Federal judge to resign after 25 years

Published 10:45 am Thursday, April 22, 2010

A federal judge in Minnesota who presided over cases including complex terror investigations, high-profile murders and a recent $190 million Ponzi scheme is stepping down after 25 years on the bench.

In a letter to colleagues, U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum said the time he served as a federal judge and the preceding four years he spent as U.S. attorney for Minnesota were an “extraordinary honor and a professional pleasure.” He plans to resign in August.

“He will be missed on our bench,” U.S. Chief Judge Michael Davis said Wednesday. “He is one of the most intelligent and witty jurists in the country.”

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Rosenbaum, 65, was out of the office Wednesday and unavailable for comment.