Public Notice Detail

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (May 1, 2000) – Today Hennepin County judges elected the Honorable Kevin S. Burke and the Honorable Lucy Ann Wieland as the Fourth Judicial District’s Chief Judge and Assistant Chief Judge, respectively.  Each of the 10 judicial districts in Minnesota elects a Chief Judge and an Assistant Chief Judge to manage the overall judicial functions of the district and to serve on the Conference of Chief Judges, the district court’s policy-making body. 

“In terms of talent, effectiveness and efficiency, all of us on the Hennepin County bench have a lot to be proud of,” said Judge Burke.  “There are areas of case management where we lead the state and even the nation.  But over the next two years, we have a number of challenges and opportunities.”

Top on the list of challenges is how the court responds to the needs of families and children. 

“Families and kids are important to every judge in Hennepin County,” said Judge Wieland.  “But this is certainly an area where we can do even better by improving our case management and re-examining our judicial assignments.  We can really have an impact on people’s lives by stepping up our efforts in the coming months.”

Complicating the picture for judges in Hennepin County and across the state is the court system’s $3.1 million budget shortfall.  In current legislative negotiations, no money has been appropriated to fund the shortfall.  Statewide, all vacant judgeships are being held open for at least five months and 77,000 cases will be impacted.  Hennepin County has a total of five judgeships that will have to be held open for at least five months over the coming year.

“We have to be concerned about the fiscal future of the court,” said Judge Burke.  “At a time when we are excited about the opportunities for families and kids, the prospect of running our courts at a significant judicial deficit is a daunting one.  To lose this kind of ground after we have made great strides in timeliness and effectiveness is a reality the Legislature will have to confront in the very near future.”

Judge Burke was appointed to the bench in 1984 and is the presiding judge and director of Hennepin County’s Drug Court.  He was Chair of the Conference of Chief Judges from 1991-1996; Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial District from 1992-96; and Assistant Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial District from 1989-1992 and 1998-2000.

Judge Wieland was appointed to the bench in 1990.  She was a Referee in Hennepin County Conciliation Court and has a background in criminal defense, civil litigation and family law.  She was the St. Louis Park City Attorney from 1985-1989 and worked in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Prosecution Unit from 1982-1985.

The Chief Judge and Assistant Chief Judge are elected for two-year terms.