FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Maren Stewart
May 18, 2026
maren.stewart@state.mn.us
612-594-1721

Commission on Judicial Selection Recommends Fourth Judicial District Candidates to Governor Walz 

[ST. PAUL, MN] – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending six candidates for consideration to fill the vacancies in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. One of the vacancies occurred upon the retirement of the Honorable Edward T. Wahl. The other two vacancies will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Bev Benson and the Honorable Laurie J. Miller. These seats will be chambered in Minneapolis in Hennepin County. 

Zuri Balmakund Santiago: Zuri Balmakund Santiago is an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Criminal Division, where she handles corruption, homicide, sexual assault, and civil commitment cases. She previously served as litigation and advisory counsel for the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the ombudsman for long-term care in the office’s Human Services Division. She also serves as training faculty for the National Association of Attorneys General, where she teaches trial advocacy and advanced trial advocacy courses nationwide. Balmakund Santiago is the current vice president of membership for the National Hispanic Bar Association, and she was previously the president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, chair of the Infinity Project, and a founding member of the Minnesota Coalition of Bar Associations of Color. 

Theresa Bea: Theresa Bea is a shareholder at Messerli & Kramer, P.A., where she practices family and juvenile law. She represents clients in matters involving dissolution of marriage, child custody, paternity, third-party custody, orders for protection, child protection, termination of parental rights, adoption, at-risk juvenile guardianship, and obtaining parentage rights in assisted reproductive technology services matters. She was previously a law clerk for the Honorable Jeannice M. Reding in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. Bea’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the Minnesota Twins Community Fund and the Messerli & Kramer Foundation, and volunteering with the Fourth District Ethics Committee. She has also provided pro bono representation for the Volunteer Lawyers Network and the Ramsey County Family Court Limited Scope Program. 

Nicole Blissenbach: Nicole Blissenbach serves as the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (“DLI”), where she leads the state agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of Minnesota laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health, labor standards, workers’ compensation, apprenticeship, and construction codes and licensing. Prior to her appointment, she held numerous leadership roles within DLI, including assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner. She also previously worked as an attorney at Education Minnesota and at the law firm of Miller O’Brien Cummins, P.L.L.P., where she practiced labor and employment law. Blissenbach’s community involvement includes serving on numerous boards and councils, as well as volunteering with Lake Nokomis Community Schools and Roosevelt High School. 

Sean Cahill: Sean Cahill is a senior assistant county attorney in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. His practice areas have included adult felony prosecution, appellate practice, juvenile delinquency prosecution, child protection representation, and postconviction litigation. Cahill previously served as an assistant public defender in Hennepin County.  His community involvement includes roles as a member of the Minnesota Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee, an adjunct law professor for the University of St. Thomas School of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and the vice chair of the City of Minneapolis Zoning Board of Adjustment. He also volunteers with the American Mock Trial Association, the McGee Moot Court Competition, and his children’s schools. 

Michelle Hayes: Michelle Hayes is a managing attorney with the Fourth Judicial District Public Defender’s Office, where she represents individuals charged with felonies and supervises a team of felony attorneys. She also teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. Hayes previously served an assistant public defender in both Hennepin County and Wright County, a character and fitness attorney for the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners, and a law clerk for the Honorable Kim R. Johnson. She is a member of the Hennepin County Domestic Fatality Review Team and volunteers with Open Arms of Minnesota and Loaves and Fishes. She also is involved with the Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota. 

Nathan Nelson: Nathan Nelson is an assistant U.S. attorney working in both the Criminal and Appellate Divisions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, where he handles a variety of felony criminal matters. He was previously a litigation associate at Bowman & Brooke, L.L.P. and Clark, Thomas, & Winters, P.C., where he litigated complex civil cases. Nelson also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Janis Jack on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Honorable Maryanne Barry on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Honorable Alan C. Page, Christopher J. Dietzen, and Wilhemina M. Wright of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Nelson also works with individuals transitioning from incarceration as a part of the District of Minnesota’s Reentry Court program. 

For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.

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