WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tina Smith (D-MN) issued the following statements after the Senate confirmed Jeffrey Bryan to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota. Currently serving on the Minnesota Court of Appeals in Saint Paul, Judge Bryan was one of the candidates sent to President Biden by Klobuchar and Smith following the recommendation from a judicial selection committee. Judge Bryan will be the first Latino federal judge in Minnesota.
“As a former federal prosecutor and a current appellate judge with over two decades of legal experience, Jeff Bryan has spent his career serving the people of Minnesota. His dedication to justice and the rule of law has earned the respect and support of judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officials across the political spectrum,” said Klobuchar. “As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I worked to advance his nomination and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of this outstanding nominee. I’m confident that he will be an excellent U.S. District Court Judge.”
“Judge Bryan’s confirmation is a testament to his considerable experience and commitment to the rule of law,” said Smith. “His distinguished record as an appellate judge, trial court judge, and Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis make him exceptionally well-qualified for this position. I congratulate him on his confirmation.”
Judge Bryan was appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals in Saint Paul in 2019. Before becoming an appellate judge, Judge Bryan served on the Ramsey County District Court in the Second Judicial District in Saint Paul. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis for six years where he prosecuted violent gangs and large scale drug trafficking organizations, and won the Justice Department’s Case of the Year award for dismantling a nationwide cocaine trafficking network. Judge Bryan received his B.A, summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2002. He also served as a law clerk to Judge Paul Magnuson on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota from 2002 to 2003.
Judge Bryan was recommended by the Judicial Selection Committee, which included Leslie Beiers, Chief Judge of the Minnesota Sixth Judicial District and former Assistant St. Louis County Attorney; Susan Segal, Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals; Abou Amara, Associate at Gustafson Gluek PLLC and Vice President of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers; Tadd Johnson, Professor Emeritus of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Cecil Naatz, Managing Attorney of the Public Defender’s Office in Marshall, Minnesota; and Miguel Pozo, Member at Cozen O’Connor and former President of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
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