Hon. Bruce Peterson

Senior District Court Judge, Minnesota Judicial Branch

Degrees

  • Cornell University, B.A.
  • Yale Law School, J.D.

Bruce Peterson was a District Court Judge from 1999 to 2019 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis and its suburbs. From 2006 to 2008 he was the presiding judge of Hennepin County Family Court. From 2008 to 2013 he initiated and presided over Co-Parent Court, offering supportive co-parenting services to low income, unmarried parents establishing paternity. From 2013 to 2016 he presided over the Hennepin County Drug Court and specialized calendars for people who are homeless and women charged with prostitution. 

Judge Peterson was a special assistant in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and a partner in the Minneapolis law firm of Popham, Haik, Schnobrich and Kaufman. He has written and spoken widely on issues of law and public policy. He was the 2013 recipient of the Hennepin County Bar Association Professionalism Award

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Trial Practice


Cooperative Lawyering and Problem Solving Courts: Lawyers as Peacemakers