Paul A. Magnuson

Paul Authur Magnuson (born February 9, 1937) is a United States District Judge from Minnesota.

Magnuson was born in Carthage, South Dakota, a small town in the eastern part of the state. He graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1959, having served as president of the student body and an active member of the College Republicans. He graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 1963.

After law school, Magnuson entered private practice in the South St. Paul law firm of LeVander, Gillen & Miller. The firm is exceptional in the history of Minnesota law and politics because it produced a federal judge (Magnuson), a Minnesota governor (Harold LeVander), a United States Senator (David Durenberger), and a Minnesota Supreme Court justice (Paul H. Anderson). No other firm could claim the same number of distinguished alumni, all of whom practiced together at the same time. Magnuson worked at the LeVander law firm for eighteen years, eventually becoming a partner and adding his name to the letterhead.

In November 1981, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He succeeded Edward J. Devitt, who assumed senior status on the court. Magnuson became Chief Judge in October 1994 and served in that position until he himself assumed senior status in February 2002.

References

• Paul A. Magnuson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.