Judge John R. Tunheim
John R. Tunheim was nominated by President William Clinton and took the oath of office on December 29, 1995. He succeeded Judge Donald D. Alsop, who took senior status.
Judge Tunheim was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, on September 30, 1953, and raised in Newfolden, Minnesota. He graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in 1975 and served as a staff assistant to U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. In 1980, he graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School where he served as President of the Minnesota Law Review. Judge Tunheim served one year as a law clerk to Judge Earl Larson and worked in private practice at the St. Paul law firm of Oppenheimer, Wolff and Donnelly. In 1986, after serving for two years as the state's Solicitor General, he was appointed Minnesota Chief Deputy Attorney General and served until his appointment to the federal bench.
From 1994 - 1998, he was appointed by President Clinton and served as the Chair of the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board,
an independent federal agency in charge of declassifying the government records of the Kennedy assassination. For his work in opening
government records, he received the 1999 James Madison Award from the Coalition on Government Information. Judge Tunheim currently serves
as Chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management,
President of the Norwegian-American Historical Association. He is the immediate Past President of the American Judicature Society. He also serves on the Boards
of Concordia College, the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, the University of Minnesota Law School, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and two
sections of the American Bar Association, where he serves in the House of Delegates.
Judge Tunheim's Chambers Information:
Courtroom:13 East
Judicial Assistant:
Debbie Lancette
(612) 664-5080
Law Clerk:
Aisha Elmquist
Law Clerk:
Eli Best
Law Clerk:
Cicely Miltich
Courtroom Deputy:
Holly McLelland
(612) 664-5083
Court Reporter:
Kristine Mousseau
(612) 664-5106
Chambers:
United States District Court
U.S. Courthouse, Suite 13E
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Court Reporter:
U.S. Courthouse, Suite 1024
300 South Fourth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415