The Minnesota Supreme Court now has a female majority again, after Gov. Tim Walz appointed Court of Appeals Judge Theodora Gaïtas and Stearns County Chief Judge Sarah Hennesy, who both have strong public defense experience. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson said the appointments marked the end of a period of major transition for the court. "Our court works hard to find common ground on the challenging legal issues that come before us and to work together to achieve the fairest outcomes," she said. Gaïtas, 53, born in Minneapolis to parents who met at Winona State University, grew up in Athens before returning to attend the University of Minnesota. She speaks Greek, and Hennesy, who worked in the Basque region of Spain, speaks Spanish. Hennesy’s father was a high school teacher and the family lived in Melbourne, Australia, for several years before returning to Iowa.
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