Public Notice Detail
Minnesota District Judges Honor Mott and Dehn
Posted: Friday, November 3, 2000
Judge Dehn
Judge Dehn received the Outstanding Service to the Community award for his leadership outside the courtroom on behalf of young people. Last year, Dehn started a slogan contest called, “Don’t Give Alcohol to Minors.” The program was targeted to Isanti County middle school students and was launched in cooperation with the county, the cities of Cambridge, Isanti and Braham and local school boards. Dehn encouraged the community to proclaim one day prior to the high school proms as the contest day. Winning slogans were posted on advertising signs and windows of local businesses and organizations, including municipal liquor stores.
“It was as if parents were freed up to say, ‘No,’ to their kids and they didn’t have to settle for the old line, ‘Well, everyone else will be there,’” Dehn said. “Our alcohol-related tickets were down and there were no alcohol-related accidents that I became aware of.”
The contest will now be sponsored annually by the Cambridge Rotary Club.
In the mid-1980's, Dehn helped start the Cambridge High School Mock Trial Program and has judged the state and national mock trial competitions since 1992. He also led the drive to save the historic Isanti County Courthouse in 1994. He has volunteered as a soccer coach and referee, and has been the stadium game announcer for the Cambridge-Isanti High School varsity soccer teams. He has led youth hiking trips to the Bear Tooth Mountains in Montana, speaks frequently at D.A.R.E. graduations and has assisted in training peer mediators for area school districts since the mid-1990s.
Judge Mott
Judge Mott received the Outstanding Service to the Judicial System award because of his dedication and contributions to improving the efficiency of the judiciary. Nearly seven years ago, Supreme Court Chief Justice A.M. “Sandy” Keith designated Mott as the one judge in the state who hears all of Minnesota’s asbestos cases. Mott does so in addition to covering his regular Ramsey County caseload.
The ultimate goal of case consolidation was to increase the efficiency of moving asbestos cases through the system and increase opportunities for settlements.
Judge Mott oversees asbestos-related product liability cases, each of which can involve 10-30 defendants and their attorneys from throughout the country. Each month, Mott establishes a special term motion calendar and three times per year he sets a block of 25-45 cases for trial.
The cases generally involve complex legal and medical issues for which the briefing is extensive. “A lot of the plaintiffs had exposure over a 20-year work history,” said Judge Mott. “Certain years they may have been exposed to products produced or distributed by one group of defendants and other years by products made by other defendants. You sometimes can’t delineate whose product caused the problem.”
Because some people exposed to asbestos contract terminal diseases that can end their lives within 18 months, many cases require expedited attention. This means adding to and adjusting already established calendars. Under Judge Mott’s direction, most of those cases are in court within six months.
“The whole area presents a challenge to the legal system,” said Judge Mott. “We aren’t structured to deal with numbers so large and claims so old and with so many defendants. From a professional standpoint, it’s rewarding work.”
Mott’s efforts in administering Minnesota’s asbestos litigation process have helped him develop an extensive base of experience in this area of law and have ensured quicker case resolution. Grouping the cases has also resulted in better settlement opportunities because the same defendants are often involved in multiple cases. In addition, attorneys and judges have said they respect Mott for his “sense of fairness and the conscientious way in which he approaches decisions relating to this litigation.”
This is the fourth year the MDJA has honored judges with its annual awards. Nominations were submitted by judges, court staff, lawyers and the public. A committee of retired district court judges selected the winners.