# John E. Simonett *Minnesota lawyer and associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1980–1994)* John E. Simonett (July 12, 1924 – July 28, 2011) was a Minnesota lawyer who served as an associate justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 1980 to 1994.[^1] Governor [[Al Quie]] appointed him in 1980 to the seat vacated by [[Walter F. Rogosheske]].[^2] He left the court in 1994 under the state's mandatory retirement rule for judges.[^3] He was named in 2007 as one of the 100 most influential attorneys in Minnesota history. Two of his six children became judges, and one of them was the fourth Chief Judge of the [[Minnesota Court of Appeals]], from 1994 to 1995.[^1] On September 20, 1989, while he sat on the court, Simonett was one of three listed organizers of the [[Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court]].[^4] The project's analysis *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026) cites that role when it sets the court's "prestige" instrument beside its "delivery instrument". It also records that its own test of the Inn returned "MIXED, not theater".[^5] The record does not establish his role in the Inn beyond the organizer listing.[^4] ## Background Simonett was the son of Edward and Veronica Simonett. He was born in [[Mankato]], [[Minnesota]], on July 12, 1924, and grew up in nearby Le Center.[^2] World War II interrupted his studies at St. John's University in Collegeville. He served three years in the U.S. Army and was sent to the Philippines as an infantry lieutenant as the war was ending.[^2] After his discharge he went back to St. John's and received a bachelor's degree in 1948.[^2] At the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] he was president of the *Minnesota Law Review*. He graduated in 1951 among the top students in his class.[^2] He then went into private practice in Little Falls with Gordon Rosenmeier, who was already a state senator and attorney, and became known as a trial attorney.[^2] His writing ranged widely. *The Common Law of Morrison County* (1963) recounted small-town myths about legal rights and duties. A 1977 law review article took up partial settlements in civil suits with several defendants.[^2] Rogosheske, also from Little Falls, retired from the Supreme Court in 1980, and Quie named Simonett to fill the vacancy.[^2] ## Associate Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court (1980–1994) In more than thirteen years on the court, Simonett wrote 423 opinions, 355 of them for a majority of the justices.[^6] A passage quoted in the Wikipedia article calls him "a moderate". It lists decisions in which he upheld the state's fetal homicide law and overturned lower welfare benefits for new state residents. It also lists a case, which the passage calls "controversial", in which he allowed a lawyer to strike a prospective juror on the basis of religion.[^6] When Simonett retired, Robert Stein, then dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, said the decisions could not readily be classed as conservative. Stein called them "very thoughtful, well-researched expositions of how prior law would apply to the case before him."[^6] In *Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.*, Simonett wrote the court's opinion setting aside, on First Amendment grounds, a jury verdict against a media company. The company's editorial staff had broken a promise of confidentiality. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed his opinion.[^6] The Wikipedia article dates his service on the court to 1980–1994.[^6] A law-library claim row in the project's catalogue (S-8532) gives his tenure as 1980–2003.[^7] ## Retirement from the bench Minnesota requires judges to leave active service before their 70th birthday, and Simonett retired from the Supreme Court on that basis in 1994.[^3] Governor [[Arne Carlson]] gave the seat to Paul H. Anderson, then Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals.[^3] Carlson named Simonett's daughter [[Anne Simonett]], a judge of the [[Hennepin County District Court]], to succeed Anderson as Chief Judge.[^3] She died of a brain tumor the next year.[^3] Another daughter, Martha Simonett, was later appointed to a District Court vacancy in Dakota County.[^3] After leaving the bench, Simonett practiced at the [[Minneapolis]] firm Greene Espel PLLP until 2007. He also taught appellate practice at the [[University of Minnesota]].[^3] He lived in St. Paul with his wife, Doris, whose maiden name was Bogut.[^3] The [[American Inns of Court]] chapter for the Central Minnesota area is named the John Simonett American Inn of Court. He had practiced law in that area for 29 years.[^3] ## Death Simonett died on July 28, 2011, at age 87.[^8] ## Major articles The Wikipedia article lists these among his writings:[^9] - *The Common Law of Morrison County*, 49 A.B.A. Journal 263 (Mar. 1963) - *The Trial as One of the Performing Arts*, 52 A.B.A. Journal 1145 (Dec. 1966) - *The Footnote as Excursion and Diversion*, 55 A.B.A. Journal 1141 (Dec. 1969) - *Release of Joint Tortfeasors: Use of the Pierringer Release in Minnesota*, 3 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 1 (1977) - *Meditation on the Limits of Law*, 2 J. of Law & Religion 1 (1984) - *The Use of 'Result-Oriented' to Characterize Appellate Decisions*, 10 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 187 (1984) - *Forensic Rhetoric and Irving Younger*, 73 Minn. L. Rev. 865 (1989) - *The Growing Irrelevance of Relevance*, 49 Bench & Bar of Minnesota 11 (Aug. 1992) - *Rules of Statutory Construction and Florida Election Law*, 58 Bench & Bar of Minnesota 51 (July 2001) - *Civility and 'Generalized Reciprocity'*, 60 Bench & Bar of Minnesota 27 (Feb. 2003) ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court lists three organizers: Thomas J. Lyons, Justice John Simonett, and Prof. John O. Sonsteng.[^4] - The project's analysis calls him "a sitting Justice of the very court that built the delivery instrument."[^5] That description fits the chartering date of 1989, which fell within his 1980–1994 service. He retired in 1994 and died in 2011.[^3][^8] ### What - The analysis states that Simonett "helped charter the prestige one", meaning the Inn. It observes that "the same bench produced both, and only one got a marquee."[^5] The passages in the record do not identify the delivery instrument. - The analysis applies the [[Gesture-delivery test]] to the Inn and reports that the test returns "MIXED, not theater". It says the Inn "never promised to fund legal aid and does real culture-work" and that "delivery kills the charge."[^5] - The analysis states a narrower finding. The name, the robes and the language of "availability of justice" attach to the gesture side. Meanwhile, the instrument that delivers that availability "operates with no name at all."[^5] - The American Inns of Court's stated mission is to "perfect the quality, availability and efficiency of justice".[^4] ### When - The Inn was chartered on September 20, 1989.[^4] - [[Warren E. Burger]] brought the Inns-of-Court model to the United States after the 1977 Anglo-American Exchange. The first U.S. Inn was founded on February 2, 1980.[^4] ### Where - The Inn is affiliated with Mitchell Hamline, formerly St. Paul College of Law, Burger's alma mater.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — establishes the life dates, the 2007 honor and his children's judgeships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Background" — establishes his birth, schooling, Army service, practice with Rosenmeier, his 1963 and 1977 writings, and his 1980 appointment by Governor Al Quie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Retirement from the bench" — establishes the mandatory retirement in 1994, Carlson's appointments, his daughters' judgeships, his later practice and teaching, and the John Simonett American Inn of Court. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett [^4]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), note [63] (validated passage, marked primary-confirmed against innsofcourt.org) — establishes the charter date of the Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court, its organizers, its Mitchell Hamline affiliation, the American Inns of Court mission and the 1980 first U.S. Inn. No URL for this passage is in the pack. [^5]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, 2026-06-18), analysis passage (validated) — the project's gesture-delivery finding on the Inn. No URL for this passage is in the pack. [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Associate Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court (1980–1994)" — establishes the opinion counts, the quoted characterizations and *Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett [^7]: Law library page (mn.gov), as cited in project claim row S-8532 (June release) — lists John E. Simonett as a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, 1980–2003. https://mn.gov/lawlibrary/ [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Death" — establishes that he died on July 28, 2011, at age 87. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *John E. Simonett* (rev. 1347605372, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Major articles" — gives the bibliography of his articles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Simonett