Viewing Douglas A. Hedin, "Judicial District Conventions in Minnesota: An Introduction."Douglas A. Hedin, "Judicial District Conventions in Minnesota: An Introduction."Judicial district conventions were used by political parties to select candidates for district courts from 1858 to 1910, when the last partisan judicial election was held. This paper describes how the judicial district convention was organized and functioned, emphasizing the influence of lawyers and politics on the selection of judicial candidates. Its thesis is that lawyers dominated these conventions, which selected the men who served on trial courts--in other words, the bar selected the trial bench during the party period of judicial elections in Minnesota. |