# Miles Lord *United States district judge and Minnesota attorney general (1919–2016)* Miles Welton Lord (1919–2016) was a federal trial judge on the [[United States District Court for the District of Minnesota]] from 1966 to 1985.[^1][^3] Before he joined the bench, he was [[Attorney General of Minnesota]] from 1955 to 1960 and then the United States attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1961 to 1966.[^2] His cases included the 1973 Reserve Mining Company order on taconite tailings in Lake Superior and the Dalkon Shield litigation against the A. H. Robins Company.[^4] They also included *Rajender v. University of Minnesota*. In that case he enjoined the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1980 from sex discrimination in all faculty hiring.[^5] The case's background overview records an 11-week trial before Lord and a 1980 [[consent decree]].[^6] ## Education and career Lord was born on November 6, 1919, in Dean Lake, [[Minnesota]]. He was in the United States Army Air Forces from 1944 to 1945.[^2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1946 and a Bachelor of Laws from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1948.[^2] He then moved between private practice in [[Minneapolis]] and public office. He practiced privately in 1948–1951, 1952–1954 and 1960–1961.[^2] His public posts were assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota (1951–1952), state attorney general (1955–1960) and U.S. attorney for the district (1961–1966).[^2] In 1958, during Lord's tenure as attorney general, Walter Mondale joined his office as a special assistant.[^7] During his years in private practice, Lord founded Lord & Associates Law Office. Wikipedia's account says his descendants still run the firm.[^2] ## Federal judicial service On February 10, 1966, President [[Lyndon Johnson]] nominated Lord to fill the District of Minnesota seat left vacant by Judge [[Dennis F. Donovan]].[^3] The [[United States Senate]] confirmed the nomination on April 28, 1966, and Lord's commission bears that date.[^3] He was the court's chief judge from 1981 to 1985.[^3] He took senior status on July 1, 1985, and his federal service ended with his retirement on September 8, 1985.[^3] ## Landmark decisions Wikipedia's account treats the 1973 Reserve Mining Company case as Lord's first landmark decision. At the time, the company's processing plant at Silver Bay, Minnesota, was discharging 47 tons of waste rock into Lake Superior every minute. Lord ultimately required Reserve to stop dumping the taconite tailings.[^4] In that decision Lord said, "This court cannot honor profit over human life."[^4] Lord later took up malpractice litigation against the A. H. Robins Company over the Dalkon Shield, an intrauterine device sold from 1970 to 1974.[^4] The Wikipedia account attributes at least 18 deaths and thousands of injuries to the device. It also reports that 350,000 women have claimed injury.[^4] To resolve seven lawsuits, Lord had Robins' three top executives sign a $4.6 million settlement agreement and held them personally liable.[^4] In the end the company paid more than $220 million in compensation and $13 million in punitive damages to thousands of plaintiffs.[^4] Robert Wagman and Sheldon Engelmayer recounted the litigation in the book *Lord's Justice*.[^4] In 1980 Lord heard Shyamala Rajender's case against the University of Minnesota, *Rajender v. University of Minnesota*.[^4] He enjoined the university from sex discrimination in all faculty hiring.[^5] The case-background overview records that the matter was tried for 11 weeks before Lord and ended in a 1980 consent decree.[^6] The sources in the record do not include the text of the decree or of the court's order.[^6] ## Post judicial service, family, and death After leaving the bench, Lord returned to private practice at Lord & Associates Law Office. He lived in Chanhassen, Minnesota.[^8] His son [[Jim Lord]] was a member of the [[Minnesota Senate]] and later [[Minnesota State Treasurer]]. Jim Lord died on June 6, 2008.[^8] Another son, Miles Lord Jr. (Mick), was a top assistant to State Auditor [[Robert W. Mattson Jr.]] and later managed the firm's business affairs. He died on April 12, 2012.[^8] Lord's eldest daughter, Priscilla Lord, ran against Al Franken in the 2008 Democratic primary for the Senate seat then held by Norm Coleman.[^8] Lord died in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, on December 10, 2016.[^8] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Miles Lord: Minnesota attorney general, 1955–1960; U.S. district judge for the District of Minnesota, 1966–1985.[^2][^3] - Walter Mondale: special assistant in Attorney General Lord's office from 1958.[^7] - University of Minnesota: defendant in *Rajender v. University of Minnesota*, enjoined by Judge Lord in 1980.[^5] ### What - 1980 injunction barring the University of Minnesota from sex discrimination in all faculty hiring.[^5] - 1980 consent decree in *Rajender* after an 11-week trial under Judge Lord.[^6] ### When - 1955–1960: Attorney General of Minnesota.[^2] - 1958: Mondale joins the attorney general's office.[^7] - February 10, 1966: nominated by President Johnson; confirmed and commissioned April 28, 1966.[^3] - 1973: Reserve Mining decision.[^4] - 1980: *Rajender* injunction and consent decree.[^5][^6] - 1981–1985: chief judge; senior status July 1, 1985; service ended September 8, 1985.[^3] - December 10, 2016: died in Eden Prairie.[^8] ### Where - Born in Dean Lake, Minnesota; practiced law in Minneapolis.[^2] - Reserve Mining's plant at Silver Bay, Minnesota, discharging into Lake Superior.[^4] - Lived in Chanhassen and died in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.[^8] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Miles Lord*, lead section (revision 1377146059, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Lord's birth and death dates and his service as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Lord [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Miles Lord*, section *Education and career* (revision 1377146059, retrieved 2026-10-25) — birthplace, military service, degrees, private practice, assistant U.S. attorney, attorney general and U.S. attorney terms, and founding of Lord & Associates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Lord [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Miles Lord*, section *Federal judicial service* (revision 1377146059, retrieved 2026-10-25) — nomination by President Johnson on February 10, 1966; confirmation and commission on April 28, 1966; chief judge from 1981 to 1985; senior status and retirement dates in 1985. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Lord [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Miles Lord*, section *Landmark decisions* (revision 1377146059, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Reserve Mining (1973), the Dalkon Shield litigation and its figures, *Lord's Justice*, and the 1980 *Rajender* case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Lord [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Rajender v. University of Minnesota* (n.d.; Minnesota Time Table row TL-0361) — 1980: Judge Miles Lord enjoins the University of Minnesota from sex discrimination in all faculty hiring. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajender_v._University_of_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Rajender v. University of Minnesota* (n.d.; claim:link row 41) — 1980 consent decree; 11-week trial under Judge Miles Lord. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajender_v._University_of_Minnesota [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Walter Mondale* (n.d.; Minnesota Time Table row TL-0090) — in 1958 Mondale joins Attorney General Miles Lord's office as special assistant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Miles Lord*, section *Post judicial service, family, and death* (revision 1377146059, retrieved 2026-10-25) — return to Lord & Associates, residence in Chanhassen, family members' offices and dates, and death in Eden Prairie on December 10, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Lord