Judge Kevin Ross | Biography

Judge Ross’s Background

Judicial Service: Kevin Ross joined the Minnesota Court of Appeals in February 2006, appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Minnesota voters confirmed Judge Ross in the post by statewide election in November 2008. He has authored more than 500 opinions for the court and 40 concurring or dissenting opinions. Judge Ross formed and administers the Quill & Bagel Society, a periodic workshop for judges, law clerks, and staff attorneys committed to honing individual legal-writing skills and maintaining the quality of the court’s opinions. The George Mason School of Law’s 2011 Green Bag Almanac & Reader named Judge Ross one of the year’s exemplary judicial opinion writers, and in 2013 he was asked to serve as board member of Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers.

Distinguished Legal History: Kevin Ross has been interpreting, applying, practicing, or enforcing the law since 1987. His appointment to the bench ended his partnership at the Minneapolis law firm of Greene Espel. His law practice had focused on the areas of constitutional law, employment consultation and litigation, and general litigation. He was named a “Rising Star” then a “Super Lawyer” in the fields of governmental and employment law, based on statewide surveys of lawyers conducted by The Minnesota Journal of Law & Politics. Ross had joined the firm in 1997 after serving a judicial clerkship in the United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, for the Honorable Donald P. Lay in St. Paul. This followed his judicial clerkship in the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, for the Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, Chief Judge. Before practicing law, Ross served as a police officer five years in Iowa City.

Academic Achievements: Ross received both his Juris Doctorate, with High Distinction and other honors, and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Iowa. His additional law school commendations and achievements are varied: Dean’s Achievement Award; Donald P. Lay Faculty Recognition Award; Law Foundation Merit Scholarship; Hancher-Finkbine Medallion Nominee; University of Iowa Learning, Loyalty and Leadership Award; Iowa College of Law Best Litigator Award; National Trial Advocacy Competition Team; American Bar Association Regional Trial Finalist; Invitational Van Oosterhout Moot Court Quarter Finalist; multiple American Jurisprudence Academic Excellence Awards.

Community and Personal: Judge Ross is married and has a son and four adult daughters. He is a member of various bench and bar associations and he serves on professional and community boards. He was the judicial representative on the Minnesota Forensic Laboratory Advisory Board throughout its existence, first appointed by Chief Justice Russell Anderson and then reappointed by Chief Justice Lorie Gildea. And he served for six years as member and then chairperson of the Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government state board. He also served on the Federal Local Rules Committee and its successor, the Federal Practice Committee, for eight years.

Judge Ross is a member of Eden Prairie Assembly of God and serves on the men’s ministry leadership team. He was a founding member of PASIJ (Park Avenue Seeking International Justice), served on the board of directors of Christ Church in Minneapolis, and has organized and participated in various projects with Habitat for Humanity. He is a past president of Park Avenue United Methodist Men, has coached youth soccer, baseball, and football, and serves as a mentor with Minnesota Teen Challenge.

Judge Ross enjoys chess, dabbles in pottery and poetry, and can be seen periodically cycling Minnesota’s many scenic trails or camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Shortly after his appointment to the bench, the 2006 graduating Iowa law class asked Judge Ross to deliver the commencement address at their graduation. This photograph is used with permission by Jolesch Photography.

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Suite 2200, 222 South Ninth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402

Ellen Sampson, treasurer