State v. anybody or anything was, for the day, reduced to distant recesses of the bicyclist's mind.

Possibly, new ways of addressing chemical use and addiction among juveniles went from thought to rumination to deliberation. After all, the landmark interdisciplinary conference is next week.

Truth be told -- so help him God -- on this summer's day wildflowers caught his eye. A classic red dairy barn with black and white Holsteins grazing in its shadow, a front porch with a swing and verdant fields of crops did so, too.

Bicycling does that to you.

Meet Paul Holden Anderson, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

He was the easy-going man, riding in the pack with 1,300 other 2002 MS TRAM bicyclists.

Just another bike rider in Technicolor shirt, shorts and helmet so far away from the bench.

"I love this state. It's amazing," Anderson said after arriving in Austin Monday afternoon. "Minnesota is one of the most beautiful places in the world."

Anderson talked admiringly of farmland, hills, valleys, dairy farms and crop fields he saw after pedaling 73.9 miles from Faribault to Austin.

He camped with friends in Todd Park before embarking today on the next leg of the charity bike ride around Minnesota.

Anderson discussed the 2002 general election year, which has the Associate Justice and one other, Edward C. Stringer, up for reelection and opposition on the ballot.

Anderson, 59 of Inver Grove Heights, has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court since 1994, when he was appointed to the bench and then elected in 1996 to a six-year term.

He had served as Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals for two years.

Anderson disagrees with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, allowing justices to comment on disputed cases. He worries that it will further allow the states' highest courts to become "politicized" and despoil the purpose of the high courts to guarantee all a "fair and unbiased decision."

Will he use the new privilege to speak out on disputed cases? "I'm going to proceed cautiously," he said.

Anderson also sees courts, being impacted on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the latest continuing corporate ethics scandals.

"The courts must be

very aware" of those changes" and how the "juxtaposition" in courtrooms of the emotional call for a new patriotism and citizens rights as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

Anderson, who last visited Austin, when the Minnesota Supreme Court held one of its on-site courts away from St. Paul, said he believes the state's highest court must continue to make itself available to the public and understood by citizens.

He also candidly said he is a "better judge" today than eight years ago when he first was appointed to the high court bench "You get better," he said. "You get better by becoming a better questioner and honing other skills in determining what is important," he said.

Anderson also said the last eight years have given him a

"healthier appreciation of everyone as an individual."

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com