Minnesota Judicial Branch Logo
Judge Richelle M. Wahi

Dakota County Courthouse
First Judicial District
(651) 377-7180

Chambers Phone: (651) 438-8100

First Judicial District Judicial Officers

Judge Richelle M. Wahi

Appointed/Elected:

Appointed Feb. 26, 2016, by Governor Mark Dayton. Elected 2018 and 2024. Current term expires January 2031.

Education:

  • Juris Doctorate, William Mitchell College of Law, Cum Laude
  • Bachelor of Arts, College of St. Catherine, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Delta Pi

Past Employment:

Partner, Lindquist & Vennum LLP, 2011-2016
Conciliation Court Referee, Dakota County
Attorney, Moss & Barnett, 2008-2011
Attorney, Henson & Efron, 2003-2008

Judicial Service and Committees: 

  • Presiding Dakota County Civil and Family Court Judge
  • Statewide oneCourtMN Hearings Initiative District Advisory Representative
  • Chair of the 1st Judicial District Equal Justice Committee
  • Statewide Early Case Management Committee
  • 1st Judicial District Early Neutral and Moderated Settlement Committee
  • Dakota County Presiding Civil and Family Court Judge
  • Chair of the Dakota County Family Court Work Group
  • Chair of the Dakota County Early Case Management Committee
  • Chair of the Dakota County Moderated Settlement Program Committee and Evaluative Mediation Program

Teaching, Presentations, Publications, and Appearances:

  • Speaker, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Family Law Institute, How to Use Contempt Actions to Enforce Family Court Orders (March 25, 2024)
  • Mentor, Facilitator, Minnesota Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections, Mentorship for Sustainable Release (March 19, 2024)
  • Speaker, Minnesota CLE, Civil Practice in Minnesota State Court, Judges Panel – 5 Biggest Mistakes Lawyers Make in the Courtroom (February 20, 2024)
  • Mentor, Facilitator, Minnesota Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections, Mentorship for Sustainable Release (January 16, 2024)
  • Speaker, Minnesota State Bar Association Civil Litigation Section, OneCourtMN Hearing Initiative (November 29, 2023) 
  • Faculty, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Annual Conference of Judges, Juror Problems and Problem Jurors (September 28, 2023)
  • Mentor, Facilitator, Minnesota Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections, Mentorship for Sustainable Release (September 21, 2023)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 10th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (September 7, 2023)
  • Adjunct Professor, Mitchell Hamline College of Law, Effectively Communicating Science, Expert Witness Training and Expert Witness Advocacy (July 2023)
  • Mentor, Facilitator, Minnesota Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections, Mentorship for Sustainable Release (May 16, 2023)
  • Speaker, From Practice to Promise:  The Role of Courts in Ensuring Equal Justice Under Law (April 11, 2023)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (April 2023)
  • Dakota County New Judge Training (April 2023)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (March 2023)
  • Speaker, 1st Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Community Outreach Discussion on Race Data and Juries Continuing Legal Education (CLE) (December 1, 2022)
  • Panelist, University of St. Thomas Law School Family Law – View from the Bench (November 1, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 1st Judicial District Bench Meeting, Committee for Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data (October 28, 2022)
  • Panelist, Minnesota State Bar Association Civil Litigation OneCourtMN Hearing Initiative CLE (October 27, 2022)
  • Author, With Equal Right, To Mentor and Support: An Interview with Justice Esther Tomljanovich (Minnesota Women Lawyers Summer 2022 Volume LXXIII, Issue I, August 2022)
  • Dakota County New Judge Training (October, November 2022)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (August 2022)
  • Dakota County Conciliation Court Referee Training (August 5, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 7th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (August 4, 2022)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (July, 2022)
  • Panelist, State Bar, View From the Bench (July 21, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 2nd Judicial District Bench Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (July 13, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 8th Judicial District Bench Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (June 24, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 10th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (June 9, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 6th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (June 9, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 3rd Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (May 27, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 4th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (May 26, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 9th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (May 19, 2022)
  • Panelist, Hennepin County Bar Association, Committee for Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations:  Looking Back and Looking Forward (May 18, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 1st Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (May 13, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota 5th Judicial District Equal Justice Committee Meeting, Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations and Probation Revocation Study and Recommendations (April 29, 2022)
  • Dakota County Administrative Training, Ex Parte Communications (March 22, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota CLE Family Law Institute, Judicial Track, Setting Party Expectations and Managing Family Cases Through The Rules (March 21-22, 2022)
  • Panelist, Minnesota Judicial Selection Committee, Why YOU Should Apply to be a Judge in the First Judicial District (February 23, 2022)
  • Speaker, Minnesota Paralegal Association Annual Meeting, From Promise to Practice:  The Role of Courts in Ensuring Equal Justice Under Law (October 2021)
  • Author, 2020-2021 Committee For Equality and Justice Study on Jury Race Data and Recommendations (August 2021)
  • Author, 2020-2021 Committee for Equality and Justice Study on Probation Revocations and Recommendations (August 2021)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (July 2021)
  • Dakota County Housing Court COVID-19 Pandemic Listening Session (July 2021)
  • Dakota County Family Court COVID-19 Pandemic Workgroup (May 2021)
  • Panelist, Impact of the Pandemic on the Courts & Litigation, Minnesota Family Law Institute (March 2021)
  • Speaker, Remote Interpreting in Minnesota, Minnesota 2020 Annual Conference of Judges (December 2020)
  • Panelist, COVID and the Courts Discussion, Minnesota State Bar Association One Profession Event (October 2020)
  • Panelist, Dakota County Contested Hearings During COVID-19 (September 2020)
  • Author, 2020 Progress Report on the 1989 Gender Fairness Task Force Report (July 2020)
  • Speaker, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Community Chat – How to Participate n a Remote Trial (July 24, 2020)
  • Speaker, Dakota County Housing Court Community Listening Sessions (June 4, 2020)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (June 2020)
  • Contributor, Statewide COVID-19 Pandemic Family Partner Meeting (April 29, 2020)
  • Panelist, Demystifying the Judicial Selection Process (March 2020)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (February 2020)
  • Speaker, Speaking with the Courts (February 2020)
  • Moderator, Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society – 150th Anniversary of the 14th Amendment—Minnesota’s Current State of Race and Education and  Brown v. Board of Education (November 2019)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (2019)
  • Author, 2019 Progress Report on the 1993 Race Bias Task Force (July 2020)
  • Speaker, Dakota County 1st Judicial District Community Listening Session – Prairie Island Indian Community Center (July 2019)
  • Dakota County 1st Judicial District Tribal Flag Installation (July 2019)
  • Presidential Pardons and Minnesota Board of Pardons, Warren E. Burger Inn of Court (January 2019)
  • Speaker, Issues Surrounding Firearm Surrender Dakota County Domestic Violence Coordinated Community Response, Dakota County Bench (December 2018)
  • Dakota County 1st Judicial District Domestic Abuse Advocate Community Listening Session – Dakota County Event (November 2018)
  • Speaker, Race Data Collection in the 1st Judicial District, 1st Judicial District Bench (October 2018) 
  • Speaker, Building Resilience – Impact of Trauma Informed Courts and Decision Making, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Conference (September 2018)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (August 2018)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (2018)
  • Speaker, Implicit Bias and The Courts – Dakota County Bar Association (June 2018)
  • 1st Judicial District Community Listening Session – Scott County Event (May 2018)
  • Author, Recommendation for Minnesota Judicial Branch Strategic Performance Measure on Race Data Collection (May 2018)
  • Speaker, Me Too and the Minnesota Judicial Branch, Mitchell Hamline College of Law (April 2018)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (January 2018)
  • Hispanic-Latino Innovation Lab Community Outreach Event (November, December 2017)
  • Panelist, Building a Representative Judiciary – Infinity Project (November 2017)
  • Moderator, 1st Judicial District Community Listening Session – Dakota County Event (October 2017)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – Trial Skills Training (August 2017)
  • Contributing Author, Minnesota District Judges Foundation Judge Handbook (2017)
  • Speaker, Perspectives from the Bench, Dakota County Bar Association (August 2017)
  • Moderator, 1st Judicial District Community Listening Session – Dakota County Event (April 2017)
  • Panelist, “Building your Judicial Resume,” Judicial Bootcamp sponsored by the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Infinity Project (October 2016)
  • Faculty, New Judge Orientation Program – “New Judge Round Table Discussion”  (2016)
  • Speaker and Chair, Access to Leadership Conference, sponsored by Lindquist & Vennum, Medtronic, Best Buy, and Minnesota Women Lawyers
  • Author and Speaker, “Clarity and Brevity – How To Avoid Common Drafting Mistakes in Divorce Documents,” 2015 Minnesota Family Law Institute
  • Author and Speaker, “Family Law Basics,” 2015 Pro Bono Legal Aide and Lindquist & Vennum Seminar Series
  • Panelist, “Race and the Judiciary” – 2014 Dakota County Bar Association Seminar
  • Speaker, “Togstad in the Digital Age,” 2014 Warren E. Burger Inns of Court
  • Author and Speaker, "Fundamentals of Property Division," 2013 Minnesota Family Law Institute
  • Author, “Limitations on Grandparent Visitation?,” Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Family Law Forum, 2012 Winter Edition
  • Author and Speaker, “Basics of Property Division,” 2012 Minnesota Family Law Institute
  • Author, “Business Valuations in Tough Economic Times: Tips for Practitioners,” Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Forum, 2011 Winter Edition
  • Author, “Child Custody Crosses the Border,” Application of the Hague Convention and International Child Custody Disputes, Fall 2010
  • Speaker, “International Child Abduction and the Hague Convention,” WCCO Minnesota Law, Nov. 2010
  • Speaker, “Divorce for Business Owners,” WCCO Minnesota Law, July 2010
  • Speaker, “Changes in Child Support Laws,” WCCO Minnesota Law, August 2008
  • Speaker, “Coaching to Win,” Minnesota State High School League, 1995-2001

Recognition:

  • 2020 Minnesota Lawyer Diversity and Inclusion Honoree
  • Minnesota Rising Stars, 2008-2010, 2012-2015
  • North Star Lawyer recognition for pro bono service, 2013-2015

Professional Membership and Community Involvement:

  • Minnesota District Judges Foundation
  • Minnesota District Judges Association
  • Minnesota Asian Pacific Bar Association
  • Minnesota Women Lawyers
  • Dakota County Bar Association
  • Previous Dakota County Conciliation Court Referee
  • ​Mentor, University of St. Thomas School of Law & Mitchell Hamline College of Law
  • Mentor, Minnesota Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections, Mentorship for Sustainable Release
  • Two Rivers Warrior Seminar Mentor Program
  • Central High School AP Government Moot Court Volunteer
  • Former member of Minnesota Judicial Branch Statewide Committee for Equality and Justice and Chair of the Access and Fairness Subcommittee of the Statewide Committee for Equality and Justice
  • Former member of the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court