Susan Gaertner was elected Ramsey County Attorney in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2006. She is only the fourth person to hold the office since 1933 and is the first woman to hold the office.
As county attorney Gaertner has initiated a number of successful programs to target public safety problems, prevent crime and improve the quality of life in Ramsey County. She established the Joint Domestic Abuse Prosecution Unit in a groundbreaking partnership with the Saint Paul City Attorney’s Office. The unit focuses on domestic assault cases where children are present. Gaertner initiated the innovative Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) to address a serious problem with chronic absenteeism in the schools. TIP has contributed to a dramatic increase in school attendance and graduation rates. Gaertner created a special Gangs and Guns Prosecution Unit in response to a growing concern about violent crime committed with guns, often by gang members.
Gaertner has made fighting the methamphetamine epidemic a top priority. Believing that education and prevention are key, she speaks frequently to educators, students, criminal justice professionals and community groups about the devastating impact of meth and strategies to combat it. She initiated and chairs a statewide meth task force of county attorneys. The task force has launched several initiatives, including a meth education booth at the Minnesota State Fair, a meth documentary and a meth education website Revealing Meth. In recognition of these efforts, the Midwest Society of Association Executives presented its 2007 Excellence in Public Service Award to the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.
A nationally recognized expert on DNA forensic evidence, Gaertner was the first prosecutor in Minnesota to present DNA evidence to a jury. She is a past co-chair of the DNA Subcommittee of the National District Attorneys Association and co-authored the association's "Policy Positions on DNA Technology." She served on the Biological Evidence Task Force of the American Bar Association. She is a member of Minnesota's Forensic Laboratory Advisory Board. At her direction, the County Attorney's Office conducted a review of past convictions to determine if current DNA technology would shed new light on any of the cases. The review resulted in the exoneration of a man convicted of rape and led to the establishment of a Uniform Evidence Retention Policy and the adoption of new, research-based photo lineup procedures.
Gaertner has successfully prosecuted many high-profile and complex criminal cases, including murders and rapes. She remains active in the courtroom, securing first-degree murder convictions in State v. Waddell (the murder of a store clerk) in 2001, State v. Cram (a domestic homicide) in 2002, and State v. Evans (the murder of St. Paul Police Sergeant Jerry Vick) in 2006.
A leader in the public policy arena, Ms. Gaertner successfully advocated for legislation that makes it a felony to strangle someone during a domestic assault. This law, enacted in 2005, holds the promise to reduce domestic homicides. In the previous year, she led the successful effort to reform enforcement of Minnesota's Fair Campaign Practices Act. The legislation removed the statutory requirement that county attorneys investigate all campaign complaints for potential criminal charges. Under the new law, such complaints are reviewed by administrative law judges, relieving a large burden from the criminal justice system.
Gaertner serves as a vice chair at large on the Governing Council of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association. She also serves as the section's representative to the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project. She served on the Board of Directors of the National District Attorneys Association for 14 years and twice has served as president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.
Prior to her election, Gaertner was an Assistant Ramsey County Attorney for ten years. Previously, she was a criminal defense attorney with the William Mauzy Law Firm and clerked for Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Gerald W. Heaney.
Gaertner received her law degree from the University of Minnesota, graduating cum laude. As a law student, she was chosen for the Minnesota Law Review and the Order of the Coif.
In 2009, Gaertner was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, considered to be the premier professional organization of preeminent trial lawyers in the United States and Canada. In 2007, she received the Julius E. Gernes Prosecutor Award of Excellence from the Minnesota State Bar Association in recognition of her dedication and commitment to public service and the public practice of law. She received the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota County Attorneys Association in 2004. Gaertner was honored as a 2003 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer. She is a proud member of the Harding High School Hall of Fame.
