Judge Kappelhoff holds a number of court leadership positions. He currently is the Assistant Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial District Court. For the past four years, he served a four-year term as the Presiding and Assistant Presiding Judge of the Court’s Juvenile Division. In this position, he served as the Chair of Hennepin County’s Children’s Justice Initiative and the Tri-Chair of the Youth Justice Counsel.

He is a long-time Member of Hennepin County District Court’s Equal Justice Committee, as well as Member of the Statewide Committee on Equality and Justice. He also was appointed to serve on the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s Strategic Planning Committee. He previously served as the Co-Chair of the Fourth Judicial District Court’s Domestic Violence Steering Committee, a Member on the Minnesota District Judges Association, and the Fourth Judicial District’s representative on the Annual Conference of Judges Planning Committee.

Judge Kappelhoff is very active in community and professional activities. He is a member of the Minnesota Bar Association and the Hennepin County Bar Association, where he serves on its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He also was a member of the Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court.

Throughout his legal career, Judge Kappelhoff has focused on efforts to combat human trafficking. As an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, he co-teaches a seminar course on Human Trafficking. He also has trained judges both in the
United States and internationally on efforts to address human trafficking. He previously worked with the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, including serving on its “MN Girls are Not for Sale” Committee, an initiative designed to combat sex trafficking in Minnesota. He also serves as a volunteer mock trial judge for the Minnesota State High School Mock Trial Competition. And, he formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of 180 Degrees, a nonprofit organization that provides social services and support for families, adults, and youth who have experienced adversity.

Judge Kappelhoff also frequently participates in and speaks at conferences, community-based events and listening sessions, and legal education programs. He speaks on a variety of topics, including criminal justice policies and practices, human trafficking, diversity, equity, and inclusion, constitutional policing practices, and hate crimes.