Judges Dempsey, Marshall to retire from bench

Retirements

effective in 2002

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

ST. PAUL -- It's still a few months off, but already Judge George A. Marshall and Judge Terry M. Dempsey are thinking about their retirement plans.

The pending retirements became official Thursday when the governor's Commission on Judicial Selection announced two vacancies on the Fifth Judicial District's court trial benches.

One vacancy is created by Dempsey's retirement, which is scheduled for February 2002. The other is created by Marshall's decision, which takes effect in April of that same year.

"I've been a judge for 25 years and it's time to move on," Marshall said from his home in Marshall.

Dempsey, a long-time New Ulm resident and former state legislator, reaches mandatory retirement age next year.

Dempsey said he was tired of the "rat race," but had made a lot of good friends during his 10 years as a judge.

John Hultquist, judicial appointments coordinator for the commission, said the retirements were announced one month ago, but were formally accepted by Gov. Jesse Ventura on Thursday.

"We're actually in the process of filling two vacancies," said Hultquist. "There are 268 judges statewide and it changes constantly."

According to Hultquist, Dempsey applied for retirement on Sept. 17. Marshall, who turns 62 next year, applied Oct. 6.

Judges in Minnesota need formal approval from the governor before they can leave the bench. A request for retirement is almost never denied, Hultquist said.

"The biggest problem is the delay," he explained. "Other judges have to come in and pick up the slack and rotate to fill the space."

Certainly, Dempsey and Marshall could elaborate on that experience.

For example, Dempsey lives in New Ulm, but sits in St. James in Watonwan County.

Marshall said he sees a good deal of action in Marshall but also hears cases in Redwood Falls and Ivanhoe.

While presiding in district court, Dempsey and Marshall saw seen their fair share of interesting cases.

For Marshall, the most interesting cases were a few arson cases he saw in Lincoln County in 1994, in which scientific methods were used to determine the cause of the fire. There were also a pair of first-degree murder trials in Lyon County, in his home town of Marshall.

Dempsey, a former New Ulm city attorney who served in the Minnesota Legislature from the early 1980s to his appointment by Gov. Arne Carlson in 1992, remembered a 1996 case in Watonwan County in which a dairy farmer was charged with practicing medicine without a license. The man claimed he could cure cancer with milk from cows inoculated with a cancer patient's blood. The man was tried twice. The juries in both trials were hung.

"It was high-profile because it was unprecedented," Dempsey said. "There were some high-profile people in that case too. There was a former congressman and a expert that came up from South Carolina."

The combined 35 years that Dempsey and Marshall served on the bench included lessons ­ good and bad ­ for them. They learned to be good listeners, to show respect and treat everyone fairly.

The judges agreed their biggest challenge is ensuring that participants in court trials are treated with fairness and respect.

"I like to think of a judge as a public servant," Marshall said, adding that he hopes the community is better for his 25 years of service.

Said Dempsey, "People have to feel the system is treating them fairly. That's hard to do, because when there's a ruling they don't like, they lose and they feel the judge is biased."

Dempsey and Marshall enjoy their jobs.

As a judge, Dempsey makes decisions that take effect and can make certain requirements for a defendant to follow as part of that decision.

"You will find a case where people are better for it, and that gives you a little hope," he said.

The working conditions are also good. Judges are treated with respect, Dempsey said, and that "kind plays to your ego. Appropriately, the judicial system in Minnesota is equitable, fair and honest."

"I view it as an important position," Marshall said. "It's a position of leadership and it allows a person to be involved with what's going on."

Hultquist said the number of Minnesota judges has increased with the last three governors, beginning with Rudy Perpich in early 1980s, and that retirements are common. Eighteen new judgeships have been added since Ventura was elected in 1998.

Mary Ellen Domeier of New Ulm, a member of the commission that screens judicial candidates, represents the Fifth District as a non-lawyer. She felt that Dempsey's retirement was well-deserved. Nonetheless, she was dismayed.

"It's a real loss," she said. "It will leave some big shoes to fill."

Applications for Dempsey's and Marshall's spots are expected to come in over the next two months. The 49-member commission will then pick the three candidates it feels are best and forward them to the governor. Ventura will then make the appointment.

The appointed judges will serve out the remainder of the retired judge's term and then run for election in 2002. Elected judges serve a six-year term in Minnesota, and New Ulm will vote for replacements for both spots.

Domeier expects candidates for the spot filled by Judge John Rodenberg to apply to fill the positions, but did not explicitly name any candidates.

Dempsey and Marshall plan to volunteer within their communities and serve as retired judges, who act in emergency situations when sitting judges are unavailable. The two men said they plan to travel and spend more time with their families during their retirements.