Judge Leslie Beiers ’83 has been elected to serve as chief judge of Minnesota’s 6th Judicial District
District Court in Northeastern Minnesota selects new leader
Judge Leslie Beiers will elevate to chief judge July 1. Beiers, based in Duluth, will be backed by a new assistant chief judge, Hibbing’s Rachel Sullivan.
DULUTH — Judge Leslie Beiers has been elected to serve as chief judge of Minnesota’s 6th Judicial District by her fellow district court judges.
Judge Rachel Sullivan was elected this week as assistant chief judge. Both will begin serving two-year terms July 1, a news release said Wednesday.
Beiers was appointed to the bench in June 2014. She is a graduate of the University of North Dakota, earning her legal degree there.
“I am honored and humbled to step into this new role,” she said in a statement. “The Minnesota Judicial Branch and the 6th Judicial District are at a time of transformative change as we incorporate the positive lessons learned during the pandemic into our daily work.”
By statute, the chief judge of a judicial district “exercises general administrative authority over the courts within the district, including assigning judges to serve in locations throughout the district,” the news release said. The chief judge of each judicial district also serves as a member of the Minnesota Judicial Council, the administrative policy-making authority for the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
Before her appointment to the bench, Beiers spent 29 years as assistant St. Louis County attorney, and staff attorney for Legal Aid of Northeastern Minnesota. Judge Beiers is chambered in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth.
“I look forward to collaborating with both my colleagues on the bench and the excellent staff of the 6th Judicial District as we continue our work to ensure fairness and equal access to justice for the citizens of St. Louis, Cook, Lake and Carlton counties,” Beiers said.
Sullivan was first appointed to the bench in 2018. She graduated from Boston University, and earned her legal degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul. Her chambers are located in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Hibbing.
No judge may serve as chief judge or assistant chief judge for more than two consecutive two-year terms.
