St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin was selected to serve on a federal judicial selection panel intended to make recommendations on filling two vacancies on Minnesota's federal district court.
Rubin was selected by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken to serve on the committee, which is expected to assist the senators in making recommendations to President Barack Obama on filling the vacancies. This is the second time that Rubin has served on the federal judicial selection committee.
The vacancies are due to Judges Donovan Frank and Ann Montgomery assuming senior status, which allows judges to enter semi-retirement while helping to clear the court's cases. Frank is a former assistant St. Louis County attorney.
Rubin said in a statement that he's honored to serve on the selection committee.
"This time it will be particularly meaningful as my friend Judge Donovan Frank and I started together in Virginia in the St. Louis County Attorney's Office in the late '70s," Rubin said.
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Rubin also noted the significance of Frank entering semi-retirement.
"The significance of Donovan Frank going to senior status is that there is no longer anybody from outstate Minnesota that will be on the bench," Rubin said. "So it's extremely important for outstate Minnesota lawyers who are interested in a judgeship to submit applications."
The committee is chaired by Ann Huntrods, a partner at Briggs and Morgan, and Thomas Heffelfinger, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota and current partner at Best and Flanagan.
