Pawlenty names new judge for Ramsey County

by Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — Gov. Tim Pawlenty named St. Paul native John Guthmann to the Ramsey County district court Thursday morning.

Guthmann is a long-time partner at the firm Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug and Bradt, in Arden Hills. He replaces Judge James Dickinson, who retired at the beginning of the year.

Guthmann, 53, is also past president of the Ramsey County Bar Association.

Guthmann told a group of judges and courthouse employees at the ceremony Thursday morning that he's wanted to be a judge since he clerked for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1980. Notable among his hobbies is that he is a Civil War reenactor.

Also at the ceremony were Guthmann's father, Howard; his wife, Teresa; and his 15-year old twin children, Abby and Andy, who had the challenging task of missing a few hours of school to attend.

Gov. Pawlenty quipped that in speaking to Guthmann's children beforehand, he told them, "When your dad's a judge, you can't get in trouble, because it ends up on the front page of the newspaper."

Guthmann also has a 19-year old son, Alex.

The other finalists for the judgeship were Manuel Cervantes, Sangeeta Jain, and James Street.