REGIONAL— Justice Natalie Hudson will rise to the role of Minnesota Supreme Court chief, becoming the first chief justice of color and the first Democratic-appointed judicial branch leader in 25 years.
Gov. Tim Walz introduced Hudson recently as the replacement for long-serving Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea, who will retire in October after 13 years in the top spot on Minnesota’s bench. Walz also selected his former office general counsel Karl Procaccini to fill the associate justice slot Hudson held.
Hudson, who is one of only a few Black justices in state history, has been on the Supreme Court since 2015 after her appointment by then-DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. 
Walz called Hudson “a leader and consensus builder.”
Hudson said she’ll approach the job “with humility and resolve” and aim to uphold the quality court services she said her predecessors built up. 
At a gathering in the rotunda of the Minnesota Capitol, Hudson noted the historic nature of her appointment.
“When you’re the first woman in a position, first person of color, you recognize the representational value of that, because it’s so important for our little black girls, black boys, and women to see women and people of color in positions of authority and to dream for that,” Hudson said.
Gildea praised her colleague as a judge with “collegial spirit” and “unparalleled work ethic.”
Hudson previously sat more than a dozen years on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, served in private practice and public legal roles and was an assistant dean at the former Hamline University School of Law.
At 66, her time as chief will be limited. Minnesota has a mandatory retirement age for judges of 70. That would mean a departure by January 2027 or sooner, potentially setting up an end-of-term replacement by Walz or a monumental early pick by his successor.
The chief justice is also a member of the state Board of Pardons otherwise made up of the governor and attorney general.
In Minnesota, justices are traditionally selected by governors; only Justice Alan Page won his seat in recent times through direct election. Justices and other state judges periodically stand for election, though there are seldom competitive contests.
That’s meant the party in charge of the governor’s office holds sway over the philosophical makeup of the judicial branch. Because Minnesota is in its fourth consecutive term of a Democratic governor, the Supreme Court is almost entirely made up of that party’s appointees.
When Gildea departs, Justice G. Barry Anderson will be the sole remaining Republican appointee. He hits the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 in October 2024.
You can listen to Minnesota Public Radio at 89.3 FM in Ely and at 92.5 FM on the Iron Range.