Gildea, Hedlund to be on MPR

Minnesota Public Radio will feature a radio discussion between Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and the challenger for her seat, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, tomorrow (October 29) on "Midday With Gary Eichten." The show starts at 11:00 a.m. on 91.1 FM.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Employers: Be careful about viewing employees' personal text messages.

Employee privacy in the workplace has become an increasing thorny issue over the last 10 to 15 years as the methods by which employees communicate with each other and the outside world have multiplied and become more complex.  It used to be that privacy issues at work had to do with whether an employee had an expectation of privacy in their workplace locker or on their phone conversations.  Now employers have to be concerned about blog postings, chat rooms, email, Twitter, instant...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Getting Rid of Performance Reviews

The alleged primary purpose of performance reviews is to enlighten subordinates about what they should be doing better or differently. But too often they are used as intimidation aimed at preserving the boss's authority and power advantage. This defeats the purpose of the review and worse, harms employee morale. The Wall Street Journal has a good article out this week on why performance evaluations so often do not work.  First and foremost in my mind is this: Performance reviews...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Oral Argument in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashvilled

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard argument in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, in which the issue is whether and to what extent Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision protects employees from being fired for cooperating with an employer’s internal sexual harassment investigation.Here is a humorous excerpt from the argument of Eric Schnapper, counsel for the employee that in addition to being funny, really gets to the heart of one of the most important issues in the...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Analysis of Oral Argument Transcript in Crawford Retaliation Case

Workplace Prof Blog as a good initial analysis of the Supreme Court's oral argument in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville last week. The issue in the case is whether and to what extent Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision protects employees from being fired for cooperating with an employer’s internal sexual harassment investigation.The appeal arose out of a case between Vicky Crawford and her longtime employer, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and...

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[Source: HR Lawyer's Blog]

Hennepin County judicial race heats up

The race for the judicial seat held by Hennepin County District Court Chief Judge James Swenson is heating up in these final 10 days of the election season.

Swenson is facing a challenge from longtime Hennepin County referee Thomas Haeg. Yesterday, we received a press release from the folks over at Haegs campaign, notifying us of a Family Medical Leave Act-related disability discrimination and retaliation charge that a former Hennepin County referee filed last year against Hennepin County and Swenson. According to the Haeg campaign, the charge resulted in a quiet $75,000 settlement -- paid for with tax dollars, of course. (While the discrimination charge is a public document, according to Steve Shapiro, the communications consultant for the Thomas Haeg for Judge Committee, knowledge of the settlement amount came from the complainants attorney, Seymour Mansfield. A call to Mansfield was not immediately returned.)

I know from having practiced in the employment law area that settlement agreements in cases like this usually contain confidentiality clauses, so presumably neither side can discuss the specifics of the charge. (We attempted to get a comment from Swensons campaign chairs, but so far have been unable to do so. If or when we do, well provide an update.) The Haeg campaign believes that the Star Tribune is working on a story, so stay tuned.

It seems to me that both Swenson and Haeg are qualified for the District Court seat and election of either would be a good result for the county. But Im not sure I approve of the Haeg campaign's use of the discrimination charge and the resulting settlement as a last-minute tactic to turn voters against the incumbent. It seems a little desperate, and even unfair, given that Swenson is likely bound by a confidentiality agreement and cant discuss the allegations. Moreover, people settle lawsuits for a variety of reasons -- not necessarily because they committed the acts they are accused of. Ultimately, voters will have to decide for themselves how much credence to give to the allegations -- which is really all they are at this point.

UPDATE: The Strib's article, written by Rochelle Olson, is now available, and it provides a lot more detail. Click here for some interesting reading.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Judicial candidate keeps interesting company

I recently came across a disturbing website connected to the Stanbury Law Firm, P.A., run by Minneapolis lawyer Alfred Stanbury. The site asks visitors if theyve been injured when removing a Pampered Chef knife from its sharpening case but thats not whats alarming.

Stanbury's site features such things as a mock traffic sign stating Warning: Muslims nearby in which there is a silhouette of a person with a knife in one hand and a severed head dripping blood in the other.

Interestingly, Stanbury was co-counsel a while ago in a case with attorney John Dehen, who is running for a judicial seat against incumbent Judge Robert Varco in the 10th Judicial District. Dehen and Stanbury were involved in a nuisance suit against Dehens elderly neighbors, according to Anoka attorney Joan Quady, who represented the neighbors. The case has since settled. Dehen has also been involved in Pampered Chef knives cases, one of which led to a public reprimand for violating a court order regarding the use of information obtained in discovery. Dehen hasnt returned several phone calls seeking comment

Obviously Stanbury has the right to put anything up on the Web. But voters in the 10th District should remember, as our mothers used to say, that you are known by the company you keep, or kept.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Incumbent designation 'shall' be on the ballot

For the past several weeks, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, who is running for the Supreme Court seat currently held by Justice Lorie Gildea, has been challenging her opponent to forgo using the incumbent designation on the November ballot.

In August, Golden Valley Jill Clark -- who also ran for the spot but didnt make it through the primary -- brought a formal court challenge that among other things, also sought to strike the incumbent designation from judicial ballots. Clarks petition was unsuccessful, but like Hedlund, she continues to request that Gildea voluntarily drop the label.

I met with Gildea last week and asked her to address the request. In response, she relied on the statute that discusses the incumbent designation, Minnesota Statute 204B.36, subd. 5, which says the word incumbent shall be printed after that judge's name as a candidate.

The statute that the Legislature has written is directed to election officials, Gildea said. And the statute says what the election officials are to include on the ballot. It says [they] shall [include the incumbent designation], and shall means shall. Also its the truth, I am the incumbent in this race.

She makes a very good, perhaps irrefutable, point. (The statute is silent about a candidates ability to opt out of using the designation.)

I understand that Minnesota is one of only a few, if not the only, state that includes the incumbent designation on the ballot in judicial races. If we are going to stick with the election system for choosing judges in Minnesota, perhaps its time to re-evaluate that requirement. At a minimum, it would be interesting to hear some discussion on the idea.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

Graft-Fighting Lawyer Harassed by Police (The Moscow Times)

03 October 2008 Lawyer Inna Yermoshkina gave little thought to the two dozen police officers waiting near the entrance of her apartment building when she returned home one evening in May. After all, she thought, she hadn't done anything wrong.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Second NZ lawyer facing Samoan arrest (Stuff)

A prominent Auckland lawyer has had to flee Samoa after a group of plain-clothes men tried to seize her in the capital Apia.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Lawyer Convicted in Wife?s Death (New York Times)

A Westchester County jury on Saturday convicted a disbarred lawyer of murdering his wife in 2006.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Disbarred lawyer convicted of killing wife (Moldova.org)

A disbarred lawyer from Chappaqua, N.Y., has been convicted of killing his wife in a scheme to collect insurance money.Carols Perez-Olivio, 60, was convicted Saturday of second-degree murder in the Nov. 18, 2006, death of Peggy Perez-Olivio, The (White Plains, N.Y.) Journal News reported Sunday.Perez-Olivio maintained he and his wife were ambushed in their car near Milford by gunmen hired by a ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Allyn Overton Kreps, 78; lawyer managed campaign for Cranston (Los Angeles Times)

Allyn Overton Kreps, a Los Angeles lawyer who managed California Democrat Alan Cranston's 1968 campaign for U.S. Senate, died Sept. 9 at Glendale Adventist Medical Center of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 78.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Disbarred lawyer convicted of killing wife (UPI)

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A disbarred lawyer from Chappaqua, N.Y., has been convicted of killing his wife in a scheme to collect insurance money.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Lawyer: O.J. Simpson "Extremely Upset" By Verdict (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Lawyer speaks saying verdict, "was expected."

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Lawyer and family offered Gozo rape girl 7,000 deal (Times of Malta)

A lawyer and close relatives of the men accused of raping a 14-year-old girl persuaded the alleged victim's family to sign a contract stating they would not testify in court in return for 7,000 in "psychological support".

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Simpson isolated in jail, focuses on future appeal, his lawyer says (Times & Transcript)

O.J. Simpson is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety, and is focusing on a motion for new trial and a strong bid for appellate reversal of his conviction for kidnapping and robbery, his lawyer said Sunday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Paparazzi called in tip on Locklear: Lawyer (CTV.ca)

A lawyer for the woman whose 911 call led to Heather Locklear's arrest says she also snapped paparazzi photos, but alerted authorities for safety's sake.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Drug charges for Tempe lawyer (12 News Phoenix)

The Arizona Attorney Generals office has charges a Tempe-based lawyer for bringing heroin into a Maricopa County jail.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Tempe lawyer accused of smuggling drugs into jail (12 News Phoenix)

State prosecutors have charged a Tempe lawyer with smuggling heroin and a cell phone into a Maricopa County jail.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Hennepin County judicial races: Jane Ranum

Continuing with our five part video series on the Hennepin county judicial races (click here and here for the prior installments), today we bring you Hennepin County prosecutor Jane Ranum, who is one of two candidates running to fill the seat left vacant by the forthcoming retirement of Judge Thomas Wexler. (The other candidate is Hennepin County District Court referee David Piper.) Ranum is a former state senator.

In this clip, Ranum discusses why voters should pick her to fill the open seat.



Click here for the YouTube version of this video.

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[Source: Minnesota Lawyer Blog]

1st black lawyer in Selma, J.L. Chestnut, dies (AP via Yahoo! News)

J.L. Chestnut Jr., the first black lawyer in Selma and a prominent attorney in civil rights cases across a half century, has died at age 77.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Tempe lawyer accused of smuggling drugs into jail (FOX 10 Phoenix)

State prosecutors have charged a Tempe lawyer with smuggling heroin and a cell phone into the Maricopa County jail. The charges filed by the Arizona Attorney General's Office against 34-year-old Jason John Keller on Wednesday include three counts of smuggling, three counts of assisting a street gang and a conspiracy charge.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Suspect in Wis. triple-fatal shooting may get new lawyer (Lansing State Journal)

MARINETTE, Wis. - The Michigan man accused of gunning down three teens near the Wisconsin-Michigan border may get a new lawyer.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Jefferson lawyer 'ready to rock'n'roll' (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Political strategist Mose Jefferson and his sister, 4th District Assessor Betty Jefferson, have each hired a prominent criminal-defense lawyer for their upcoming federal trial on charges that they bilked more than $600,000 from charities they controlled.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Triple-fatal shooting suspect may get new lawyer (WOOD TV 8 Grand Rapids)

MARINETTE, Wis. -- The Michigan man accused of gunning down three teens near the Wisconsin-Michigan border may get a new lawyer. Defense attorney Len Kachinsky has asked to...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

Prominent Civil Rights Lawyer Dies At Age 77 (The Tampa Tribune)

J.L. Chestnut Jr., 77, the first black lawyer in Selma and a prominent attorney in civil rights cases across a half century, died Tuesday at a Birmingham hospital.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]

U.S. Judge Kozinski Accused of Ethics Breach by Lawyer Critic (Bloomberg)

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Alex Kozinski , chief judge of the federal appeals court in San Francisco, was formally accused by Los Angeles lawyer Cyrus Sanai of making pornography available on a public Web site, the attorney's third misconduct complaint against the judge in three years.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for lawyer]