# Sam Hanson *American lawyer and former associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court* Samuel Lee Hanson, born on August 26, 1939, is a [[Minnesota]] lawyer who has sat on two of the state's appellate courts. He served on the [[Minnesota Court of Appeals]] from 2000 to 2002 and as an associate justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 2002 to 2008.[^1] When he has not been on the bench, Hanson has practiced law with Briggs & Morgan, a firm based in [[Minneapolis]].[^1] ## Biography Hanson graduated from [[St. Olaf College]] in 1961 with an undergraduate degree in economics and history. He earned a Juris Doctor at the [[William Mitchell College of Law]] in 1965.[^1] After his legal education, he clerked for Justice [[Robert Sheran]] and for Douglas Amdahl, who later became chief justice. He then joined Briggs & Morgan, where his practice centred on civil litigation and utility regulation.[^1] [[Jesse Ventura]], then [[governor]], appointed Hanson to the Court of Appeals in 2000. He sat on that court until his appointment to the Supreme Court.[^1] In 2007 Hanson made known that he would leave the Supreme Court at the start of 2008. Governor [[Tim Pawlenty]] chose [[Christopher Dietzen]], a judge of the Court of Appeals, as his successor.[^1] Hanson is married and has six children.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Sam Hanson* (revision 1348315298, retrieved 2026-10-26; CC BY-SA 4.0). This source supports his birth date, education, clerkships, practice at Briggs & Morgan, his service on the Court of Appeals (2000–2002) and on the Supreme Court (2002–2008), the 2007 announcement of his departure, the successor named by Governor Pawlenty, and his family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Hanson