Robert Joseph Sheran (January 2, 1916 – January 25, 2012) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He was appointed Chief Justice 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 ...

by Governor Wendell Anderson, serving from December 1973 to December 1981. He previously served as an

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

on the court from January 1963 to July 1970, appointed by Governor Elmer L. Andersen. He is the only person to have been appointed to two separate tenures on the Minnesota Supreme Court by different governors.

Early life and education

Sheran graduated from Roosevelt High School in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1932, then attended St. Thomas College in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, receiving his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1936. He went on to the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

, graduating with his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1939.

Career

He worked as a special agent with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

from 1942 to 1945, guarding the secrets of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. He practiced law with the Farrish Johnson Law Office in

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

from 1945 to 1963. He also served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

from 1947 to 1950, representing the old District 8, which encompassed Blue Earth County. He was elected as a Conservative in 1946, and as a Liberal in 1948. A Democrat, Sheran was appointed to the Supreme Court by Republican Gov. Elmer L. Andersen, who called him "one of the greatest jurists in state history". Sheran resigned from the court in 1970, in part because he was unable to pay his children's college tuition on a justice's $20,000 salary.Obituary of Robert J. Sheran, Minneapolis ''Star Tribune'', January 26, 2012. In 1973, he accepted an appointment to replace Oscar R. Knutson as chief justice by DFL Gov.

Wendell Anderson Wendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson (February 1, 1933 – July 17, 2016) was an American politician and hockey player who served from 1971 to 1976 as the 33rd governor of Minnesota. In late 1976, he resigned as governor in order to be appointed to ...

, who later called Sheran his best appointment. After retiring from the court in 1981, Sheran practiced with the Minneapolis firm of Lindquist & Vennum for 20 years. He was also instrumental in organizing 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 ...

after its creation in 1982. In 2007, Sheran was named by ''Minnesota Law and Politics'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the history of the state.

Family

Sheran's daughter,

Kathy Kathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kathleen and their related forms. Kathy may refer to: People In sports * Kathy Bald (Born 1963), Canadian freestyle swimmer * Kathy May (Born 1956), American tennis player * K ...

, was a Minnesota state senator, representing District 23, which includes portions of Blue Earth, Nicollet and Sibley counties.

References

External links

Minnesota Supreme CourtBiography and Law Library Information on Chief Justice Sheran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheran, Robert 1916 births 2012 deaths Chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota lawyers Minnesota state court judges People from Blue Earth County, Minnesota University of Minnesota Law School alumni People from Waseca, Minnesota 20th-century Minnesota state court judges 20th-century American lawyers Roosevelt High School (Minnesota) alumni 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature