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's office, in partnership with other agencies, also undertook the Runaway Intervention Project, which addresses the needs of runaway girls through intensive intervention and services. In 2009, the project received a Local Government Innovation Award from the Humphrey Institute's Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center. An Elder Abuse Unit that focuses on crimes committed against older persons who are victimized because of their age, vulnerabilities or family relationships was launched by Gaertner's office in 2009. Recognizing that elder abuse was a very serious problem in the community, but mindful of the tough economic times, Gaertner formed the specialized prosecution unit without added cost to county taxpayers. 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.
Fighting the methamphetamine epidemic and addressing other addiction issues are among Gaertner's top priorities. Believing that education and prevention are key, she speaks frequently to educators, students and community groups about the devastating impact of meth and other drugs and strategies to combat the problem. She initiated and chairs a statewide meth task force of county attorneys. The task force launched several initiatives, including a meth education booth at the Minnesota State Fair, a meth documentary and a meth education website, Revealing Meth. In 2007, this project received the Award of Excellence for Public Service from the Midwest Society of Association Executives and the Civic Organization of the Year Award from the Minnesota Crime Prevention 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 the development of a groundbreaking Uniform Evidence Retention Policy in Ramsey County. The policy ensures that DNA evidence related to the identity of the perpetrator is preserved for future testing, when appropriate. The DNA Project also led to the adoption of new, research-based photo lineup procedures to remedy faulty eyewitness identifications resulting in wrongful convictions. As an extension of this effort, Gaertner initiated a statewide conference on "Improving Eyewitness Identification Procedures" in October 2009.
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, and State v. Sontoya (the sexual assault and murder of a 31-year-old mother of four children) in 2009.
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 served for several years as a vice chair at large on the Governing Council of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and was the section's representative to the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project. She continutes to serve on the section's Advisory Board for a project examining the collateral consequences and sanctions of arrests and convictions. 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, of which she remains a board member. She currently serves on the state's Advisory Task Force on Employee Misclassification.
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 awarded the Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association. The award is presented to a prosecutor who exemplifies the principle that the "duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict." Also in 2009, she 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. Also in 2007, she received the Women of Distinction Award from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. In 2004, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota County Attorneys Association. Gaertner was honored as a 2003 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer. She is a proud member of the Harding High School (St. Paul, Minnesota) Hall of Fame.
