Tanja K. Manrique (Tanja Kozicky when published)
Originally published in the June 1999 issue.
Author: V. John Ella

Judge Tanja Kozicky (pronounced KAHZ-uh-kee) faced a dilemma. Upon entering her ad hoc chambers at the Southdale Courthouse, she explained that the next matter on her docket was a domestic assault involving a defendant who was mentally ill and therefore, not amenable to traditional forms of probation. A typical challenge for Judge Kozicky’s third week going solo on the bench and she approached the problem with a focused determination.

Tanja Kozicky, who was Gov. Arne Carlson’s last judicial appointment, was named to replace the Hon. Delores C. Orey, who retired in October 1998 from a seat on the Fourth Judicial District Trial Court Bench.

BACKGROUND

Judge Kozicky is a native of Minneapolis and went to high school in Coon Rapids, Minn. She received her bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. An early interest in politics and policy (which she is careful to distinguish) was encouraged at Cornell by one of her professors, Craig Allin, who she says was always looking for ways to "make things better." This interest in politics then led her to pursue a law degree at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., after graduating from college. Judge Kozicky remembers that she caught "Potomac fever" the minute her plane landed in Washington and recounts that she reveled in the pace of the city and sense of being "in the midst of it all." Nevertheless, after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown, it was apparent that her career track in the nation’s capitol would likely involve years of behind-the-scenes research and she was eager to become more involved, more quickly. She therefore accepted an associate position with the Minneapolis law firm of Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman, where she had clerked during both of her summers of law school.

PRIVATE PRACTICE

Judge Kozicky developed a particular interest in natural resource issues while studying with professors from the Environmental Protection Agency as well as working in Popham Haik’s environmental practice group. At that time, she notes, "Law schools were emphasizing specialization as a critical part of every lawyer’s career." Judge Kozicky point to environmental law as an example of the "collaborative practice" of law as corporations now see that it is in their own interest to be environmental stewards.

The head of Popham, Haik’s environmental group was Larry Espel, who quickly became her mentor. It was only natural, therefore, that when Espel left in September, 1993 to co-found the law firm of Greene, Espel, that Judge Kozicky would transfer along with him. She stayed with the Greene, Espel firm until she moved to the Carlson administration in 1995 where she served as deputy chief of staff and legal counsel to the governor.

Judge Kozicky’s experience in private practice caused her to become a proponent of alternative dispute resolution and she was involved in several major disputes which were eventually settled through ADR. Nevertheless, she notes, she also took away the lesson that if a case ends up in trial, the parties have inevitably decided that the issues are very important to them and the case therefore deserves to be treated with the same high priority by the court.

One of her most challenging files as a lawyer in private practice involved representation of a municipality in a real estate workout involving tax increment financing of a large piece of commercial property lying adjacent to Interstate 35. The developer, claiming hardship, did not meet the bond requirements and requested changes to the development agreement. The developer threatened bankruptcy, which would have tied up the property for years instead of getting it back on the city’s tax rolls. The case was eventually resolved on favorable terms, and she feels, was a good example of a case where the parties had to understand exactly what their legal rights were under the agreement, while taking into consideration various political and personality issues.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Judge Kozicky’s interest in politics and policy resurfaced in 1994 when a fellow attorney suggested that she submit her resume to the governor’s office to be considered for one of the 1,500 positions on various state boards and commissions. Her strong environmental law background helped her to land an appointment on the state’s Harmful Substances Compensation Board but, before she could attend the first meeting, the board was abolished by the Legislature. Her career in public service could have ended right there, but approximately one year later she got a telephone call from the governor’s office saying that they had her resume on file and asking if she would be interested in a position as general counsel. Five days later the governor hired her as general counsel.

During the three years that she worked at the capitol, Judge Kozicky had an extremely varied practice. She assisted in managing all 24 state agencies and dealt with legal issues involving the Office of the Attorney General, Corrections, the Department of Natural Resources, Public Safety and the Met Council as just a few examples. As the only lawyer on staff, she notes "[I] had to get up to speed very quickly." The matters involved not only state law, but also federal issues and international relations.

Although she acknowledges that she has relatively little experience in the courtroom aspects of criminal law, she points to her involvement with criminal justice issues for the state and emphasizes that she is only mildly concerned about making the transition from civil to criminal law. She is also aware that many of the judges did not practice criminal law prior to being appointed.

Judge Kozicky participated in every judicial appointment that the governor made during the three years she was his general counsel. Although Governor Carlson was the first governor to almost always appoint judges from the list of three to five finalists presented by the Judicial Selection Commission, despite the fact that there was no obligation for him to do so, Judge Kozicky herself was one of the few judges Governor Carlson appointed from outside the commission process.

ON THE BENCH

Judge Kozicky is looking forward to the day when she will have a mixed civil and criminal calendar but, in the meantime, she says that she enjoys the challenges of criminal law. She will continue to be assigned only criminal matters for the next one and one-half to two years and then, pursuant to Hennepin County custom, will move on to one of the specialized courts. At this point, she is slotted to work in juvenile court for the year 2002-2003, although this may change.

Judge Kozicky completed the standard new judge orientation schedule, which calls for a six-week rotation at the suburban divisions of Hennepin County. This rotation is limited to criminal matters up to and including gross misdemeanors which, of course, means of lot of DWIs, domestic assaults, and traffic court issues. She joined the downtown calendar in mid-April. Judge Kozicky was not surprised by the pace of the criminal justice system in the suburban courts and says that the human drama is in part what made her stay in the public sector instead of returning to private practice.

She says that judges in this context have to be very careful to keep the calendar moving and not to be come social workers but, when appropriate, she will take the time to talk to a defendant and dig a little deeper. While at Southdale Courthouse, she had a young man in court for his seventh underage consumption charge. With a bit of searching, she determined that the first six times the defendant had been charged he had been permitted to simply pay a fine without a court appearance. She sent him to probation where it was discovered he has a medical condition as a result of which any use of marijuana or alcohol might jeopardize his life. While certainly not a landmark case, she cites it as an example where taking a little extra time can make an important difference.

JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY

When asked, Judge Kozicky indicates that she does not have any specifically defined judicial "philosophy" except that which is appropriate for all district court judges, which is to "follow the law." Interviewing judicial candidates for both the appellate and district courts emphasized to her the importance of this distinction, she says. When asked for suggestions for lawyers appearing before her, she emphasized that she is "very approachable." "I know the bar is going to have many questions about me because I did not practice criminal law. I want them to know that I am very open to having conversations in chambers so long as both sides are present," she stated.

Judge Kozicky believes that it is important for judges to maintain a degree of independence but it is also important for them to be active in their community. She said she has had to resign from some organizations but has found other, more suitable ways to serve her community. For example, she has recently been named to the Board of Trustees for the Wayzata Community Church.

Judge Kozicky names as her judicial role models Kathleen Blatz, Edward Toussaint Jr., and Gordon Shumaker Jr., all of whom she worked with while in the governor’s office. She says she admires their intellect, demeanor, involvement, and ability to stay personable while getting the job done.

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