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Anne
McKeig
Originally published in
the
November 2008 issue.
Author:
Patrick Ostergren
Anne McKeig
takes the bench with authority and efficiency, as if she has
many years of experience on it. What is not readily apparent to
those appearing before her, but which quickly becomes evident,
is the heart and vision with which she serves the Bench and the
citizens of Hennepin County.
Appointed Feb.
6, 2008, by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, McKeig took the bench on April 7.
Although new to presiding over the criminal cases that come
before her, McKeig brings a breadth of experience of the
Hennepin County District Court and the procedures of the busy
court system. At the announcement of her appointment to the
Hennepin County bench, Governor Pawlenty commented that Judge
McKeig “would bring a wealth of professional experience and has
the skills and demeanor for the position, a commitment to public
service, a strong work ethic, and a diverse background, which
will be an asset to the Hennepin County Bench.” Judge McKeig not
only brings a significant amount of experience serving the
residents of Hennepin County, her background includes a deep
understanding of complicated, delicate, and diverse problems and
issues.
A member of the
White Earth Band of Ojibwe, McKeig grew up in blue-collar
surroundings in Federal Dam, Minnesota, on the Leech Lake Indian
Reservation with no exposure to lawyers. Among the first in her
family to attend college, McKeig moved to St. Paul and attended
the College of St. Catherine. There she was exposed to judges,
lawyers, and the legal system as well as to the problems that
confront the legal community. A high school interest in
dentistry gave way to a focus on law careers once she realized
there “was just too much science” in dentistry. She changed her
focus to law, and her career path was set.
Judge McKeig
attended Hamline Law School. Prior to graduating from Hamline,
she landed a clerkship with the Hennepin County Attorney’s
Office. Assigned to the Child Protection Division, she
immediately fell in love with serving the community. After her
graduation, she became a Hennepin County attorney working in the
Child Protection Division, a position she held until her
appointment to the bench. While an assistant county attorney,
McKeig specialized in Federal Indian Child Welfare Act cases.
As a county
attorney, Judge McKeig had the difficult task of handling cases
that involved the removal of children from families and
caregivers. Oftentimes, children had been abused and neglected.
Judge McKeig had the unenviable task of removing children from
unsafe conditions, all the while knowing the pain that removal
would cause those parents and/or guardians who were often
suffering from social, mental, and other problems that prevented
them from providing adequate care for their children.
“There is
nothing like removing children from a home a second or third
time from parents who simply do not have the capacity to care
for children. It’s not as though the parents do not love their
children. They simply can’t provide and care for these children
properly because of reasons outside of their control. It is no
less painful to any parent to have a child removed from their
family when they cannot care for that child than when they can
and choose not to,” McKeig said.
Sometimes Judge
McKeig found herself in the position of having to litigate
against a parent who was neglecting a fourth child, having
already had the first three removed.
In her work,
prosecuting cases under the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act,
McKeig worked side by side with the Indian communities in
removal proceedings. Unlike non-Native American child removal
cases, removals of Native American children from their parents
or guardians require the cooperation, guidance, and counsel of
the tribe itself. Throughout her years of work with the Native
American community, McKeig developed relationships with numerous
tribes in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, often traveling great
distances to seek the advice, counsel, and support of the tribe
to proceed in the best interest of the child.
Now, as a
Hennepin County District Court judge, McKeig brings to the bench
her experience and talents for working with painful, personal,
and delicate problems within diverse communities. She will be
uniquely adept at understanding the nuances and possesses the
sensitivity necessary to work with the different cultures and
belief systems in Hennepin County.
The decision to
seek a judgeship did not come easy. Judge McKeig sought the
counsel of her professional colleagues and members of the bench.
Hennepin County Court Judge Robert Blaeser recalls McKeig
appearing before him when he was assigned to the Juvenile
Division. He watched her grow as an attorney, perfecting her
skill and courtroom demeanor. As an attorney, McKeig was an
emotional and zealous advocate for her clients. One of the
challenges she faced in taking the bench was whether she could
re-channel that emotion to serving the broader Hennepin County
community. By all accounts, that transition has been smooth.
“Judge McKeig
is a hardworking, no-pretense individual who will bring a
blue-collar attitude and common sense to the bench,” Judge
Blaeser said. She has a sense of humor, which will help her not
only get through a busy criminal day but also help lighten a
sometimes stressful courtroom. Now that McKeig is on the bench,
Judge Blaeser and his colleagues have seen just how hardworking
she is. When she finishes her criminal calendar in the
afternoons, she will often offer to take cases off other judges’
calendars and help get things done.
Sensitivity and
ability to deal with diverse interests is also a skill Judge
McKeig has learned in her personal life. Growing up in rural
Minnesota, she leaned the value of family, community, and hard
work. When she married her husband, she also married into a
family with three children; two were teenagers, none of whom
spoke English. McKeig does not speak Spanish—the children’s
first language. McKieg and her husband have had two additional
children together, making for a large, diverse, and happy family
in their busy Brooklyn Park household.
Her current
assignment finds her presiding over misdemeanor calendars, where
she is getting to know the community of lawyers and judges she
will be working with as well as the community at large. Dealing
with the police, investigators, and Hennepin County families is
nothing new to Judge McKeig. However, attending to the welfare
of Hennepin County’s children has been replaced, at least
temporarily, with protecting and serving all of the citizens of
Hennepin County. As before, her understanding of our diverse
community serves her well as she weighs the interests and safety
of Hennepin County residents against the personal liberties of
its citizens.
Judge McKeig
has lent her time to various community agencies. She has served
on the Governor’s Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. She has
also worked as an adjunct professor at Hamline University School
of Law and as a trainer with the Minnesota Department of Human
Services.
Welcome Judge
McKeig! |
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