Anne V. Simonett (1952–1995) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. She was the first woman to be Chief Judge of the

Minnesota Court of Appeals The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983. Jurisdiction The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over most appeals from the State court (United State ...

. The daughter of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

Justice John E. Simonett, Anne Simonett received a degree in music from

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

. She received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in music performance, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. She received her law degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1981. Simonett worked in business litigation for

Faegre & Benson Faegre & Benson LLP is a predecessor to the firm Faegre Baker Daniels, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, which resulted after the firm Mergers and acquisitions, merged in 2012 with Indianapolis-based Baker & Daniels LLP. Even prior to the merger, Faegre ...

and became a partner. She was appointed a trial court judge in Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District. In 1994 Governor

Arne Carlson Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served from 1991 to 1999 as the 37th governor of Minnesota. Carlson is considered a liberal Republican. Before his governorship, he served as the Minnesota State Audito ...

named her to be Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, succeeding Chief Judge Paul H. Anderson, who had been appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. During her first year in office, Simonett was diagnosed with an incurable

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

. She resigned on March 31, 1995 and died on May 6 the same year.

References

Law Library Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonett, Anne V. 1952 births 1995 deaths People from Little Falls, Minnesota Lawrence University alumni Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Minnesota lawyers Minnesota Court of Appeals judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Minnesota state court judges 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American women judges