About Judge Austad
Judge Jana Austad was raised in Bemidji, educated in Minnesota, and has spent her entire career working in the heart of Minnesota’s 9th judicial district.
For the past 7 years she has done so as a District Court Judge in Minnesota’s 9th Judicial District, chambered in Cass County.
Judge Austad is a Northern Minnesotan. She moved to Bemidji with her family in 1969 where she graduated from Bemidji High School with the class of 1983. At BHS, she had the opportunity through the Bemidji Rotary Club to spend her junior year as an exchange student in Norway.
Judge Austad graduated from Augsburg College in Minneapolis and went on to get her JD at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. During law school she worked as a legislative assistant at Larkin, Hoffman and Winthrop and Weinstein.
She returned to her hometown of Bemidji as an attorney with the law firm of Keif, Fuller, Baer, Wallner & Rodgers in 1991. Her work in Bemidji was concentrated in the areas of township law, family law, and workers compensation.
In 1997 she accepted a position as Managing Attorney for the Brainerd Regional Office of the State Public Defender. In addition to her managing duties, she tried multiple criminal jury trials and joined 8 other attorneys in the state public defender system to train in DNA and forensic science evidence. She worked for 10 years in criminal law.
Judge Austad’s home is in the Brainerd Lakes Area where she raised her three children, Carina (22), Ava (21) and Joe (17).
Judge Austad was a merit selection gubernatorial appointment to the bench for the Ninth Judicial District in April 2013. In 2019, she was elected by her peers as Assistant Chief Judge for the Ninth Judicial District.
Recognizing that justice evolves with society and knowledge, she has spent her time on the bench volunteering for additional service:
Appointed to two terms on the Minnesota Rules of Evidence Committee (2015-present)
Subcommittee on Eyewitness Identification (2019)
Liaison Judge for Northwest Juvenile Training Center (2019-present)
Vinland National Center Board (2014-present).
Since she was appointed in 2013, Judge Austad has served alongside Leech Lake Tribal Judge Megan Treuer as Co-Judges for the Cass County/ Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Joint Jurisdiction Wellness Court. The first in the nation, this joint jurisdiction program strives to reduce recidivism with repeat DWI offenders by working cooperatively with the Leech Lake Band, supervising individuals struggling with chemical dependency. This court, like many specialty courts in Minnesota, recognizes the benefit of working closely with people in their effort to overcome addiction, become healthier people, and heal relationships and create meaningful futures outside the criminal justice system.
You have a right to fairness and impartiality in a judge. You can count on Judge Austad to fairly and impartially uphold the law for the people of our community, just as she has done for the last 7 years.
Join Friends for Judge Jana Austad to re-elect Judge Jana Austad on November 3rd!
Minnesota’s 9th Judicial District
The Ninth Judicial District includes Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth Reservations and the following counties:
