Associate Justice Chutich was appointed to the Court by Governor Mark Dayton effective March 17, 2016 to fill the vacancy caused by Associate Justice Wilhelmina Wright resignation on February 18, 2016 to accept a judicial appointment by President Barack Obama to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Chutich was a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge (2012-2016), former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, and former Deputy and Assistant Attorney General. Chutich was the first openly gay jurist to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
MacDonald was an attorney from Rosemount, former Hennepin County Conciliation Court Judge (1999-2014), and nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 2014 and 2016.