Dan Mabley

Mediator / Arbitrator

Dan Mabley was a District Court Judge in Hennepin County for 26 years, retiring in 2018. During his time on the bench, he served in the Civil, Family, and Criminal Divisions.  He was elected Chief Judge for 2 terms and also served as Criminal Presiding Judge and Assistant Criminal Presiding Judge.

During his civil division assignment, Dan handled disputes involving contracts, businesses, homeowners associations, medical and legal malpractice, insurance, real estate, construction, employment law, collections, and personal injury, among others. In family court, he handled numerous cases involving custody, child support, spousal maintenance, and property division.

During his time on the bench, he became a source of expertise to his colleagues on jury trials, jury instructions, and general case and trial management. He has presided over hundreds of both court and jury trials.

In 2003 and 2004, Dan was selected to work as a U.N. international Judge in Kosovo, handling war crimes and ethnic deputes.

Before his time on the bench, Dan worked as a lawyer in both private and public practice for 18 years – initially in Northfield, MN. with the Schmitz & Johnson law firm and then as a prosecutor in the St. Paul City Attorney’s office, the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, and then the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

After his retirement from the bench, Dan continued to work as a senior judge but also joined JAMS where he handled both arbitrations and mediations, primarily involving business disputes and family law matters. He also worked as a contract ALJ with the Office of Administrative Hearings, presiding over disputes involving state agency determinations. He worked as a Trial Skills Trainer in the Hennepin County Attorneys Office where he ran the office’s Trial School. In 2022, he was appointed as the Chief Criminal Deputy in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office where he was in charge of the 4 criminal divisions: Adult, Juvenile, Community Prosecution, and Special Prosecution.  In 2023-24, he worked for Chemonix, a USAID contractor, where he taught Case Management to judges and lawyers in Sri Lanka.

Dan’s other activities include:

• Member, Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards, 2008–2012
• Chair and member, Hennepin County Bench Executive Committee, 1996–2018.
• Chair, Hennepin County Fatality Review Team, 2006-2007.
• Chair, Supreme Court Criminal Benchbook Committee, 1995- 2005.
• Co-Chair, Hennepin County Family Violence Coordinating Council, 2000–2002.
• Co-Chair, Hennepin County Domestic Violence Court Steering Committee, 2000-2002.
• President, National Conference of Metropolitan Courts, 2000-2001.
• Board of Directors, National Conference of Metropolitan Courts, 1999 – 2002.
• Member, Criminal Jury Instruction Guide Committee, 2007-2008.Chair, Supreme Court Jury Task Force Trial Procedures Subcommittee, 1999-2001.
• Member, A.B.A. Task Force on the Standards for Criminal Justice: The Special Functions of the Trial Judge, 1996.
• Chair, Hennepin County Criminal Justice Task Force, 1996-2000.
• Chair, Hennepin County Joint Bench and County Board Committee, 1998-2000.
• Liaison, Hennepin County District Court Jury Office, 1996 – 2018.
• Co-chair, Legislative Committee, Minnesota District Judges Association, 1993 -2002.
• Member, Board of Directors, Minnesota District Judges Association, 1993-1994.Member, Minnesota Conference of Chief Judges, 1996-2000.
• Co-chair, Supreme Court State Funding Task Force, 1998-2000.
• Member, Supreme Court, Jury Compensation Task Force, 1999– 2000.
• Board of Trustees, Hennepin County Law Library, 1996-2000.
• Chair, Hennepin County Judge’s By-laws Committee, 2000 – 2018.
• Member, National District Attorney’s Association Economic Crime Project, 1978 – 1980.
• Adjunct Faculty, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, 1981– 1992 (teaching trial advocacy).
• Director, University of Minnesota Law School Civil Legal Aid Clinic, 1973-1974.

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis J.D degree 1974.
• Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., B.A. degree 1971, (Cum Laude).