Duluth – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Dale O. Harris to a Sixth Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Duluth in St. Louis County. The vacancy occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Gerald C. Martin on October 1, 2009.

Harris is an assistant St. Louis County Attorney, a position he has held since 2004. He is also a reserve judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C. He was the chief deputy St. Louis County court administrator in Duluth from 2001 to 2004, a litigation associate attorney with the Hanft Fride law firm in Duluth from 2000 to 2001, and a judge advocate with the United States Navy in Everett/Bremerton, Washington, and in Washington, D.C. from 1993 to 2000. Harris earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul in 1993, and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1990.

“Dale has a unique combination of experiences in his professional background – including his military service, which will be a tremendous benefit to the courts in Duluth,” Governor Pawlenty said.

Harris is a member of the American, Minnesota State and 11th District Bar Associations, is currently vice president of the 11th District Bar Association, served on its Board of Directors, and its Charitable Contributions Committee. He is also a member of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, an adjunct faculty member with Fond-du-Lac Tribal Community College, and has made numerous legal presentations at continuing legal education seminars. Harris’s community activities have included serving as a coach for the Salvation Army Rookie Basketball League, Arrowhead Youth Soccer Association, and the Hermantown Amateur Hockey Association, a member of the Peace in Christ Lutheran Church Board of Elders, and the Hamline University School of Law Alumni Board.

Harris, 42, was born in Two Harbors and lives in Hermantown with his wife, Barbara. They have four children, Kevin, 11, A.J., 9, Josie, 6 and Zach, 4.