On October 8, 2025, Owatonna High School had the privilege to host the Minnesota Supreme Court as part of its Traveling Oral Arguments Program. The visit to Owatonna marks the court’s 57th Traveling Oral Argument.
The event began at 9:30 a.m. in the school auditorium and is open to students and faculty at Owatonna High School, as well as students from visiting Medford and Blooming Prairie High Schools. The program aims to educate students about the judicial system and build public trust in the judiciary.
Principal Kory Kath starts off the morning by exclaiming our school’s excitement for having this opportunity. Then Christine Long, chief judge for the third judicial district explains the case details and the importance of the Supreme Court.
To understand a little more of what the high school students witnessed on that morning, let’s talk about the case. Mr. Steven Douglas Nelson, the appellant, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and aiding and abetting. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail.t the first and second trials for his case his state appointed attorney didn’t double check on agreeing with Steven on the judges final decision. Although he didn’t speak up to anyone until later, Mr. Douglas disagreed and wanted to put his rights of confrontation to use.
Why is this important? -The right to face your accuser is part of the U.S. Constitution. This case could change how courts across Minnesota handle situations like this in the future. For students, this was a rare chance to see how the highest court in Minnesota works and to learn more about the legal system.
This case is about more than just one person — it raises a serious legal question about the rights of people on trial. In the U.S., the Sixth Amendment gives people the right to confront witnesses against them. That usually means being able to ask them questions in court. This case will help decide if a person must clearly say they agree to use a transcript instead of hearing the witness in person.
The proceedings consisted of 35 minutes for the appellant to declare his point of issue, with time accounted for justices to ask questions. Then the defendant, in this case representing the state, responds to the issue being brought up by making their points as to why the appellant is invalid with a 25 minute limit. As this goes on the justices continue asking questions to help understand and get to the bottom of the case. Following this the appellant has rebuttal time to finish off the argument. It is an intense process, often hard to follow, especially for high school students, due to the advanced diction used by everyone involved in the process. The justices take what they heard back to St. Paul and have a conference where they voice their opinions in seniority order. The final decision of each case will be decided within 90 days of the hearing.
Senior, Naomie Delarosa says, “One of the attorneys seemed less prepared and didn’t have a lot of information which made it harder to follow the case. It started to get a little boring and kind of seemed like a one sided argument.” Not all students find law to be their thing but all showed up to hear and experience the case.
Following the proceedings, students had the opportunity to engage with the justices during a more exciting question-and-answer session. Questions that were more serious and some quite funny were asked by students in the audience.
One question was, “What is your favorite part about the traveling oral arguments and about being a justice in general?” Associate Justice Paul Teason says, “Being here and getting out of St. Paul…Being able to talk to people” would be his favorite part.
Another Justice, Theodora Gaetas says she likes the traveling oral arguments because, “ I love the opportunity to educate the young people on how the court works.
A more serious question was asked: What is the ladder to becoming a justice? Justices responded saying there isn’t one path, sometimes the governor vets candidates, other times they just are in the right place at the right time. But no matter how they got there they are all grateful for their job and their opportunities.
Lilah Kruckerberg, Junior at OHS asked, “Have you ever felt like you made the wrong decision later on?” Associate Justice Paul Thissen responds saying bluntly, “Yes” because whatever decision is made applies to future cases and nowadays they experience appellant’s bringing up past cases that have similar arguments to help their point of view. Sometimes they regret a decision because later cases improperly apply or perceive them to help their arguments as a smart tactic.
One student asked if the justices are all best friends, Justice Karl C. Procaccini responds saying, “We make really hard decisions and it matters that we respect each other and have frank conversations with each other,” but they don’t necessarily spend all their time together like best friends do.
Another question was, “What was your funniest case? Associate Justice Anne K. McKeig laughed a little as she told us about a case from a past experience when she was a part of the Hennepin County bench. It was a divorce case and the couple were married for 47 years, the guy argued that the woman shouldn’t get any land because they didn’t have sexual relations since 1997.
A highlight of the morning was definitely when Associate Justice Anne K. McKeig, the first ever Native American on any supreme court in America, and Associate Justice Sarah E. Hennesy also known as baby justice from her being one of the more recent additions to the court broke out in song after a student asked for them to sing a little because they mentioned their very own band.
The day also included a lunch with student representatives and classroom visits to further discuss the judicial process.
OHS Senior Ayoub Farah, a member of the mock trial team, has considered a future in law since starting high school. Farah expressed his excitement about the event. “I think law is an incredible part of our society. I think it shaped a lot of day to day activities that we do, and you know I want to make positive change in the world, and I think law gives me the tools to make that change,” Farah said.
A great thank you to the Minnesota Supreme Court for coming to Owatonna and sharing this experience with Steele County.
Kayf Ali is a Sophomore here at Owatonna High School. This is Ali’s first year in Magnet. Outside of magnet Ali enjoys hanging out with friends, playing tennis and going out for runs. She is involved in tennis, student council, Magnet and RAD. She plans on graduating Highschool then wants to attend Stanford, to do their three year undergraduate program, and then do their law school. Ali joined magnet to better her writing skills, meet new people and to try something new at OHS.
