Walz names two judges to the Minnesota Supreme Court

Driving the news: Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Theodora Gaïtas and Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Sarah Hennesy will join the court as associate justices.

• Gaïtas will replace Justice Margaret H. Chutich and Hennesy will replace Justice G. Barry Anderson. Both plan to retire in the coming months.

Bios in brief: Gaïtas has served on the Minnesota Court of Appeals since 2020, when Walz elevated her to that post. She serves as co-chair of a forum that promotes collaboration between state and tribal courts and co-chair of the Court of Appeals' Equal Justice Committee.

• Hennesy was appointed to the Seventh Judicial District in St. Cloud by former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton in 2012. The former public defender and criminal defense attorney also once served as a staff attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in St. Cloud.

Zoom in: Walz, first elected in 2018, has now named a majority of justices to the court, as MPR News notes.

• The DFL governor also picked the current chief justice.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.