This browser does not support the Video element.
Band of Judges guilty of loving to have fun
About a year and a half ago, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig sent an email to judges statewide, inquiring who might want to join her in starting a band.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - About a year and a half ago, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig sent an email to judges statewide, inquiring who might want to join her in starting a band.
Minnesota judges start band
How the band was formed:
"I always wanted to be a country music singer," says McKeig. "I would sit in my room and play my guitar and dream that I was going to Nashville. And then, of course, my mom's like, let's have another plan. All right, I’ll go to law school and be a lawyer."
Meanwhile, Minnesota Justice Sarah Hennesy comes from a musical family and went to college on a music scholarship before turning to studying law. Hennessy and McKeig are among a total of nine band members made up of Minnesota Supreme Court and district court current and retired judges, rocking out together at least one weekend a month in a space in St Cloud. Together their band is called the Reasonable Doubts.
"This job is being an attorney is stressful, being a judge is very stressful. There's a lot of secondary trauma I think that's involved," says Hennessy. "I found that being part of a band was a way to have a creative outlet that I think helps process some of those really difficult emotions that come up when you're working."
Reasonable Doubts prepares for show
Going public:
The few times Reasonable Doubts have performed have been for fellow law colleagues. Now, they are preparing for their biggest stage yet, Law Law Palooza in Duluth on October 24. The benefit concert for the nonprofit Justice North is dedicated to improving legal aid. Going public and a single post on social media has attracted more attention than the band of judges anticipated.
"I think we were all shocked. I think when we went into it thinking this was just for us, this was a place to make music and relax and then after we had a couple of practices we were very surprised to find out that we're not terrible," says Hennessy.
The judges admit there was some hesitation within the group to go public with their form of stress relief. Ultimately, McKeig won the argument that sharing this story was an opportunity for the public to see those in the legal system as more approachable.
"We really see people sometimes in their most stressful times of their life, whether they are a victim of a crime or they're the defendant or what have you. It’s really tough stuff, and we understand that," says McKeig. "But this is just our time to actually do something to unwind from that so that we can do our jobs and do them well."
What you can do:
To see the Reasonable Doubts perform at Law Law Palooza, you can find details here.