David Stras

David Ryan Stras (born July 4, 1974) is an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Stras was born on July 4, 1974 in Wichita, Kansas. He received a B.A. with highest honors and an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas where he became a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. In 1999, he earned a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Criminal Procedure Edition of the Kansas Law Review.

Stras clerked on two federal courts of appeal, for Judges Melvin Brunetti on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and J. Michael Luttig on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Stras then worked at the D.C. office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood for a year, after which he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court.

Stras was a professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School from 2004 to 2010, teaching and writing in the areas of federal courts and jurisdiction, constitutional law, criminal law, and law and politics. He also served as co-director of the Institute for Law and Politics. Stras has contributed to research on such topics as judicial pensions and life tenure for judges. He has also studied judicial appointments and the politics of courts.

Stras was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Tim Pawlenty, with his term beginning on July 1, 2010. He was sworn in on July 12, 2010 in a public ceremony. Stras was elected to a six-year term in 2012. Prior to his appointment, he was a frequent guest on legal topics at Minnesota Public Radio. He is believed to be the first Jewish justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He is on President-elect Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court justices.

Stras is married to his wife, Heather. They have two children. Through his father, Stras is related to Holocaust survivors from Hungary and Germany.