Walz Appoints John Fitzgerald For District Court Judge

Governor Tim Walz has announced the appointment of John Fitzgerald as a District Court Judge in Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Fitzgerald will replace the retiring Judge Jennifer K. Fischer and will be chambered in Willmar in Kandiyohi County.

Walz says John Fitzgerald’s approach to justice centers around humility and kindness, and those skills will not only make him an excellent addition to the Kandiyohi County bench but will help serve his community.

Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District encompasses Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine Counties.

John Fitzgerald is the first assistant county attorney at the Meeker County Attorney’s Office where he supervises and supports staff in the prosecution of criminal matters. He also represents in civil commitment proceedings and guardianship matters. He had previously worked as a law clerk to Judge Kristine DeMay in Minnesota’s 9th Judicial District.

Fitzgerald earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota and earned his advanced degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. The other candidates for the bench post were Kristen Pierce, first assistant county attorney in the Kandiyohi County Attorney’s Office, and Heidi Torvik, an attorney at Anderson Larson.