ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ramsey County District Court Judge Reynaldo “Reggie” Aligada Jr. has been appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, becoming the first Asian Pacific American justice in the court’s history and a milestone Filipino American appointment to a state high court.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced the appointment on May 19, naming Aligada to an associate justice seat that will open when Justice Theodora Gaïtas becomes chief justice. Gaïtas is set to succeed Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, who is retiring in September. The Minnesota Judicial Branch said Aligada will assume his new role on Oct. 1.

Aligada has served as a Ramsey County District Court judge in Minnesota’s Second Judicial District since 2019, when Walz appointed him to the bench. He was elected in 2020.

Before becoming a judge, Aligada worked in the Office of the Federal Defender in Minneapolis, first as an assistant federal defender and later as first assistant federal defender. He also practiced at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi and served as a law clerk to Judge Michael J. Davis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

He earned his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Saint John’s University in Minnesota.

In announcing the appointment, Walz said Aligada would bring both judicial experience and a perspective not previously represented on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Aligada, in the governor’s statement, said he recognized the impact of the court’s decisions on Minnesotans and would seek to “do justice and protect the rule of law.”

The Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association called the appointment a historic moment for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander legal community. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association also described Aligada as the first Asian Pacific American justice in Minnesota history.

The appointment adds to a career that has moved across public defense, private practice, federal and state clerkships, and trial court service. It also places a Filipino American jurist on one of the state’s most consequential courts, where decisions shape Minnesota law on civil, criminal, constitutional and administrative matters.

Aligada will fill the associate justice vacancy created by Gaïtas’ elevation to chief justice, part of a broader transition on the state’s high court following Hudson’s planned retirement.