Voters to render their verdict on Orenstein, Bohr

It was Thomas Jefferson who said "The best defense of democracy is an informed electorate." But since the only requirements to be a Ramsey County district judge are a home address in the county and a license to practice law, just how are voters supposed to decide where to make their mark Nov. 4?

Howard Orenstein, an assistant Hennepin County attorney and former state legislator, and Gail Chang Bohr, executive director of the Children's Law Center of Minnesota, both live in St. Paul and clearly meet the requirements. They were the victors in an eight-candidate primary race to fill the seat that will come available in January when Judge John Finley retires.

Three Ramsey district judges with a combined tenure of more than a half-century on the bench said last week that it's not only experience and smarts that make a good jurist, but wisdom, judgment and demeanor.

"It helps to be smart," said Chief District Judge Kathleen Gearin, who spent 12 years as a prosecutor before she was elected to an open seat on the bench in 1986. "But wisdom is what can set them apart.

"And demeanor is essential," she said. "It can be hard to keep that when you've got the pressure of the volume and the stresses of society. You've got to keep that demeanor no matter what's happening in front of you."

Judith Tilsen was a gang-unit prosecutor in Hennepin County when she challenged Ramsey County District Judge Walter Bowser in a contentious judicial race in 1998 and won.

It's important to have knowledge and experience in the law, she said, "but I don't think that's going to distinguish one candidate from another necessarily."

What will? "Demeanor, how you're going to run your courtroom, how you're going to listen," Tilsen said.

In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judicial candidates should be able to voice their political views. Both Orenstein and Bohr said they have signed a Ramsey County Bar Association pledge to not comment on disputed political issues and to not seek or accept political party endorsements.

District Judge Margaret Marrinan said "it really should make no difference where a person stands on an issue."

"The Supreme Court is a court of philosophy," she said. "We are not courts of philosophy. Our oath is to follow the law. We don't make it, we follow it."

Marrinan and judges Michael DeCourcy and J. Thomas Mott are all running unopposed for reelection in Ramsey County.

Other information on the two candidates in the contested race:

Gail Chang Bohr

Bohr, 64, was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the ninth of 15 children. She attended law school at William Mitchell in St. Paul after a 19-year career as a social worker. She graduated ninth in her class of 227 in 1991.

In 1991-92, she clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith.

"One thing I learned in that job was understanding and witnessing firsthand how judges make decisions," she said. "You see good judges and you see some judges who could do better. I don't want to be just any judge, I want to be a good judge."

Bohr practiced at the Faegre & Benson law firm in Minneapolis from 1992-95 before becoming the first executive director of the Children's Law Center of Minnesota.

The center's mission is to promote the rights and interests of children in the welfare system, the judicial system and health and education systems.

Although Bohr said she hasn't done a lot of work in front of a jury, she said she's in court "two, three, four times a week" with the center's volunteer attorneys and helps them plan trial strategies and manage their cases.

What makes a good judge, though?

"The most important quality I'd say is a person's integrity," she said. "The ability to be impartial and fair. I think everything flows from that."

Bohr said she'd like to see more interpreters, more victims' services, higher juror pay and more help for people representing themselves in court.

Howard Orenstein

Orenstein, 52, graduated with honors from Northwestern University Law School in Chicago and spent the next year clerking for a federal trial court judge.

He was a partner in the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi law firm in Minneapolis, where he worked for a year and a half on the 1998 tobacco case that ended with a $6 billion settlement.

Orenstein currently is an assistant Hennepin County attorney in the civil division, where he primarily represents Hennepin County Medical Center, NorthPoint Health and Wellness Clinic and the county's Public Health Department in their day-to-day activities.

"The most significant matter I've handled for Hennepin County was I was the lead attorney for the County Board on the Twins ballpark matter," he said.

He also represented parts of St. Paul as a state representative for 10 years. He said he helped write or shape many of the state laws in the areas of criminal, civil, family and juvenile law.

Orenstein said he sees the most important qualities for a judge as "good legal experience, an earned reputation for fairness and integrity, an ability to listen to people with an open mind and a passion for justice.

"The best judges are the ones who are also involved in advocating for improvement in the administration of justice," he said.

Orenstein said that if he's elected he'd like to be involved in improving court funding and alternatives to juvenile detention.

"I also care about sentencing alternatives, sentencing circles and the work being done in the Hmong community and other communities to make sure judges understand cultural issues," he said.

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551