EN BANC CALENDAR
Before the Minnesota Supreme Court
August 2024
SUMMARY OF ISSUES
Summary prepared by the Supreme Court Commissioner's Office
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Courtroom 300, Minnesota Judicial Center
Michelle MacDonald, Petitioner, vs. Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State, Respondent - Case No. A24-1022: This matter involves an election dispute brought directly before the supreme court under Minn. Stat. § 204B.44 (2022). Petitioner Michelle MacDonald filed a petition asking the supreme court, in part, to direct respondent Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State, to allow MacDonald "to appear on the ballot for the 2024 state general election for Associate Justice, Supreme Court 5 opposing Anne McKeig." The petition alleges that MacDonald is "learned in the law" and therefore qualified to be a judicial officer pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 5 and that the Secretary of State erred by refusing to accept MacDonald's affidavit of candidacy. A panel of acting justices was appointed to decide the case.
The following legal issue is identified in the petition: whether Minn. Stat. § 204B.06, subd. 8 (2022), which requires a judicial candidate to "submit with the affidavit of candidacy proof that the candidate is licensed to practice law in this state" and which defines proof as "providing a copy of a current attorney license," is unconstitutional on its face and as applied. (Original Jurisdiction)