Proctor Journal

Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Dale O. Harris to a

Sixth Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Duluth in St. Louis

County. The vacancy occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Gerald C.

Martin on October 1, 2009.

Harris is an assistant St. Louis County Attorney, a position he has held since 2004.

He is also a reserve judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in

Washington, D.C. He was the chief deputy St. Louis County court administrator in

Duluth from 2001 to 2004, a litigation associate attorney with the Hanft Fride law

firm in Duluth from 2000 to 2001, and a judge advocate with the United States Navy

in Everett/Bremerton, Washington, and in Washington, D.C. from 1993 to 2000.

Harris earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from Hamline University School

of Law in St. Paul in 1993, and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering

from the University of Minnesota in 1990.

“Dale has a unique combination of experiences in his professional background –

including his military service, which will be a tremendous benefit to the courts in

Duluth,” Governor Pawlenty said.

Harris is a member of the American, Minnesota State and 11th District Bar

Associations, is currently vice president of the 11th District Bar Association, served

on its Board of Directors, and its Charitable Contributions Committee. He is also a

member of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, an adjunct faculty member

with Fond-du-Lac Tribal Community College, and has made numerous legal

presentations at continuing legal education seminars. Harris’s community activities

have included serving as a coach for the Salvation Army Rookie Basketball League,

Arrowhead Youth Soccer Association, and the Hermantown Amateur Hockey

Association, a member of the Peace in Christ Lutheran Church Board of Elders, and

the Hamline University School of Law Alumni Board.

Harris, 42, was born in Two Harbors and lives in Hermantown with his wife, Barbara.

They have four children, Kevin, 11, A.J., 9, Josie, 6 and Zach, 4.