Sam Hanson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 from the state of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. He served on the Minnesota Court of Appeals

Minnesota Court of Appeals

The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983. It is housed in the Minnesota Judicial Center in St...

 from 2000 to 2002 and as an Associate Justice

Associate Justice

Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

 of the Minnesota Supreme Court

Minnesota Supreme Court

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...

 from 2002 to 2008. When not serving on the bench, he has practiced with the Minneapolis law firm of Briggs & Morgan.

Hanson earned his undergraduate degree in Economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 and History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 from St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...

 in 1961. He received his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....

 in 1965.

After law school, Hanson clerked for future Chief Justice Douglas Amdahl and Justice Robert Sheran

Robert Sheran

Robert J. Sheran was an American lawyer, politician and judge from Minnesota. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Wendell Anderson, serving from December 1973 to December 1981. He previously served as an associate justice on the court from January 1963 to July...

 before joining Briggs & Morgan, where he specialized in civil litigation and utility regulation. In 2000, he was appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals

Minnesota Court of Appeals

The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983. It is housed in the Minnesota Judicial Center in St...

 by Governor Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura

James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...

, where he served until his appointment to the Supreme Court. In 2007, he announced that he would step down from the Court, effective at the beginning of 2008. Governor Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty

Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...

 named Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen

Christopher Dietzen

Christopher Dietzen is an Associate Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.Dietzen became a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court in January 2008. He was appointed to the court by Governor Tim Pawlenty after the resignation of Justice Sam Hanson. Prior to this, he served as a judge on the...

to succeed Justice Hanson.

Hanson and his wife, Mirja, have six children: Greta, Chrystina, Benjamin, Leif, Luke, and Jai.