Thank you for being ready: Minnesota's First Supreme Court Justice, Rosalie Wahl
Sally J. Kenney, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

How can feminists organize to retain the first woman on the Minnesota Supreme Court when faced with serious and unprecedented electoral changes by three opponents? What electoral assets might Justice Wahl bring to the campaign? In early January 1977, in a formal address to the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) Feminist Caucus, Governor Rudy Perpich (DFL) promised to fill the next vacancy on the Minnesota Supreme Court with a woman. When President Carter appointed Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Harry MacLaughlin to the federal bench shortly thereafter, Minneapolis Star reporter Gwen Jones, who had been present at the meeting, reminded front-page readers of Perpich's promise. This case recounts how a small band of feminist activists persuaded Governor Perpich that it was time for a woman on the bench - that an all-male supreme court was no longer acceptable. It describes how they convinced Perpich to choose Rosalie Wahl from among other women, making her the first woman to serve and the Court's 72nd justice. But almost immediately after Justice Wahl took her seat, three men filed to challenge her in the upcoming judicial election. Would Wahl be thrown out of office like the first woman Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Rose Bird? How would Wahl's supporters generate widespread electoral support to ensure that Wahl would hold her seat in the election in just eighteen months? This case study describes the role of women in Minnesota electoral politics during the height of second wave feminism. It invites readers to consider how we select our judges and why it matters whether women, as well as men, serve.