Judge Regina Chu, Who Presided Over Kim Potter Case, To Retire

MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu will retire this spring, creating a vacancy in Minnesota's Fourth Judicial District.

Chu, 68, oversaw the 2021 manslaughter case involving former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter. Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright at a traffic stop after mistaking her gun for her Taser.

Due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Potter's case was live-streamed to the public, increasing the visibility of what was already a high-profile trial.

Potter was convicted by a jury, but Chu gave her a reduced sentence of two years in prison, down from the state presumptive sentence of over seven years. Chu ruled that Potter deserved less than what the state guidelines called for.

"This is the saddest case in my 20 years on the bench," she said before handing down Potter's sentence in February. "On the one hand, a young man was killed. On the other hand, a respected 26-year veteran police officer made a tragic error by pulling a handgun instead of a Taser."

Chu's sentencing decision left the family of Wright "stunned."

"The Judge's comments at sentencing showed a clear absence of compassion for the victim in this tragedy and were devastating to the family," the family's attorneys, Ben Crump and Jeff Storms, said at the time

"Judge Chu's comments about Potter resembled those of a job recommendation and not that of a senseless and preventable death of a promising life."

Before Potter's trial started, protesters showed up at a downtown Minneapolis condo where they thought Chu lived. The protest resulted in one man being charged with tampering with a judicial officer. The case was eventually dismissed, however.

Chu graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law. She was appointed as a Hennepin County judge in 2002 by Gov. Jesse Ventura. She was subsequently elected to the position in 2004, 2010, and 2016.

Chu's community involvement includes:

• Board Member, Asian Women United of Minnesota
• Member, Hennepin County Pro Bono Project Committee
• Member, Civil Litigation Section Council
• Minnesota District Judges Civil Jury Instruction Guides Committee

Chu submitted her resignation letter to Gov. Tim Walz just three days before she sentenced Potter, the Star Tribune reported. Her last day in court is May 6.