Are retirement ages for Minnesota Supreme Court justices constitutional?

I recently attended a fundraising party at a downtown Minneapolis law firm. As you probably know fundraisers are sort of like rent parties in college. The host provides some alcohol and snacks and the guests provide some cash for the person or organization seeking the funds. In college one would then try to drink enough alcohol to make attending the rent party a good investment of scarce funds. That sort of behavior is frowned on at fundraisers held at law firms.  So that is one difference between a rent party and a fundraiser.

Hoping for a speedy recovery.

A friend of mine is an obsessive worrier.  If anything good happens to him, he immediately begins to worry about what bad thing might come along and wreck the good times.  I have not directly asked, but I think thing is based on a belief that low follow highs in life the way they seem to with the weather.

My friend will undoubtedly point to David Lillehaug as an example of this.  As we noted back in March, Mr. Lillehaug was recently appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.  He is to start his duties as an associate justice on Monday.  A pretty high moment in a person's career, right?  Here comes the low, MinnPost has the story today that Mr. Lillehaug has been diagnosed with throat cancer.  Mr. Lillehaug's statement says that the disease has been caught early and that the treatment will not prevent him from taking a seat on the court or performing his duties ans associate justice.  I hope those things are all true and I hope that Mr. Lillehaug makes a speedy recovery.  Although there is never a good time to be diagnosed with cancer, I imagine that the diagnosis and treatment will take some of the luster off the excitement one normally would feel at starting such a prestigious job.

Congratulations to David Lillehaug

In breaking news, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton did not name Mr. Torvik to the Minnesota Supreme Court.  Instead, David Lillehaug will replace retiring justice Paul Anderson.  Unconfirmed sources report that Mr. Torvik's candidacy was scuttled by the fact that he did not apply for the job and also lives in Illinois.