attorney, acting as chief prosecutor and legal advisor for the County.  Previously, he was an associate attorney with the Worthington law office of Von Holtum, Malters & Shepherd, where he served as Assistant City Attorney for Worthington; in that role, he was a municipal prosecutor and civil legal advisor to both the city and private clients in the areas of contract, labor and employment law. He also served as a Special Assistant Attorney in the Transportation and Employment divisions of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Moore earned a B.A. from Carleton College, in 1985; and a J.D. from the University of Iowa in 1988 where he graduated with high honors. 

Additionally, Mr. Moore is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, the 13^th District Bar Association, the Nobles County Child Protection team and is a former board chair of both Independent School District 518 and the Worthington Area YMCA.  He has been active in community theater productions and as a volunteer high school mock trial and youth hockey and soccer coach. Mr. Moore resides in Worthington with his wife, Jane, and their three children.

Mr. Vajgrt is an Assistant Public Defender for the State of Minnesota. He also maintains a private practice focusing on criminal defense work and contracts with Rock, Pipestone and Nobles Counties to represent parents in child protection cases and respondents in adult civil commitment matters. He previously worked as a partner in the law firm of Klosterbuer and Vajgrt and is a former Assistant Rock County Attorney. Mr. Vajgrt also served as Assistant City Attorney for Luverne and was an adjunct professor of criminal law at Colorado Technical University. He received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1989.  

Additionally, Mr. Vajgrt is a member of the Southwestern Mental Health Center Board of Directors and is chair of the Nobles-Rock Community Corrections Advisory Board. He is actively involved with the Rock County Big Buddies Program and is a former president of the Luverne Community Health Care Foundation. Mr. Vajgrt resides in Luverne with his family.

Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District consists of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock and Watonwan counties.