Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Surrogacy contract bill expected to pass this session

Legislation that would enable surrogacy contracts has been heard in committee in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and is expected to go to the governor this session. Thats the word from Maple Grove attorney Glen Norton, the legislative chair for the Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Section. The MSBA General Assembly has backed the legislation.

Senate File 2965 sets forth both the law regarding gestational carrier contracts and also contains provisions regarding the rights of the parties in cases of donated embryos. The latter sets up a scheme similar to the existing law regarding the parental rights of sperm donors, or more accurately, the absence thereof. When an embryo is donated, the donor is not treated as a biological parent; the intended parents are treated as parents under the law, assuming the requirements outlined in the bill are followed.

The gestational contract provisions regulate both gestational carriers and intended parents. Parental rights would vest immediately upon the childs birth under the legislation. The bill also provides for legal or equitable damages to either party if the contract is breached.

Surprisingly, no opposition to the legislation has materialized, Norton said. The bill does not address the controversial subject of how to deal with embryos that are not fertilized. Additional legislation on that may be needed in the future, Norton said.

Read More...

[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

April is a cruel month for some law students

As we close in on law school graduation season here in the Gopher State, not everyone who will be donning a robe and mortar board next month is a happy camper. Every year at about this time we hear from a disenchanted law student or two -- and this year is no different.

In a recent post, we noted that the University of Minnesota Law School had "slipped" from 20 to 22 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the "Top 100" law schools. In response to that post, yesterday we received the following comment purportedly from a third-year law student at the U of M:
Honestly, for job placements Minnesota Law School (sic), isn't even 4th tier. We send less than 20 percent of our graduates top the top 250 firms, while most schools in the top 30 send at least a third. We have significantly lower salaries than other comparable law schools In my 3l class most students do not have jobs.
Appropriately enough, the comment was made under the nom de plume "Bitter 3L." I cannot vouch for any of the factual assertions contained in the post. In fact, I am nearly positive that, if called upon to do so, the U of M would pull up all sorts of placement statistics showing things are not nearly as dire as portrayed in this comment. But the statistics are not what interests me. Whatever the real numbers are, every year some law students head merrily off to prestigious clerkships or lucrative Big Law jobs, while others live lives of quiet desperation, facing a lot of debt and few job prospects. Schools trumpet the stories of the first group, but rarely mention the second.

I have some thoughts of my own on some of the issues implicated in 3L's remarks, but thought I'd toss it out into the blogosphere to let you comment. Do any of you more seasoned and grizzled attorneys have any words of wisdom for our bitter young friend?

Read More...

[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Saturday, April 26, 2008

More firms hiring diversity managers

Altman Weil has come out with the results of an interesting survey on diversity in law firms. The Altman Weil Flash Survey on the Diversity Director Position in Large Law Firms reports that 58 percent of participating law firms have a designated diversity manager or director, up 8 percent from 2007, and 13 percent from fall 2005 when the first diversity flash survey was conducted.

The survey also found that 100 percent of participants report having a diversity committee in their firm, up from 96 percent in the prior year. (The survey canvassed large U.S. law firms in the AmLaw 200 and includes responses from 80 participating firms collected in March and April 2008.)

Here in Minnesota, many law firms are following suit. A lot of the larger firms have already implemented diversity committees, and at least one, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, has hired a diversity manager. E. Marie Broussard (at right) joined the firm earlier this year. She spoke with Minnesota Lawyer about the importance of her position in February.

The most important thing a diversity manager does is call on the conscience of the people in the organization, she said. The law is especially resistant to change. My job is to make sure change happens within the people within the organization.

The importance of developing and promoting diversity within law firms and the legal community in general cant be understated, particularly in Minnesota where we have some difficulty attracting and retaining diverse lawyers. The formation of diversity committees and the hiring of diversity managers are clearly positive steps towards those goals.


Read More...

[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Friday, April 25, 2008

Senate Republicans Block Fair Pay Measure

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure intended to overturn a Supreme Court decision limiting pay discrimination suits in a politically charged vote certain to be replayed in the presidential and Congressional campaigns. By a vote of 56 to 42, the Senate fell four votes short of the 60 required to begin consideration of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, named for an Alabama woman who lost a case against the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company when the court found she not did file her...


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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Errors discovered in Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure


Apparently, even the Minnesota Supreme Court can make mistakes.

Apple Valley lawyer Matthew Schaap contacted Minnesota Lawyer yesterday to let us know that there is a mistake in the discovery rules contained in the current version of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure.

Rule 26.02(e), which relates to experts, contains several references to subdivisions purportedly contained in Rule 26.02(d) that dont actually exist. Presumably, the references should be to the subdivisions contained within Rule 26.02(e) itself. The errors were most likely made when the lettering of the subdivisions was changed in the round of amendments to the civil rules that became effective July 1, 2007.

The mistakes apparently got past the rules committee and the Minnesota Supreme Court, but not Schaaps sharp gaze.

Schaap also pointed out that Thomson West (or Thomson Reuters, or whatever theyre calling it now) made its own separate error when it published the civil rules in the latest edition of Minnesota Rules of Court. Wests version of Rule 26.02(a) contains an extra paragraph that should no longer be there. In the July 2007 amendments, that paragraph was reworked into a new Rule 26.02(b).


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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Thursday, April 24, 2008

One for the road puts Minnesota at No. 3

Its the kind of distinction that nobody is happy about, not even defense attorneys.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Minnesota ranks third in the United States when it comes to the percentage of adults who admit having driven under the influence of alcohol over the past year. Almost one-fourth of those surveyed owned up to driving while impaired, putting Minnesota only behind North Dakota and Wisconsin. Nebraska and South Dakota are Nos. 4 and 5 respectively.

Thats not surprising, given that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said the state tallied a record number of drunk driving arrests -- 41,951 -- in 2006.

The Upper Midwest is becoming notorious as a hotbed of excessive alcohol consumption and drunk driving, even after decades of warnings and aggressive campaigns against such behavior.

Even with the recent controversy over the use of the Intoxilyzer in drunk-driving cases, it looks like Minnesotas DUI attorneys unfortunately will have plenty to keep them busy in the foreseeable future.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Potter: The wolf is not at the door at Oppenheimer

There is an item on the Findlaw Greedy Associates board implying that the Minneapolis law firm of Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly may be downsizing attorneys and whole practice groups. These rumors crop up about different local firms from time to time on the Internet and elsewhere, and often prove baseless. This particular rumor gained some traction, so we placed a call to the firm's chair, David Potter, to see if there was anything to it.

"Yeah, I heard that too," he said with a laugh, adding the rumor was completely unfounded. The firm has not lost any practice groups or had any major losses of attorneys since its restructuring in 2003, he said. He also said no staff cuts are either now occurring or planned.

In fact, Oppenheimer is on track to have a pretty good year, according to Potter. While mergers and acquisitions and general corporate work are down -- as they are elsewhere -- litigation has really taken off, he said.

"I think we are in a good spot," Potter stated

Potter also told us that Brad Keil will remain as the firm's CEO for the indefinite future. Oppenheimer has a unique management structure -- a CEO who gives up his/her practice to focus exclusively on the firm's internal operations and a chair who maintains a practice while focusing on the external elements of the leadership role. Keil began his current tenure as CEO last August when Tonia Teasley Schulz left the CEO post after less than a year to join the The Emmerich Group, a local consulting company. Keil -- who had been Schulz's predecessor as CEO -- stepped back into the role when Schulz announced she was leaving. It was unclear at the time whether this would be a stop-gap measure or something more permanent. Apparently, it's the latter.

"The management structure has worked well," said Potter.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

French lawyer takes on Khmer case (BBC News)

A French lawyer nicknamed "the Devil's advocate" will defend ex-Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan.

Read More...

[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

NZ lawyer withdraws from Fiji vote role (AAP via Yahoo!7 News)

A New Zealand lawyer who failed to disclose he had once been disbarred by the New Zealand Law Society has withdrawn as Fiji's Supervisor of Elections.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Lawyer says Italian court allows Parmalat to sue Citigroup (AP via Yahoo! Finance)

Parmalat will seek damages of more than $16 billion from Citigroup Inc. after an Italian court allowed the dairy company to attach a lawsuit to a criminal trail, a Parmalat lawyer said Monday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Judge says child killer Duncan must have mental evaluation before he can act as own lawyer (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)

BOISE, Idaho - A confessed child killer must be evaluated for mental competency before he can act as his own lawyer in death penalty proceedings, a federal judge ruled Monday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Pawlenty, lawmakers to insurers: You gotta' have (good) faith

Governor Tim Pawlenty last Friday signed into law the closely watched Good Faith bill. The new law puts insurers who fail to make a good-faith settlement offer when their liability is reasonably clear on the hook for up to $250K in damages and $100K in attorney fees. The caps were added as part of a legislative compromise. In political parlance, the new law has teeth, but not fangs.

Heres an example of how the new law might work. You are sitting in traffic on a clear day, and an SUV rams into the rear of your car. The driver gets out, and says, Im so sorry, its completely my fault. I was sending a text message and drinking a cup of coffee. The driver has $50K in coverage, and you have another $100K in underinsurance coverage. Your medical bills and related costs exceed your coverage, totalling $250K. The drivers insurer pays you his full $50K policy limit. But your insurer, trying to save a few bucks, only offers you $75K in UIM limits. You go to trial, and, as predicted, the jury awards $250K.

Under the new good faith law, your insurer must pay you not only the full $100K limit of your UIM policy, but also an amount equal to half the amount your damages exceeded the amount offered by the insurer (i.e. $250K $75K offer = $175K/ 2 = $87.5K). Thus, you are getting $87.5K more than you would have been entitled to receive under the policy because of the good-faith violation. In addition, you can recover up to another $100K in attorney fees.

With the caps, the amounts involved are not massive. But they are enough to change the math when the bean counters calculate whether or not its worthwhile to dicker with someone clearly entitled to benefits.

Read More...

[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

French lawyer in Cambodia to represent ex-Khmer Rouge leader (AP via Yahoo! News)

A French lawyer who defended terrorists and a former Nazi officer arrived in Cambodia on Monday to represent a former Khmer Rouge leader.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Schmitz's lawyer files to dismiss fraud case (The Huntsville Times)

MONTGOMERY - A lawyer for Rep. Sue Schmitz, D-Toney, has filed several motions seeking the dismissal of fraud charges against her, including one alleging misconduct by federal prosecutors during grand jury proceedings.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Chinese dissident Hu chooses not to appeal: lawyer (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Leading Chinese dissident Hu Jia will not appeal a guilty verdict meted out to him for attempting to overthrow the Chinese government, his lawyer said Tuesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Lawyer says politics behind senators DUI arrest (The State)

SUMMERVILLE A state senator from Summerville has been charged with driving under the influence. Randy Scott was pulled over Saturday night for driving erratically and was arrested after failing a field sobriety test, Dorchester County deputies said. But Scotts lawyer says the Dorchester County Republican struggled with walking heel-to-toe in the rain because he lost a leg in a hunting ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

It's the wild west in Shakopee; Lawyers on the Prairie

There is a very interesting piece on Shakopee attorney Sam McCloud worth checking out in today's Strib. McCloud is a bit of character to say the least. With his cowboy look -- replete with hat and boots -- one is left with the distinct impression that he identifies a little too closely with the old horse-ridding "rustic sheriff" who is his namesake played by Dennis Weaver in the '7os TV show, "McCloud."

McCloud (the real-life attorney, not the fictional TV lawman) is an entertaining presenter. For example, I recall him using a number of of colorful colloquialisms when I listened to his lecture on bail laws last year at the Minnesota CLE criminal law institute. His recent legal troubles -- which came to a successful conclusion for him in February -- have only added to his mystique.

In addition to bail laws, McCloud has made a bit of a name for himself in the DWI field. Coincidentally, Minnesota Lawyer has a story this week on the DWI source code controversy triggered by an unpublished Court of Appeals case that was handled by McCloud and his partner, attorney Carson J. Heefner. Lest you think McCloud's partner is less colorful, Heefner had this to say about the AG's Office's decision last month to file a federal lawsuit against the maker of the Intoxilyzer for refusing to provide the source code: The AGs Office finally got off its ass after 18 months and filed a lawsuit. Its a little too little a little too late.

Sheesh. They don't mince words over at McCloud and Heefner, do they? It doesn't take Columbo to figure out that the watercooler talk over there must be pretty interesting ...

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Chinese dissident Hu chooses not to appeal: lawyer (TODAYonline)

File photo shows prominent human rights activist Hu Jia at his apartment in Beijing. Jia will not appeal against a guilty verdict meted out to him recently, his lawyer said on Tuesday

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Brenda Martin's lawyer optimistic she will be released but Canadian terrified' (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Brenda Martin's lawyer and childhood friend are optimistic she will be released from a Mexican prison Tuesday, but say the jailed Canadian is terrified that a Mexican judge's decision may not go her way.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Saturday, April 19, 2008

AGO probe has started to begin

The big news from state Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles about his preliminary investigation of the Minnesota Attorney Generals office isthat there is no news.

Nobles, you might recall, is looking into allegations of ethical and legal lapses in Attorney General Lori Swanson's office for the purpose deciding if a full-scale probe is warranted.

Swanson and some of her deputies have been accused of pressuring lawyers to give bad advice to state agency clients and to find defendants to fit lawsuits on high-profile topics.

Nobles yesterday sent a memo to the Legislative Audit Commission saying that the preliminary assessment is in process, but didnt have any more findings to report.

"This is a particularly demanding time for [the auditor's office] since we are in the process of launching six new evaluations and completing work on a number of other audits and investigations," Nobles wrote. "When our preliminary assessment has been completed, I will communicate to you in writing both the results of our assessment, as well as our decision concerning any additional action."

The decision of whether to go forward with a more expanded investigation is probably several weeks away, Nobles told Minnesota Lawyer.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Friday, April 18, 2008

Report from Washington, D.C.: MSBA lobbies for Legal Aid


Minnesota Lawyer associate editor Barbara Jones, reporting from our nations capital, said that the Minnesota State Bar Association delegation participating in the American Bar Associations Lobby Day had a productive initial round of meetings with Minnesota members of Congress and their representatives.

The MSBA group includes MSBA president Brian Melendez, Minneapolis attorney Sue Holden (past president of the MSBA), Hennepin County District Court Judge Cara Lee Neville, St. Cloud attorney Michael Ford (a past MSBA president), MSBA staff member Nancy Mischel and Jerry Lane of Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance.

A big part of the lobbying activity has been in support of more federal money for Legal Aid. Nationally, the ABA has called upon Congress to raise Legal Aid funding by $121 million to a total of $471 million. Barbara reports that Minnesota Congress members have so far been generally been very supportive of Legal Aid in the delegations meetings with them.

The delegation yesterday met with Congressmen Keith Ellison and Tim Walz. It also met with representatives from the offices of Senator Norm Coleman and Congressman Jim Ramstad. (The ABA recognized Ramstad for his contributions to the justice system at an event last night.)

Barb reports that Walz told the group that equal access to justice is of paramount concern," and said he will do whatever needs to be done to get legislation through that helps to ensure it.

An interesting side note: Barb reports that Melendez is only meeting with the DFL members of the Minnesota delegation. Melendez, of course, in addition to being MSBA president, is chair of the states DFL Party.


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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Dad acquitted in son's death from dog bite.

Zachary Zane King was acquitted today of second degree manslaughter in the death of his son, Zach Jr., who was bitten by the family pit bull. The verdict by Judge Kevin Burke is available here. Burke said that there was no evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that King knew that the dog was dangerous, as required by the statute under which he was charged.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Friday, April 11, 2008

Representative Simon deserves better than a disinformation campaign


If this blog had a "Profiles in Courage" award, I would without hesitation bestow it upon Rep. Steve Simon, DFL- St. Louis Park.

Simon's name has unfairly been dragged through the mud as of late as a direct result of his having the temerity to break ranks with his party and be the lone DFLer on the Legislative Audit Committee to call for a probe into what is going on in the Attorney General's Office. (Click here for details about the fallout from a recent e-mail sent to a number of DFL lawmakers implying that Simon's real motivation for calling for the investigation was a departmental transfer he received while he worked at the AG's Office.)

As has been recorded here in a numerous posts, the AG's Office has been rocked by more than a year of virtually nonstop staffing turmoil, including unusually high turnover and the alleged use of anti-union tactics. Three staff members publicly stepped forward with some of their concerns in a letter earlier this year. One of them has since been indefinitely suspended after making statements on the radio and in the blogosphere calling into question how AG Lori Swanson is running the office. The allegations include assertions of ethical and legal violations. And yet we are supposed to believe that the one DFL lawmaker brave enough to step forward and ask for a probe to look into these matters could only be doing so because he has an ax to grind?

MinnPost's G.R. Anderson, who attended the legislative hearing at which Simon took his bold stand, reported that the DFL lawmaker then explained his decision to call for a probe as follows: "The attorney general is the people's lawyer. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat. It ought not to matter." Wise words indeed. (And let's not forget that that the auditor's investigation may actually clear Swanson of any legal or ethical violations.)

If, as the e-mail purports, Mike Hatch is in fact the spinmeister impugning Representative Simon's integrity, history provides a simple, yet elegant response to Mr. Hatch's political chicanery: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Representative Simon deserves better than a disinformation campaign

If this blog had a "Profiles in Courage" award, I would without hesitation bestow it upon Rep. Steve Simon, DFL- St. Louis Park.

Simon's name has unfairly been dragged through the mud as of late as a direct result of his having the temerity to break ranks with his party and be the lone DFLer on the Legislative Audit Committee to call for a probe into what is going on in the Attorney General's Office. (Click here for details about the fallout from a recent e-mail sent to a number of DFL lawmakers implying that Simon's real motivation for calling for the investigation was a departmental transfer he received while he worked at the AG's Office.)

As has been recorded here in a numerous posts, the AG's Office has been rocked by more than a year of virtually nonstop staffing turmoil, including unusually high turnover and the alleged use of anti-union tactics. Three staff members publicly stepped forward with some of their concerns in a letter earlier this year. One of them has since been indefinitely suspended after making statements on the radio and in the blogosphere calling into question how AG Lori Swanson is running the office. The allegations include assertions of ethical and legal violations. And yet we are supposed to believe that the one DFL lawmaker brave enough to step forward and ask for a probe to look into these matters could only be doing so because he has an ax to grind?

MinnPost's G.R. Anderson, who attended the legislative hearing at which Simon took his bold stand, reported that the DFL lawmaker then explained his decision to call for a probe as follows: "The attorney general is the people's lawyer. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat. It ought not to matter." Wise words indeed. (And let's not forget that that the auditor's investigation may actually clear Swanson of any legal or ethical violations.)

If, as the e-mail purports, Mike Hatch is in fact the spinmeister impugning Representative Simon's integrity, history provides a simple, yet elegant response to Mr. Hatch's political chicanery: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

AGO to get dueling reviews


Even with the preliminary legislative audit being performed at the state Attorney General's office, the AGO is going ahead with an independent review under the auspices of University of St. Thomas Law School dean Thomas Mengler (on right).

AGO spokesman Benjamin Watson said Mengler's investigation is going on in tandem with that of Legislative Auditor James Nobles, but declined to say how long it would take or what Mengler would be trying to determine.

Nobles decided late last month to begin what he called a preliminary investigation of "any sort of inappropriate, unethical, illegal activity" in the AG's office, also reserving the right to launch a more elaborate probe at a later date.

Is the AGO bringing in Mengler in the hopes that he'll paint a sunnier picture than Nobles? It would be interesting to compare the two reviews once they're completed.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A matter of retention

Nick Coleman has a column about the recent knock-down, drag-out election wrangling that occurred over a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. ("Dead fish may be stinky, but this judge's race smells worse.") As we blogged before, the ugly race in our sister state has become the poster child for judicial-election reform here.

Coleman correctly points out in his column that the Legislature appears poised not to act on the reform issue this session. Even if, mirabile visu, lawmakers did vote in favor of the Quie Commission's proposal to switch to retention elections for judges, the change could not possibly occur in time for the upcoming judicial elections.

While bar leaders do their best to present the image of a unified bar supporting the retention route,a group of trial court judges have steadfastly declined to join in the tea party. For example, in a highly unusual move, four trial court judges from four different counties recently sent a joint letter to the editor to Minnesota Lawyer opposing judicial elections. (The letter was published late last month.) Here are a couple of excerpts:

The proposed retention-election system puts both the selection and retention of sitting judges in the hands of a very small, elite group, appointed by only two people the governor and the chief justice of our Supreme Court. Citizens should remain justly suspicious of power exercised by a few. ...

Minnesotans and our governors together have demonstrated, time and time again, their ability to choose responsibly those who hold judicial office. That right should not be compromised by a system that does not address the very concerns of all who wish to preserve a fair and impartial judiciary.
In fact, the retention-election proposal remains fairly unpopular among many of the state's trial court bench. If the bar truly wants to present a unified picture to the Legislature, it's going to have to find a way to sell the plan better to those judges. Right now, the only thing a lot of them appear interested in retaining is their position against retention elections.


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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Johnson denies disqualifications in Weaver retrial

Ramsey County District Court Chief Judge Gregg Johnson has denied a defendants motion to disqualify the Ramsey County Attorneys office and the entire county bench from the murder trial of Gordon Weaver.

Weaver was convicted was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1999 death of his wife, Jean. But last July, the Minnesota Court of Appeals granted him a new trial, saying the trial court judge shouldn't have allowed testimony about blood-test results after they were destroyed. The blood test would show if Jean Weaver died in an accidental fall or as a result of a fire that Weaver set.

Prosecutors have said that information about the person who tested Jean Weaver's blood and the machine used to measure her carbon monoxide levels was lost and later found. Defense attorney Joe Friedberg has said that prosecutors knew about that evidence but sat on it until Weaver's conviction was overturned. He also said that Ramsey County District Court Judge Joanne Smith may have known of the prosecutors misconduct. Smith recused herself from the case.

Weaver argued that since Friedberg filed an ethical complaint against Smith, the entire bench should be disqualified. If such a complaint were grounds for removal of a judge or an entire bench, parties could exercise continuing veto power over the assignment of trial court judges, Johnson wrote. He also said there was no reason to disqualify the county attorneys office.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Friday, April 4, 2008

No gaps in discussion of Watergate at St. Thomas

Lawyers and history buffs have been enjoying an up close and personal look at the Watergate era this week thanks to the efforts of the University of St. Thomas to bring to Minnesota John Dean, Bud Krogh, Jill Wine-Banks and Judge Charles Breyer, the former being defendants and the latter being prosecutors in the illegal activities and cover-up thereof during the administration of President Richard Nixon. The panel discussion was Watergate Revisited: The Ethics of the Lawyers. Dean observed that of all the participants in the wide-ranging scandal, about 22 had law degrees. So why did so many lawyers get involved? Blind loyalty to the president, incompetence and an absolute arrogance in believing that the law was inapplicable to them, he said.

The good news from Watergate is proof that the constitutional process works, Breyer said. The Pentagon Papers incident showed that the First Amendment works, the hearings showed that Congressional oversight works, and the investigation and special prosecution showed that an independent judiciary is important, he said. Furthermore, when Nixon fired the special prosecutor in what came to be known as the Saturday Night Massacre, outraged citizens made their voices heard. In other words, they petitioned for redress of grievances and that made an enormous difference to the successful prosecution of wrongdoers, said Breyer, who is now a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Behind the scenes in a hotly contested judicial election

The cover story in this week's City Pages is a provocative look at what one former judge feels are unduly political machinations behind the scenes in Minnesota's courts system.

In Paul Demko's article, retiring Ninth District judge Terrance Holter talks about the complications and gamesmanship involved in the 2006 judicial campaign that resulted in the election of a former clerk of Holter's, John Melbye -- and how outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson declined to appoint Holter as a retired judge after he lost the race to Melbye.

The article has a tinge of sour grapes to it, but the article is an interesting look at how loyalties and even family ties can become knotted in politics when a place on the bench is at stake.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Jesse Ventura appointed to the Minnesota high court!

OK, OK, not really, but we had to give you at least one April Fool's Day headline on the Minnesota Lawyer blog. Ventura, of course, is not now, nor has he ever been, a lawyer, but he used to quip that he had "never lost a case." (Apparently a reference to the fact that he had gone to court representing himself once and "won." I have no idea whether his "record" remains intact.)

Ventura is a wrestler, turned actor (is there really a difference?), turned Minnesota's governor (again, is there really a difference?) and, most recently, I guess you'd have to call him an author. His latest book -- "Don't start the Revolution without Me!" -- was, appropriately enough, released today, on April Fool's Day.

Here is an excerpt from the books description on Amazon.com --"Ventura pulls no punches in discussing our corrupt two-party system, the disastrous war in Iraq, and what he suspects really happened on September 11. ... He reveals the illegal role of the CIA in states like Minnesota."

I have not yet read this scholarly tome, and surely do not intend to. I tend to shy away from books with exclamation points in the title. In fact, I haven't read any of Ventura's stuff since I leafed through "Do I Stand Alone? Going to the Mat against Political Pawns and Media Jackals." I didn't think that diatribe was very good at all, but I'm a media jackal, so you can take that with a grain of salt if you like. I note with some satisfaction Amazon is currently advertising the book with a "new or used" price starting at $ .01. Another book, "The Wit and Wisdom of Jesse 'the Body...the Mind' Ventura" is listed as starting at $ .90, which I think is 45x too much to pay for Ventura's two cents worth. But then again, it's probably a popup book, so maybe your kids will enjoy it.

I almost hate to say it, but from the legal community's perspective, Ventura was not a bad governor at all. He was good with court funding and made excellent, nonpartisan judicial picks. Much of the credit for the judicial appointments has to go to the efforts of the Commission on Judicial Selection and its then chair, Minneapolis attorney George Soule, but Ventura had the good sense to listen to their advice. As a result, Ventura's lasting legacy on the bench is one of the best of any Minnesota governor. That doesn't mean I'd want Ventura in the U.S. Senate though, something he coyly hints that he would at least consider ("Never say never.") It might make C-SPAN more interesting, but so would releasing a bag full of rabid squirrels with sparklers on their tails into the Senate chamber during a debate.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Hamline's new law dean a good fit for the school's innovative culture


Hamline University School of Law today named its new dean -- respected Twin Cities lawyer Donald Lewis. Lewis is a partner at what, pound for pound, is one of the most business savy firms in town -- Halleland Lewis Nilan and Johnson. The Halleland firm, known for its focus on providing solutions to business clients, has been an innovator in its marketing campaigns (including posting billboards in airports and elsewhere), ability to differentiate itself and collaborative management style. The firm has shown a willingness to eschew the conventional wisdom of the buttoned-down legal world, thereby giving it an advantage over some of its more traditional (and less creative) competitors.

It will be interesting to watch Lewis import some of these type of techniques to Hamline -- a school that has already itself shown no shyness about being innovative. Hamline has, for example, smartly carved out niches in ADR and internatonal law that have garnered it both national and international recognition. In fact, the school has already run counter to the prevailing trend by tapping a lawyer directly from practice to be its dean rather than opting for a full-time academic. I cannot recall the last time that happened at a Twin Cities law school (and feel free to blog in an answer if you have one). It's certainly been quite a while.

Is the school's decision to hire a lawyer direct from practice to be its dean an indication that it plans to deepen its commitment to nuts-and-bolts practice training, perhaps moving a little further away from the purely theoretical courses that have historically been the underpinning of a legal education? Or is it just a way of saying, "Hey, we're willing to think outside the box?" Stay tuned.


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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]