MID-20TH CENTURY MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ORAL HISTORY PROJECT:

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mid-20th Century Minnesota Supreme Court Justices Oral History Project, Oral history interviews of the Mid-20th Century Minnesota Supreme Court Justices Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society.

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Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2013.16

Processing Information:

Processed by: Jennifer Huebscher, October 2013

Catalog ID number: 990077424820104294

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Born in Faribault, Rice County, and Thomas F. Gallagher (1897-1985) attended St. Thomas Academy, then located in Saint Paul, Minnesota (1912–1914) but graduated from Faribault High School in 1915. He earned his B.A. in 1919 from the University of Minnesota and his LL.B. in 1921 from the University. Thomas practiced law in Minneapolis from 1921 until 1942. Mr. Gallagher was elected as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1943, and re- elected thereafter until his retirement in 1967.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; decision to enter legal profession; early legal career in Minneapolis (1921-1942); effect of the Great Depression on the legal profession; Minneapolis truckers’ strike of 1934; political activities and affiliation with the Farmer-Labor and Democratic parties; service as associate justice of the supreme court (1943-1966); news coverage of court proceedings; and his impressions of Justices Charles Loring, Oscar R. Knutson, Henry M. Gallagher, and Roger L. Dell.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Born in Superior, Wisconsin, Oscar R. Knutson (1899-1981) moved with his parents to a farm near Warren, Marshall County in 1916. Following graduation from Warren High School in 1920, Knutson attended St. Olaf College from 1920-1921. He graduated University of Minnesota Law School 1927, LL.B, and went on to practice law in Warren with future Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Julius J. Olson from 1927-1941. He was appointed District Judge by Harold Stassen on January 2, 1941, elected 1942. In 1948 Knutson resigned that position to accept an appointment as Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Luther Youngdahl, he was reelected thereafter. Appointed Chief Justice in 1962, in which capacity he served until his resignation in 1973.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; University of Minnesota Law School in the 1920s; practicing law during the Great Depression in the 1930s; election and appointment process of Minnesota justices.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Born and raised in St. Paul, Harry Peterson (1891?-1985) graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1912, LL.B., cum laude. Following admission to the bar, Peterson started his own private practice in Ramsey County. He later served as Assistant County Attorney and County Attorney of Ramsey County. In 1932, Peterson was elected Minnesota Attorney General, and subsequently reelected in 1934 and 1936, serving under Farmer-Labor governor Floyd B. Olson. He was appointed Associate Justice of Minnesota Supreme Court in 1936, elected in 1938, and reelected in 1944. He resigned from the Supreme Court in 1950 to run for Governor of Minnesota. He defeated Orville Freeman in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary election, but was defeated in the general election by Luther Youngdahl. For the remainder of his life he practiced law in Minneapolis, but Peterson was also active in the formation of the Midwestern School of Law, where he served as Dean prior to its reorganization as the Hamline University School of Law. Peterson donated his personal law library to the new school and served on its faculty. Peterson passed away on January 23, 1985.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed in the 1973 interview include Peterson's career as attorney general; Governor Floyd Olson; political affiliation; 1932 campaign and election; Henry N. Benson; attorney work arguing cases and drafting acts; 1934 campaign and election; connection to Minneapolis underworld; teamsters strike 1934; Mrs. Olson; Floyd Olson possibly running for president in 1940; Peterson’s appointment to the supreme court; Elmer Benson; Non- Partisan Leaguers; E. C. Townley, Peterson’s opinion of Floyd Olson. This interview is primarily about Peterson’s relationship with Governor Floyd Olson. For more on Henry H. Peterson’s career and as a supreme court justice see his 1978 interview with Mark Haidet.

Subjects discussed in the 1978 interview include early life, and family history; political history; Watergate case; early education and law school; career as a county attorney; politics in the 1920s and 1930s; Governor Floyd Olson; Great Lakes case; career as attorney general; the Great Depression; appointment to the supreme court; opinions on other supreme court justices; Loring, Henry Gallagher, controversial cases while a supreme court justice; salary; daily routine; being able to make more money in private practice; running for governor; opinions of other Minnesota Governors John Johnson and John Lind Adolph Olson Eberhart; Supreme Court Justice Theodore Christianson; truck drivers strike of 1934.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Walter Frederick Rogosheske (1914-1998) was born in Sauk Rapids, Benton County and received his law degree from University of Minnesota in 1939. Admitted to the Bar in 1940, he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1943, but he resigned that position after he enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. After returning from service he was re-elected unopposed to serve in the 1945 session. After losing re-election in 1948, Rogosheske served on the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission, until he was appointed as a district court judge by Governor Luther Youngdahl in 1950. He served that position until 1962, when he was appointed as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Elmer L. Anderson. He resigned from this position in 1980.

Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; education; law practice in Sauk Rapids; legislative career; career as a trial judge; impressions of Chief Justices Oscar R. Knutson and Robert Sheran.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Born in Waseca County, Robert J. Sheran (1916-2012) attended St. Thomas College, where he was a national debate champion. Sheran graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1939, and following graduation Sheran worked as a secretary for Minnesota Chief Justice Henry M. Gallagher. During World War II, Sheran served as a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations guarding the secrets of the Manhattan Project. Sheran was a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, and in 1946 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives; he served this position until 1949. After a failed campaign for Lieutenant Governor, Sheran had bipartisan support from Elmer L. Andersen, who appointed Sheran associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1962. Following his resignation from this position to support his family in 1970, Sheran became the first justice to be reappointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by a different governor; in 1973 he was reappointed Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Wendell Anderson. After retiring from the Supreme Court in 1981, Sheran practiced law in Minneapolis for the next twenty years and was instrumental in creating the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 1982.

Scope and Content:Subjects discussed include early life; decision to enter legal profession; his private practice; impressions of Chief Justices Henry M. Gallagher, Charles Loring, and Oscar R. Knutson; service in the state legislature; appointment and resignation as an associate justice; reappointment as chief justice.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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Use Restrictions: None.

Biographical Information:Born March 16, 1927, John J. Todd was raised in South St. Paul, Dakota County. Following graduation from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1950, Todd went on to practice law in South St. Paul. From March 1965 to January 1972 he served on Minnesota Tax Court. On January 3, 1972 he was appointed Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Wendell Anderson, in which he served until 1985. He was also a member of: American Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association. He was also the past president of the First District Bar Association, State of Minnesota.

Scope and Content:Subjects discussed include remodeling of the court chambers; judicial procedures of the court. Justice Todd is conducting a tour or orientation of the courtroom for an unspecified number of people. He accepts questions from the group toward the end of the tour.

Interviewed by: Mark Haidet.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Courts -- Minnesota.

Judges -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Gallagher, Thomas, 1897-, interviewee.

Haidet, Mark E., interviewer.

Knutson, Oscar R. (Oscar Rudolph), 1899-, interviewee.

Peterson, Harry H., interviewee.

Rogosheske, Walter F. (Walter Frederick), 1914-1998, interviewee.

Sheran, Robert J., 1916-, interviewee.

Todd, John J., 1927-, interviewee.

Organizations:

Minnesota. Supreme Court.

Document Types:

Interviews.

Oral histories (document genres)

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