{{Short description|American judge}} {{Infobox officeholder | name=Christopher Dietzen | image={{CSS image crop|Image=ChristopherDietzen.jpg|bSize=300|cWidth=220|cHeight=300|oTop=0|oLeft=35|Location=center}} | office=Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court | appointer=Tim Pawlenty | term_start={{start date|2008|2|19}} | term_end={{end date|2016|8|31}} | preceded=Sam Hanson | succeeded=Anne McKeig | office2=Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals | appointer2=Tim Pawlenty | term_start2={{start date|2004|12|15}} | term_end2={{end date|2008|2|19}} | preceded2=Barry Anderson | succeeded2=Michelle Ann Larkin | birth_date= {{birth date and age|1947|3|8}} | birth_place=Yakima, Washington | death_date= | death_place= | spouse= | children= | alma_mater=Gonzaga University <small>(B.B.A., J.D.)</small> }}
'''Christopher Dietzen''' (born March 8, 1947) was an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2008 to 2016 and a judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 2004 to 2008.
==Early life and education== Dietzen was born on March 8, 1947, in Yakima, Washington.<ref name="bio">{{cite web | url=http://mn.gov/lawlib/judgebio.html | title=Biographies of the Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court | publisher=Minnesota State Law Library | accessdate=February 22, 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808114026/http://mn.gov/lawlib/judgebio.html | archivedate=August 8, 2015 }}</ref> He attended Gonzaga University as an undergraduate and law student, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1969 and a Juris Doctor in 1973.<ref name="mncourts">{{cite web | url=http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=JudgeBio_v2&menu=appellate&ID=30337 | title=Judge Profile: Associate Justice Christopher J. Dietzen | publisher=Minnesota Judicial Branch | accessdate=February 22, 2014}}</ref>
==Career== Dietzen was an attorney with the law firm of Larkin, Hoffman, Daly & Lindren, Ltd., of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1978 to 2004, and with the firm of Richter, Wimberly, & Ericson in Spokane, Washington, from 1973 to 1977.<ref name="mncourts"/> He also served as an attorney for Tim Pawlenty during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign.<ref name="Scheck"/>
Dietzen joined the Minnesota Supreme Court on February 19, 2008.<ref name="bio" /> He was appointed to the court by Pawlenty after the resignation of Justice Sam Hanson.<ref name="Scheck">{{cite web | url=http://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/11/27/27new_justices | title=Pawlenty names appeals judge to state Supreme Court | work=Minnesota Public Radio | date=November 27, 2007 | accessdate=February 22, 2014 | author=Scheck, Tom}}</ref> From December 15, 2004, to February 19, 2008, he served as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals.<ref name="coabio">{{cite web | url=http://mn.gov/lawlib/coajudgebio.html | title=Biographies of Judges of the Minnesota Court of Appeals | publisher=Minnesota Judicial Branch | accessdate=February 22, 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502032241/http://mn.gov/lawlib/coajudgebio.html | archivedate=May 2, 2013 }}</ref> He was likewise appointed to that judgeship by Pawlenty and then elected to it in 2006.
In 2001 and 2004, Dietzen contributed $250 to the reelection campaign of Norm Coleman, with his last donation occurring almost a year before he became a judge.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://minnesotaindependent.com/31922/supreme-court-dietzen-coleman-donor | title=Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Dietzen donated to Coleman '08 campaign | work=Minnesota Independent | date=April 13, 2009 | accessdate=February 22, 2014 | author=Steller, Chris | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826121304/http://minnesotaindependent.com/31922/supreme-court-dietzen-coleman-donor | archivedate=August 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2009/04/coleman-franken-judge-gave-norm-cash-017514 | title=Coleman-Franken judge gave Norm cash | work=Politico | date=April 13, 2009 | access-date=February 22, 2014 | author=Thrush, Glenn}}</ref>
Dietzen retired from the Supreme Court on August 31, 2016, seven months before reaching the mandatory retirement age.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/dietzen-to-resign-from-minnesota-supreme-court/371709221/|title=Dietzen to retire from Minnesota Supreme Court this summer|website=Star Tribune|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{succession box | title=Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals | before=Barry Anderson | years=2004–2008 | after=Michelle Ann Larkin}} {{succession box | title=Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court | before=Sam Hanson | years=2008–2016 | after=Anne McKeig}} {{s-end}}
{{MNJustices}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietzen, Christopher}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Yakima, Washington Category:People from Bloomington, Minnesota Category:Gonzaga University alumni Category:Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Category:Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Category:Minnesota Court of Appeals judges