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Richard Menke, judge and outdoorsman
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Edited | Thomas Walker May 21, 2006 12:24am |
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| Category | Obituary |
| Media | Newspaper - Star Tribune, The (Minneapolis - St. Paul) |
| News Date | Thursday, May 18, 2006 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The retired Scott County judge died on the Pacific Crest Trail. He found a passion in hiking after leaving the bench in 1997 and loved spending time in nature.
Retired Scott County Judge Richard Menke, who also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives, died after a fall recently while hiking the Pacific Crest trail.
Menke's body was found Saturday near Mount Laguna, Calif.; the cause of the fall hasn't been determined.
Menke, 70, lived in Prior Lake with his wife, Judith, where the couple raised three daughters. His daughter Teri Menke of Tempe, Ariz., said her father "died doing exactly what he wanted to do. He loved outdoors, he loved nature."
The judge served in the state House as a DFLer from Prior Lake from 1971 through 1974, when Gov. Wendell Anderson appointed him to the bench. He retired in 1997 and took up hiking.
Menke's most famous case involved the sexual abuse of a 4-year-old, who didn't want to face the defendant in court, said court reporter Wayne Miller. Two-way video cameras were installed. The defendant and the jury were in one room. Menke, Miller, the prosecutor, the child and the defense attorney were in another room for the testimony.
The man was convicted. His appeal of the victim's testimony arrangement went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but wasn't heard because the court upheld a similar arrangement in another case, Miller said. |
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