Panel recommends 6-month suspension without pay for Anoka County district judge

A state panel is recommending that an Anoka County judge be censured and suspended without pay for six months after being accused of discrimination towards non-citizens, among other allegations.

The three-person panel on Thursday filed its recommendation regarding District Judge John Dehen to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which will make the decision. The panel determined that Dehen had violated a series of judicial conduct codes, failed to comply with the law and showed prejudice.

An attorney for Dehen did not immediately return a request for comment late Friday.

The conclusions of the panel stem from a complaint filed against Dehen by the Board on Judicial Standards in April 2024, regarding three series of incidents in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The 23-page report says Dehen displayed prejudice in five cases in 2023 when he was asked to appoint guardians for at-risk juveniles, according to court records.

The appointment of such a guardian under Minnesota law allows a juvenile to then apply for special immigration status under federal law. However, immigration status is not to be considered when deciding if a petitioner qualifies as an at-risk juvenile.

The panel found that Dehen wrongfully asked the petitioners about their immigration status and took the position that immigration benefits do not align with Minnesota’s at-risk juvenile guardianship statute.

The panel concluded Dehen’s position is contrary to state and federal law, and that he acted with prejudice toward the petitioners based on their national origin, ethnicity, language and immigration status.

His actions resulted in two petitioners losing the ability to seek special immigration status under federal law, court records said.

In a separate incident in 2024, the panel found that Dehen undermined public confidence in the judiciary when he became involved in a dispute over the pay of a court reporter. Dehen tried to give the employee a higher salary when he lacked the authority to do so, and then filed an order in Anoka County District Court to force the issue.

The panel also found that Dehen in 2022 presided over a virtual hearing in juvenile court from a vehicle that his wife was driving. The panel found Dehen violated rules regarding order, decorum and professionalism.

Dehen was first elected to the bench in 2010 and has been licensed to practice law in Minnesota since 1988.