Judge Hilary Lindell Caligiuri: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Hilary Lindell Caligiuri is a judge for the 4th Judicial District Court of Minnesota in Hennepin County. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Mark Dayton in 2014.

Over the course of her judicial tenure, Caligiuri has served as the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division and also held an assignment in the Juvenile Division. She is the statewide chair of the Minnesota District Judges Association’s Criminal Jury Instruction Committee.

Prior to her appointment, Caligiuri was a senior assistant county attorney with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, where she was tasked with supervising the Drug Unit. As a prosecutor, she handled violent crime and drug cases, including gang-related homicides.

Before her position there, Caligiuri worked for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. During her tenure, she began as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division and later served as a deputy attorney general in the Civil Litigation, Torts and Employment Law, Medicaid Fraud, and Tax Litigation Divisions.

Caligiuri received a B.A. in Soviet studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Minnesota Law School in 1996. Caligiuri was admitted to practice in Minnesota (1997) and Wisconsin (1997).

Her memberships have included the Hennepin County Bar Association and the Douglas K. Amdahl Inn of Court.

Caligiuri has served as a frequent lecturer for the Minnesota County Attorneys Association and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She was a voting member of the Minnesota Violent Crime Coordinating Council and acted as a liaison to the Second Precinct Court Watch.

Caligiuri was also a member of the Sunny Hollow Montessori Board of Trustees.