Growing number of felons strain probation system in Minnesota

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Rick Defiel idles his car under a streetlight, typing on his laptop as a police scanner crackles in the background. A strange noise makes him jerk his head upward, away from the glare of his computer screen and into the darkness. He’s alone, protected only by a bullet-resistant vest and pepper spray."

S.D.: Ex-convict finds redemption after becoming mayor

U.S. News: " It's no secret that Francis 'Butch' Oseby has a history. But as the newly elected mayor of this town of 1,300 located just north of Sioux Falls, the 70-year-old wants to focus on the future."

Odyssey system update set for Friday, May 17

Starting at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 17, the Courts' Odyssey system will be offline for a planned update. Odyssey, Public Search, and any other system connected to Odyssey may be unavailable during this time. The update is expected to take several hours.

North Dakota court filings steady in 2018, Burleigh-Morton's judicial district still busiest

Bismarck Tribune: "Court filings in 2018 in North Dakota stayed fairly steady while Burleigh and Morton counties' judicial district remained the busiest in the state. The South Central Judicial District in 2018 continued a years long trend of logging the most civil, criminal and total case filings of the state's eight judicial districts."

8th Circuit decides N.D. case

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued a per curiam opinion vacating the district court's denial of a challenge to a sentence enhancement in a North Dakota firearms possession case.

Montana Supreme Court overturns parental rights termination

KX News: "The state failed to make a reasonable effort to reunite a woman with the son who was taken away from her after he was born with methamphetamine in his system, the Montana Supreme Court ruled."

New opinions: May 16

The Supreme Court has issued 29 new opinions.

Ransom County clerk's office closed May 20

The Ransom County Clerk of Court's office will be closed Monday, May 20.

North Dakota honors fallen officers at memorial service

Bismarck Tribune: "A bell rang 64 times near the North Dakota Peace Officers Memorial on the state Capitol grounds on Wednesday, each time proceeding the reading of the name of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty since 1882."

U.S.: Navigating the immigration court system in the rural mountain West

NPR News: "The backlog in U.S. immigration courts is now over 850,000 cases long. People can wait years for their hearings. And that can be a long time to pay for a lawyer and to make appearances in court. Both of these things can be much harder for immigrants living in rural and mountainous parts of the West."