News Item

Michelle A. Larkin was sworn in as the 41st member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals during a public ceremony Wednesday, August 13, at the Courtyards of Andover in Andover Speakers included Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson,  Ronald J. Schutz, Chair of the Commission on Judiicial Selection; Michael J. Ford, President of the Minnesota State Bar Association, and Kurt B. Glaser, of Smith & Glaser, L.L.C.  The oath was administered by Court of Appeals Judge Edward Toussaint. 

Larkin was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on June 24, 2008.  Previously she served as a Tenth Judicial District Court Judge chambered in Wright County since 2005.

Prior to serving on the District Court, Larkin was Senior Attorney and Trial Team Supervisor in the Office of the Public Defender, Hennepin County, from 2001 to 2005, and as an attorney in the Office of the Public Defender, Hennepin County, from 1992 to 2001.

Judge Larkin received her J.D., Magna Cum Laude, from William Mitchell College of Law, and earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals, which began November 1, 1983, provides the citizens of Minnesota with prompt and deliberate review of all final decisions of the trial courts, state agencies and local governments.  The court is the state's intermediate appellate court. The 19-judge Court of Appeals hears appeals in three-judge panels at which no new evidence or testimony are offered.  Court of Appeals' decisions are the final ruling in about 95 percent of the 2,000 to 2,400 appeals filed every year.