Hon. Joseph A. Bueltel is a judge for the 3rd Judicial District Court of Minnesota in Steele County. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jesse Ventura on April 9, 2002.
The 3rd Judicial District includes Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona Counties.
During his judicial tenure, Bueltel was elected to serve a two-year term as Chief Judge of the 3rd Judicial District in 2021.
Prior to joining the bench, he was the Chief Public Defender with the Office of the Public Defender for the 3rd Judicial District, having served in that capacity since 1999. Bueltel first joined the office as an assistant public defender in 1992. Before that, he was an attorney at Smith & Tollefson (1988 to 1994) and a law clerk for the 3rd Judicial District in Rice County (1987 to 1988).
Bueltel received an A.A. in liberal arts at Normandale Community College (1982) and a B.A. in psychology and sociology from the University of Minnesota (1984). He went on to complete a J.D. at William Mitchell College of Law in 1987. While a law student, Bueltel was a staff writer for the law school’s Law Review.
He was admitted to practice in Minnesota (1987) and the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (1987).
His memberships have included the Steele County Bar Association. Bueltel also sat as a member of the Steele County Community Corrections Board, the Treatment Court Initiative Advisory Committee, the Olmsted County Justice Council, and the Criminal Jury Instruction Guides Committee. In addition, he served as lead judge for the Steele-Waseca Drug Court and the Steele County Children’s Justice Initiative.
Bueltel has been a coach for the Janesville and Owatonna High School Mock Trial Programs and held several positions on the Steele County Habitat for Humanity, including on its Board of Directors.