Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2012

Tenth Judicial District Judge Alan Pendleton has been named the recipient of the 2012 Minnesota District Judges Association Outstanding Judge Award for his commitment to improvement in the judicial system and promotion of judicial efficiency. Judge Pendleton began his career on the bench chambered in Sherburne County. He is currently chambered in Anoka County.

The nomination of Judge Pendleton noted that, among other efforts, he designed, coordinated and obtained funding for the construction of Minnesota’s first fully-integrated, electronic courtroom, which incorporated a multi-faceted electronic evidence display system. Over the next several years, he conducted public, professional, and school educational tours of the e-courtroom and developed and presented training programs to attorneys and judges on the proper use of an electronic courtroom.

The nomination pointed out that throughout Judge Pendleton’s career, he has dedicated countless hours to presenting training seminars for law enforcement, attorneys, and the judiciary.

Judge Pendleton has authored numerous publications and articles covering topics ranging from criminal and trial procedure to evidence and constitutional issues. He edited and published "Anoka County Law Enforcement Training Update," one of Minnesota’s largest law enforcement training newsletters, as well as the Minnesota Criminal Elements Handbook.  He also co-authored a law school text book on Advanced Criminal Trial Advocacy. 

Judge Pendleton created and maintains a bi-weekly judicial training e-mail service entitled "Minnesota Judicial Training Updates.” The training updates are designed to be short, concise, and easy-to-read judicial tips covering basic issues that every judge and attorney should know. The updates focus on statutory, case law, criminal, civil, trial, and evidentiary issues. They are distributed to approximately 85 percent of the state’s judges, with all new judges being automatically added to the distribution list. Increased demand has the distribution list now including members of the private and public bars, numerous attorney associations, and the University of Minnesota law school.

Judge Pendleton was appointed to the bench in 1999 by Governor Jesse Ventura. Prior to joining the bench, he served as an assistant county attorney in Anoka County. He is a graduate of Bemidji State University and Drake University Law School.