On July 29, 2021, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan today announced the appointment of long-time MAIBA Special Member Colette Routel as a District Court Judge in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. The seat will be chambered in Minneapolis in Hennepin County. MAIBA would like to congratulate Colette on her appointment!
Ms. Routel will be replacing the Honorable Kathleen D. Sheehy.
“I am also proud to appoint Ms. Routel to the Fourth Judicial District bench,” said Governor Walz. “She is a brilliant lawyer who brings a unique perspective with her many years of experience as an attorney, tribal court judge, and law professor. I am confident that Ms. Routel will serve the people of Hennepin County with distinction.”
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Colette Routel on the bench. She has demonstrated her deep commitment through her work at Mitchell Hamline by teaching and developing the next generation of leaders who can go out and change the world for the better,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “As a successful litigator and one of the nation’s leading authorities on Indian law issues, she’ll be a tremendous jurist and add important perspectives to the bench.”
About Colette Routel:
Ms. Routel is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Native American Law & Sovereignty Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, where she teaches Property, Federal Indian Law, the Indian Law Impact Litigation Clinic, and other subjects. Ms. Routel also serves as Of Counsel at Hogen Adams, PLLC and as an appellate judge for the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. She has previously taught at the University of Michigan Law School and Wayne State University Law School, and she has worked at the Jacobson Law Group and Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP). She is a special member of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, and a member of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association. Ms. Routel has maintained a robust pro bono practice throughout her career. In recent years, she has written eight amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and litigated several cases in state and federal courts on behalf of Indian tribes. Her previous pro bono activities include running a criminal defense clinic on the Menominee Indian Reservation, representing environmental non-profit organizations, and providing representation in asylum, housing, and family law matters.