Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page

The Honorable Alan C. Page, Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, presented the 2005 Sherman J. Bellwood Memorial Lecture in Moscow on Thursday, October 20, 2005. A graduate of Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota Law School, Justice Page earned his J.D. degree as a full-time law student while also engaging in what he modestly calls “full-time employ[ment] as a professional football player.” In fact, he became a legendary Minnesota Viking, winning the National Football League’s “most valuable player” award) and earning a place in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.

While still playing in the NFL, Justice Page entered the private practice with a major law firm in Minneapolis. He then undertook a career of public service as Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota. In 1993 he was elected to the Supreme Court (the first African American ever elected to state office in Minnesota). He has been re-elected twice, having established a reputation on the Court as a reflective, deliberate and disciplined jurist.

Justice Page is an exponent of education, of public service by the legal profession, and of the importance of maintaining the independence and integrity of state judiciaries. He is expected to address these topics during the Bellwood Lecture and in other remarks at the College of Law. Justice Page is a member of the American Law Institute and creator of the Page Education Foundation, which assists disadvantaged youth seeking opportunities in post-secondary education.