Minnesota House POCI Caucus Statement on Justice Natalie Hudson’s Appointment as Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – This morning, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flannagan announced that Justice Natalie Hudson will be appointed to serve as chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. This is a historic appointment, as Justice Hudson will be the first person of color appointed to serve as chief justice. The Minnesota House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus issued the following statement,
“Justice Natalie Hudson is an experienced jurist with decades of experience and has dedicated her career to upholding justice, serving the people of Minnesota, and working towards making our judicial system fairer and more equitable. We applaud Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for their decision and look forward to Justice Hudson’s leadership of our Judicial Branch.
“For too many Minnesotans from marginalized communities, the judicial system has been a tremendous source of harm and trauma, and having a diverse bench and leadership is an important step towards making the court system more equitable. Justice Hudson’s time on the bench has strengthened our judiciary and Minnesota as a whole. This is a historic appointment that reflects the diversity of Minnesota.”
The POCI Caucus is comprised of; Rep. Esther Agbaje (59B), Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (40B), Rep. Ethan Cha (47B), Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (53A), Rep. Cedrick Frazier (43A), Rep. Aisha Gomez (62A), Rep. Hodan Hassan (62B), Kaohly Vang Her (64A), Rep. Athena Hollins (66B), Rep. Samakab Hussein (65A), Rep. Heather Keeler (04A), Rep. Alicia Kozlowski (08B), Rep. Fue Lee (59A), Rep. Liz Lee (67A), Rep. Mohamud Noor (60B), Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega (65B), Rep. Ruth Richardson (52B), Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura (63A), Rep. Samantha Vang (38B), and Rep. Jay Xiong (67B).