BEMIDJI LOCAL RACES

By Erin Sollund

The Minnesota judicial elections of 2010 consist of a Primary Election on August 10, 2010 and a General Election on November 2, 2010. In Minnesota, trial court judges are chosen in one of two different ways. The first being appointment, and the second being election. Judge Paul Benshoof, who was appointed by Governor Arne Carlson in 1997, has been re-elected twice without opposition. However, this year, he is faced with an opponent. Beltrami County District Judge Paul Benshoof is opposed by Darrell Carter, a Bemidji attorney who filed in late May. Carter is a former Republican state Senate candidate.

As the 2010 9th judicial elections are nearing, the political news coverage is intensifying. The Bemidji Pioneer has published many articles on the re-election of Judge Paul Benshoof. Benshoof has been serving as a judge in the 9th Judicial District since 1997, and is running for Judge once again. He has served for 13 years, and had persuaded over 40,000 cases. Twenty three years prior to serving as judge, Benshoof has represented clients all over Northern Minnesota as a trial attorney. Benshoof is a firm believer in “fairness, experience, and integrity.” He is running against Judge Darrell Carter. Carter is a Bemidji attorney who filed in late May. Carter is a former Republican state Senate candidate and also is a fourth generation Beltrami County resident. He has practiced law in the northern Minnesota helping hundreds of people throughout Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, Cass, Hubbard, Clearwater, Polk, and Wadena counties for the past 23 years. Carter feels that these experiences will help him better serve the people of the 9th Judicial District court well.

Carter is running because in his opinion, his opponent, Paul Benshoof, has administered justice unfairly in the last 12 years that he has appeared in front of him. Carter said that it’s not only him, but, other attorneys in the courtroom as well. Benshoof has criticized Carter on matters when he did not know what he was talking about; also, rudely fails to listen and he often makes conclusions without hearing all of the facts.

On July 22, 2010, the Beltrami County Bar held a candidate forum where all four candidates (for two different judicial seats) in the 9th Judicial District had an opportunity to address the Beltrami County Bar. Judge Benshoof, said it was hard to rule against attorneys he liked. Carter believes that if this is true, then the converse must also be true: that Benshoof finds it easy to rule against attorneys he doesn't like.

Benshoof is running because he believes he has the experience needed to perform the job best. Through lectures at numerous professional seminars, workshops and classes, and co-authoring an article published in the Journal of Legal Economics, he feels that he has the experience, the wisdom and the good judgment to continue serving as the judge of the Ninth Judicial District.

Being a judge requires five steps. Step one is getting a law degree; the first step to becoming a lawyer is to obtain a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and get admitted to law school. Law school programs typically take three years to complete and lead to a Juris Doctor (J.D.). After graduating from law school, the next step for someone who wants to become a judge is to apply for admission to the bar in the state or jurisdiction where he or she wishes to practice law. Lawyers who aspire to become judges should find a court where they can gain work experience, although procedures to do so may differ depending on the type and location of the court. When an opening for a judgeship becomes available, a candidate can submit his or her name for consideration to a judicial nominating commission. Judges are either appointed or elected to their positions. Either procedure requires aspiring judges to have a good track record as legal representatives as well as political support among those who hold the power to put them in office. Some federal judges have lifetime appointments, while other federal, state or local judges have fixed or renewable terms of office. Many state or local judges are elected, in either partisan or non-partisan elections.

Most recently, the Beltrami County Bar Association conducted a referendum regarding the judicial contest between Judge Benshoof and his opponent, Darrell Carter. Excluding five attorneys who chose not to endorse either candidate, Judge Benshoof received 83% of the votes cast (24 out of 29). Mr. Carter received just five votes.

The Beltrami County Bar Association consists of attorneys who live and/or practice in Beltrami County and who share its goal “to promote the administration of justice in all possible ways [and] to uphold the honor of the profession of the law.”

General Elections are held on November 2, 2010. We will have to wait till then to see what the outcome is, and who wins this intense battle.