Prof. Emeritus Herbert Kritzer Quoted in MinnPost About Recusal of Entire Minnesota Supreme Court in Suspended Attorney Michelle MacDonald's Effort to Be on 2024 Ballot for the Court

In a MinnPost article regarding Michelle MacDonald challenging her denial of inclusion on the 2024 ballot because she does not have a current license to practice law, Professor Emeritus Herbert Kritzer noted that it is rare but not heard of for the entire membership of a state supreme court to recuse and for a court consisting of acting justices to be designated to hear the case. MacDonald's claim is that the state constitutional language requiring justices to be "learned in the law" does not require her to have a current license to practice and that the statute requiring such a license is in violation of that provision. Kritzer also pointed to a 1914 Minnesota Supreme Court decision holding that "learned in the law" is effectively synonymous with being an "attorney at law" which in turn means being licensed to practice in the state. Kritzer did note that states have varied as to whether "learned in the law" meant being licensed to practice.