Hon. Kurt J. Marben (Ret.) was a judge for the 9th Judicial District Court of Minnesota in Polk County. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jesse Ventura on December 27, 2000. Marben retired on August 8, 2019, and was subsequently assigned to serve as a statewide senior judge.
The 9th Judicial District includes Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau Counties. During his judicial tenure, he served as Chief Judge of the 9th Judicial District (2009 to 2015).
Prior to his appointment, Marben was a partner at Charlson, Marben & Jorgenson, P.A. and its predecessors. He joined the firm in 1977. His areas of practice included personal injury law, insurance defense law, product liability litigation, and civil litigation.
Marben was certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association.
He received a B.S. from Bemidji State College in 1974. Marben went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Minnesota Law School in 1977.
He was admitted to practice in Minnesota (1977), the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (1979), and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1989).
Marben received the Outstanding Service to the Community Award from the Minnesota District Judges Association (2010) and was named Minnesota Trial Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates.
He is a former member of the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice.
Marben was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota.