Judge Jason R. Steffen

Appointed/Elected:

Appointed on May 2, 2023, by Governor Tim Walz. Elected in 2024. Current term expires Jan. 2031.
 

Education:

JD, Harvard Law School
PhD, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
MA, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
BA, Georgetown University
 

Employment:

• Assistant County Attorney, Chisago County Attorney
• Assistant Public Defender, Tenth Judicial District
• Deputy Public Defender, Mohave County Public Defender (Arizona)

Professional Memberships:

Minnesota State Bar (current)
State Bar of Arizona (former)
 

Professional and Community Activities:

Previous volunteer activities include:

• Volunteer Lawyer Network – attorney volunteer
• McGee Civil Rights Moot Court Competition – appellate judge
• Feed My Starving Children volunteer
• Girls’ Softball Coach
• Sunday School teacher
• Elementary school English tutor
• Teen Court volunteer

Additional Information:

Author of several law review articles on criminal justice issues.
 
Presented at many academic conferences and Continuing Legal Education sessions on issues such as professional ethics and philosophical approaches to law and justice.
 
Previous academic positions:

• Adjunct Professor of Law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
• Adjunct Professor, Legal Studies Department, Hamline University
• Graduate Instructor, Philosophy Department, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• Teaching Fellow, Harvard University