Judicial Service:
Kevin G. Ross joined the Minnesota Court of Appeals in February 2006, appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Minnesota voters confirmed Judge Ross in the post by statewide election in 2008, 2014, and 2020. He has authored more than 1,200 opinions for the court and 50 concurring or dissenting opinions. In 2011 the George Mason School of Law’s 2011 Green Bag Almanac & Reader selected Judge Ross as the first state court jurist to be honored as “Exemplary Judicial Opinion Writer.”
Service to the Profession:
Judge Ross founded the Quill & Bagel Society, a periodic workshop for judges, law clerks, and staff attorneys committed to honing individual legal-writing skills and maintaining the quality of the court’s opinions. Judge Ross serves as a member on the Multistate Essay Examination Drafting Committee of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. And he has served as an adjunct professor at the St. Thomas School of Law. He was an active principal board member of True North Constitutional Policing, which developed interactive, online training to Minnesota law enforcement officers. He served seven years as a board member of Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers.
Prior Professional Experience:
Kevin Ross has been interpreting, applying, practicing, or enforcing the law since 1987. His appointment to the bench ended his partnership at the Minneapolis law firm of Greene Espel. His law practice included constitutional law, employment litigation and consultation, and general litigation. He was named a “Rising Star” then a “Super Lawyer” in the fields of governmental and employment law by The Minnesota Journal of Law & Politics. Ross had joined the firm in 1997 after serving two federal judicial clerkships: in the United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, for the Honorable Donald P. Lay, and in the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, for the Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, Chief Judge. Before practicing law, Ross served five years as an Iowa City police officer.
Education:
Ross received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Iowa with High Distinction and other honors, including the Dean’s Achievement Award; Donald P. Lay Faculty Recognition Award; Law Foundation Merit Scholarship; Hancher-Finkbine Medallion Nominee; University of Iowa Learning, Loyalty and Leadership Award; Iowa College of Law Best Litigator Award; National Trial Advocacy Team Captain; American Bar Association Regional Trial Finalist; Invitational Van Oosterhout Moot Court Quarter Finalist; and multiple American Jurisprudence Academic Excellence awards. He previously received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa.
Community and Personal:
Judge Ross is a member of bench and bar associations, and he has served on professional and community boards. He was the judicial representative on the Minnesota Forensic Laboratory Advisory Board throughout its existence. And he served six years as member and chairperson of the Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government state board. He has served on multiple committees for the appointment of federal magistrate judges, and before his appointment to the state court he was a member of the Federal Local Rules Committee and its successor, the Federal Practice Committee.
Judge Ross is a board member of Eden Prairie Assembly of God church and facilitates its men’s ministry. He was a founding member of PASIJ (Park Avenue Seeking International Justice), served on the board of directors of Christ Church in Minneapolis, and has organized projects with Habitat for Humanity. He has previously served as president of Park Avenue United Methodist Men, coached youth soccer, baseball, and football, and mentored multiple young men through the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge program.
Judge Ross is married and has five adult children. He enjoys playing chess and pickleball, cycling Minnesota’s scenic trails, and camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.