Judge Kellie M. Charles ’97

Judge Kellie Charles was appointed district court judge in Ramsey County, the Second Judicial District of Minnesota by Governor Walz in 2020. Judge Charles received her B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from Miami University (Ohio) and her J.D. cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law. She was a senior attorney in the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office where she managed the appeals and special litigation team, the treatment court team, and the felony probation revocation team. Charles represented indigent clients in adult, juvenile, and child protection cases at the trial and appellate levels. Her community involvement includes service with the annual Veterans Stand Down event, the education committee of the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society and Minnesota Women Lawyers. She previously served on the Saint Paul Capital Improvement Budget Committee (CIB) and the District 14-Mac Groveland and District 2-Greater East Side Community Councils in St. Paul. Judge Charles has taught on the faculty of the Expert Witness Training Academy and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). At Mitchell Hamline, she teaches in the legal practicum, appellate advocacy, advocacy and advanced trial advocacy courses. She has previously taught in the psychiatry and the law clinic.