WINONA, Minn. – Winona County Judge Mary Leahy declined to take reporter questions about a multi-point reprimand handed down by the state Board on Judicial Standards. Among other things, the Board concluded that Leahy had immersed herself inappropriately in a local controversy in 2015 about whether to drop a high-school public-speaking class. In an email message using her office email, the Board said that Leahy encouraged 90-plus parents to weigh in against the change. Separately she expressed her views to School Board members. She violated the state judicial conduct code and should have known better, the Board said.
Background: Ethics panel gigs Winona judge