S.D.: Specialty courts continue saving money and lives

KCCR News: "An option that helps some people avoid prison time and saves the state money appears to be making progress."

University of South Dakota renames law school after receiving $12.5M donation

National Jurist: "South Dakota’s only law school is getting a new name. The University of South Dakota will now be known as USD Knudson School of Law after the school received $12.5 million."

S.D. justices take company’s side in a dispute with state’s underground storage tanks program

KELO News: "A circuit judge in a financial case correctly ruled against state government’s program for cleaning up leaks from underground storage tanks, the South Dakota Supreme Court said."

Montana Supreme Court rules Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case closed

NBC Montana News: "The Supreme Court ruled in favor of three mothers in the Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case."

SD legislators direct justices to take another look at parenting time

KELO News: "The South Dakota Supreme Court is considering whether to start a state commission on parenting-time guidelines."

Great Falls court officials hold Hollywood myths in contempt

Great Falls Tribune: "Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson yelling at each other over the objections of another attorney and the judge in 'A Few Good Men' might make for a dramatic movie scene, but it bears little resemblance to what goes on in a real-life courtroom."

Former South Dakota Attorney General Meierhenry dies

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "Mark Meierhenry, a former South Dakota attorney general and the patriarch of an influential legal family, died early Wednesday. He was 75."

Minnesota Supreme Court rules in favor of employment protections for unpaid interns, students

Bring Me The News: "The Minnesota Supreme Court decided Wednesday that compensation is not required for an employee to be covered under the state’s civil rights laws."

Minn.: Court in the time of COVID

Brainerd Dispatch: "When Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan assumed his elected post 26 years ago, he did not foresee a time when nearly all of his office’s court appearances would take place in the virtual realm."

Minnesota might allow law grads to bypass bar exam

Law 360: " The Minnesota Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it may allow recent law school graduates to forgo the bar exam during the COVID-19 health emergency and said it will take public comments on the idea over the next few weeks."

S.D.: Excellence in law and friendship

KELO News: "Two longtime figures in the South Dakota law community are receiving a prestigious honor. South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson and the late Justice Steven Zinter will both be the recipients of this year’s McKusick Award."

Jensen picked to lead South Dakota supremes

Pierre Capital Journal: "Upon the planned retirement of South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson in January, Justice Steven Jensen will take the role of leading the state's highest court, officials announced on Tuesday."

USD law school fell below bar-exam threshold

KELO News: "South Dakota’s only law school was one of 10 nationwide that didn’t meet a key standard, set by a council of the American Bar Association, that 75 percent of an institution’s law graduates pass a bar exam within two years."

S.D.: COVID-19 pandemic bogs down court system

Black Hills Pioneer: "Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the wheels of justice continue to turn in Lawrence County. They’re just going a bit slower than usual."

Mont.: Court says dinosaur fossils worth millions aren't minerals

NBC Montana News: "A divided Montana Supreme Court says under state law, dinosaur fossils aren't minerals. Wednesday's ruling has implications in an ongoing legal battle over the ownership of millions of dollars of fossils found on an eastern Montana ranch where the surface and mineral rights are owned by different people."

Montana Supreme Court upholds jury decision in stolen valor case

Flathead Beacon: "The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the decision of a Flathead County jury to force a Kalispell man to pay $1.7 million after he said he was a decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer in order to convince a well-known Whitefish businessman to invest in his business."

USD Law School among first to be back with face-to-face education this fall

KELO News: "The South Dakota Board of Regents has decided that universities will resume in-person classes at the start of the fall term."

Court upholds move to restore Minnesota lake's Dakota name

Indian Country Today: "A divided Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday a state agency has the authority to change the name of a popular lake back to its original Dakota name."

Billionaires stashing funds in South Dakota trusts

Pierre Capital Journal: "South Dakota’s unusual stature as a leader nationwide in chartering trusts has been in the national headlines in recent weeks because of a new turn in a Texas billionaire’s messy divorce."

S.D.: Juvenile justice reform movement aided by detention decline during crisis

Public News Service: "A downward trend in juvenile-detention populations during the pandemic is renewing hopes among reform advocates. The numbers are reflected in a national survey that reached out to agencies in 30 states."

Judge reverses sale of Montana oil and gas leases on public lands

Courthouse News Service: "A federal judge in Montana ruled Friday that the Bureau of Land Management failed to fulfill its National Environmental Policy Act requirements when it issued 287 oil and gas leases in eastern Montana."

SD Supreme Court oral arguments via Zoom

Pierre Capital Journal: "Traditionally, the South Dakota Supreme Court holds oral arguments - open to the public - either at its courtroom in the State Capitol, at the University of South Dakota School of Law or another public institution like a college."

State high court ruling keeps some Minnesota voter data private

MPR News: "The Minnesota Supreme Court has affirmed the position of the Minnesota Voters Alliance that all of the records in the Minnesota statewide voter registration database are publicly available data."

State panel begins steps in nominating a new justice for the South Dakota Supreme Court

KELO News: "State law requires that South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson must retire no later than January 5, 2021."

Some Minnesota criminal defense attorneys say state court system 'unfair' during COVID-19 restrictions

KSTP News: "A group of private Minnesota criminal defense attorneys asked the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court to allow them to have the same remote access to computer court files as prosecutors and judges, but the group's request was denied."

All 62 courthouses in South Dakota remain operational

KELO News: "While state, county, and city government offices across South Dakota have closed and moved to operating online or by phone, the court system in the state is still up and running."

Mine workers’ asbestos suit against insurer advanced by Montana high court

Courthouse News Service: "The Montana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a workers compensation insurer is liable for damage claims from people who worked at the W.R. Grace vermiculite plant in Libby, Montana."

S.D. courts delay trials, excuse no-shows, reduce jail population

Brookings Register: "South Dakota courts are delaying trials, excusing no-shows, attempting to reduce jail populations and taking other measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus."

Most fed. court business in S.D. delayed

News Center 1: "Coronavirus concerns are shutting down almost all federal court business in South Dakota."

SD courts delay trials, excuse no-shows, reduce jail population for coronavirus

Rapid City Journal: "South Dakota courts are delaying trials, excusing no-shows, attempting to reduce jail populations and taking other measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus."

USD law professor edits journal focused on agriculture policy

Yankton Press and Dakotan: "Thomas Horton, a professor of law and the Heidepriem Trial Advocacy Fellow at the University of South Dakota School of Law, served as guest editor of the winter issue of Competition Policy International’s journal Antitrust Chronicle."

S.D. Supreme Court gives judges authority to modify operations

U.S. News: "The South Dakota Supreme Court has issued an order declaring a judicial emergency because of the new coronavirus."

Minnesota Supreme Court sides with Winona County on frac-sand ban

Winona Daily News: "The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Winona County did not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution with its ban on frac-sand mining."

'It's been a good run': SD chief justice reflects on career

Mitchell Daily Republic: "David Gilbertson has been the South Dakota Supreme Court's chief justice for just shy of two decades, longer than anyone in the state's history. During that time, he told The Daily Republic in Pierre recently, nearly every major issue facing the state's judicial system has changed."

Minnesota justices revive defamation claims over cop’s murder

Courthouse News Service: "The Minnesota Supreme Court handed down a tempered victory Wednesday for a man suing two media outlets, ruling that a defamation case against a local newspaper and a statewide television news channel needed closer scrutiny from a jury."

South Dakota courts want more $ to treat more, hire more officers and pay judges more

KELO News: "The state Unified Judicial System needs more than what the governor has requested to bring its budget into line with growing demands that already strain circuit courts, two South Dakota Supreme Court members told state lawmakers Wednesday."

S.D.: Daugaard reflects on career at forum

Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan: "He grew up near Dell Rapids, but former Gov. Dennis Daugaard said he learned so much more about South Dakota during his time in public office."

State courts plan to use mental telehealth services in rural parts of South Dakota

KELO News: "State government’s courts want the Legislature’s approval to look at how mental telehealth services could work in some of South Dakota’s rural counties."

S.D.: Launch of website to access court records from any computer is delayed

Rapid City Journal: "The launch of a website that will let South Dakotans view public court records from any computer has been delayed for more than a year due to privacy concerns."

South Dakota sees increase in juvenile diversion program success

Mitchell Daily Republic: "More at-risk South Dakota youth successfully completed diversion programs in 2019 than in any other year since juvenile justice reforms went into effect, according to a report issued last week."

Longest-serving South Dakota Chief Justice bids farewell

U.S. News: "South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson delivered his final State of the Judiciary address in Pierre on Wednesday, using the speech to push for a justice system that helps people address drug addiction and stay out of prison."

Attorney general tries once more to reduce use of presumptive probation in South Dakota courts

KELO News: "Last year, South Dakota’s freshly elected attorney general wasn’t able to convince enough members of the Legislature to overturn the state law that limits who gets sent to state prisons."

Sentencing guidelines commission votes to impose five-year limit on probation in Minnesota

MinnPost: "The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission has done what the state Legislature was unable to do. On an 8-3 vote Thursday, it placed a limit of five years on the length of probation for people convicted of crimes."

Federal judge blocks South Dakota petition law

Courthouse News Service: "A federal judge struck down as unconstitutional a South Dakota law imposing burdensome regulations that would have made it much harder for the average citizen to get an initiative on the ballot."

Montana court reverses $35 million child abuse verdict against Jehovah's Witnesses

NPR News: "The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a $35 million judgment against Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to report child sexual abuse."

S.D.: Chief Justice to deliver his final State of the Judiciary message

Pierre Capital Journal: "Chief Justice David Gilbertson, of the South Dakota Supreme Court, will deliver his State of the Judiciary message to a joint session of the South Dakota Legislature on January 15."

Minn.: 'An incredibly powerful tool,' DNA database, turns 30

MPR News: "Minnesota has played a major role in developing the national system that uses DNA to link crime scenes to other crime scenes or to known convicted offenders."

Some lawmakers support removing slavery reference from Minnesota Constitution

MPR News: "Some Minnesota lawmakers want to amend the state’s constitution to eliminate a little-known clause allowing slavery if someone has been convicted of a crime."

Montana to implement revised legal ethics rules in 2020

Bloomberg News: "The start of 2020 will usher in a number of changes to Montana’s professional conduct rules as a result of the first comprehensive rules review in almost two decades."

Minn.: New laws start in 2020

KNSI News: "Three new laws take effect on Wednesday when the calendar turns to January 1st, 2020. They include rules for pharmacy 'middlemen', dealing with the opioid crises, and cracking down on the animal trade."

Minnesota Court of Appeals overturns revenge porn law

MPR News: "The Minnesota Court of Appeals has overturned a state law that makes it illegal to disseminate private sexual images of someone without their permission, arguing it’s overbroad and a violation of First Amendment rights."

South Dakota courtrooms adjust to long holiday

KELO News: "South Dakota state workers will have both this Monday and Tuesday off. That means courthouses across the state will be closed from 5 p.m. Friday all the way through Christmas Day."

Low-income South Dakotans can seek legal help on many issues through new website

KELO News: "A new online tool that links lower-income South Dakotans and lawyers seems to be much faster than the old way, where legal-aid staff directly took people’s initial information."

No delay for Minnesota probation reform hearing

MPR News: "The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission will proceed with a public hearing next week on a proposed five-year probation cap, despite significant concern among members about the plan."

More than half of women in South Dakota prisons have drug convictions

KELO News: "Data from the state shows that drug convictions are the biggest reason the state’s female prison population is growing."

Big Eagle, former Pierre victim advocate, given national award by U.S. attorney general

Pierre Capital Journal: "Marlys Big Eagle, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe at Fort Thompson, South Dakota, and former executive director of Missouri Shores Domestic Violence Center in Pierre, was recognized last month in Washington by U.S. Attorney General William Barr for her work as federal victim witness coordinator in South Dakota."

Minnesota Supreme Court dives into lake name controversy

MPR News: "Justices on Minnesota’s Supreme Court and the attorneys appearing before them Wednesday seldom used the words “Lake Calhoun” or “Bde Maka Ska” as the court weighed a case that could decide the name of the largest Minneapolis lake."

South Dakota tribe wants 1863 removal law changed

MPR News: "A South Dakota tribe is asking for the state's help to change an 1863 federal law that technically keeps them from owning land in Minnesota."

S.D. federal district court finds way to save on interpreters

KELO News: "The Federal District Court for the District of South Dakota says it has saved nearly $700,000 in interpreting fees through a telephone service."

Montana Supreme Court to decide whether dinosaur fossils are minerals

Courthouse News Service: "The Montana Supreme Court met en banc Thursday morning to decide once and for all whether or not dinosaur fossils are minerals."

South Dakota initiative successfully reduces juvenile detention

Public News Service: "In the past six years, the youth detention population in South Dakota has decreased significantly and the number of juveniles committed to the Department of Corrections has decreased by 65 percent. The reduction is a result of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, adopted in 2011."

Minn.: Late judge Diana Murphy honored with renaming of Minneapolis federal courthouse

MPR News: "Dozens of attorneys and judges are expected to gather in downtown Minneapolis to honor a trailblazer in the Twin Cities legal community. Judge Diana Murphy — who died last year at age 84 — was the first woman appointed to the federal bench in Minnesota and the first to sit on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals."

S.D.: Teen Court a real-life, consequential learning program

Pierre Capital Journal: "Central Teen Court, established in 2002, is the adult-court-approved juvenile diversion program for the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Members of Teen Court — attorneys, jury, bailiff and clerk — are trained teen volunteers and returning defendants."

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Oglala, Rosebud case against South Dakota officials

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Monday a case alleging that South Dakota officials were violating the Indian Child Welfare Act."

Minnesota court strikes down coercion law on free speech grounds

Courthouse News Service: "Minnesota prosecutors charged a man under an unconstitutional statute after he threatened to send video of his ex-girlfriend talking about marijuana to her employer, a state appeals court ruled Monday."

South Dakota jails more people per capita than any other state, report shows

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "South Dakota jails more people per capita than any other state in the country, according to a national nonprofit that researches incarceration. Half of those arrests are drug or alcohol-related."

Minn.: Governor Walz appoints Jade Rosenfeldt to fill Seventh Judicial District vacancy

Voice of Alexandria: "Governor Tim Walz announced the appointment of Jade Rosenfeldt as District Court Judge in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. This appointment fills a vacancy that occurred upon the creation of a new District Court judgeship effective July 1, 2019 and will be chambered in Moorhead in Clay County."

Many crime victims in S.D. not being paid restitution they are owed

KELO News: "In South Dakota, people convicted of crimes owe their victims millions of dollars in court-ordered restitution, but most of that debt is going unpaid and there is little remedy available for those harmed to get their money."

South Dakota anti-riot law blocked by federal judge

Courthouse News Service: "A federal judge in South Dakota Wednesday blocked provisions of a new anti-rioting law signed by Gov. Kristi Noem earlier this year that aims to quash protests against the Keystone XL pipeline."

Minn.: 'Restorative circles' launch in St. Paul for some first-time offenders

MPR News: "At a St. Paul church, Russel Balenger held up a shiny quartz stone and set the ground rules for the conversation to come. Rule No. 1: Only speak when you’re holding the talking piece, he told about 30 people. No. 2: What’s said in the circle stays in the circle."

Ninth Circuit strikes down Montana ban on political robocalls

Courthouse News Service: "Montana can’t outlaw political robocalls, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding the state’s law violates the First Amendment, hamstrings underdog candidates and fails to protect recipients from financial scams."

Chief Justice Gilbertson provides an inside look at South Dakota’s Supreme Court

KELO News: "Chief Justice David Gilbertson answered questions from KELOLAND Capitol News Bureau reporter Bob Mercer in Pierre about how the South Dakota Supreme Court decides to hear cases and the related topic of the roles that law clerks play in the court’s processes."

Parents can be sued for false claims against high school coaches, Minnesota high court rules

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Parents who criticize or trash talk their kids’ public high school coaches don’t have legal protection to make false claims, according to a groundbreaking ruling issued Wednesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court."

Nearly 40 years after South Dakota changed sentencing law, dozens are serving 100 years or more for first-degree manslaughter

Brainerd Dispatch: "Nearly 25 years ago, Joaquin Ramos entered the South Dakota State Penitentiary to begin a life sentence for first-degree manslaughter, angry about the circumstances that led him there."

S.D. legislators urge state Supreme Court to allow concealed handguns in chambers

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "South Dakota Supreme Court justices are weighing a ban on concealed handguns in the Court's Capitol space for their own protection, but some legislators are arguing that's the reason they passed a law allowing it."

U.S. Attorney says South Dakota prosecutions are up

KOTA News: "The number of cases being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Dakota is up for the second straight year. The office's annual report for 2018 is out and prosecutors say they've filed cases against 914 defendants in the South Dakota district last year, a 3.6 percent increase from 2017."

8th Circuit: Christian couple can sue over Minnesota same-sex marriage video law

Reuters: "A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit by a Minnesota couple challenging a state law requiring that their video production company film same-sex weddings, which they say violates their Christian beliefs."

Minnesota Supreme Court sets limits on body cavity searches

MPR News: "The Minnesota Supreme Court has limited how police can perform body cavity searches after ruling in a case of a suspect in an illegal drug investigation who refused to cooperate with officers."

South Dakotans soon able to access court records from any computer

Brookings Register: "The South Dakota Unified Judicial System is piloting a program that will eventually allow the public access to court records from any computer. The public can now only view court records on computers at state courthouses during work hours from Monday to Friday."

Are dinosaur fossils 'minerals'? The Montana Supreme Court will decide high stakes case

Science: "Pristine dinosaur fossils discovered in Montana have sparked a property rights dispute that has hit paleontologists like an asteroid. The lawsuit, now at the Montana Supreme Court, concerns who owns some of the greatest fossil finds in the last century."

Minn.: Ramsey County taps retriever to ease courthouse stress

MPR News: "The newest staffer at the Ramsey County Attorney's Office is a highly trained professional. But this staffer doesn't have a law degree — she wears a collar and a leash to work and gets around on four paws."

Minn.: Warrant resolution event helps many find path forward

Farmington Independent: "On Saturday, First District Judge Jerome Abrams sat in a Washington Technology Magnet School classroom in St. Paul. On his left and his right were typical courtroom employees, clerks and a courtroom reporter."

Minn.: Appeals court rules MN School of Business, Globe U must repay high-interest loans

MPR News: "The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that Globe University and the Minnesota School of Business must pay back students who took out millions of dollars in high-interest loans."

Minn.: Minding the gap … in equality

St. Thomas Newsroom: "Nine years ago, the Minnesota Women Lawyers organization created a Parity Task Force to evaluate the position of women lawyers in the state. The task force (which eventually morphed into the Minnesota Women Lawyers Equity Committee) wanted to identify barriers to parity."

Minnesota lawyers' dedication to pro bono work has made the state a national leader

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "On death row in Alabama and Louisiana. On a border crossing in California where refugees seek asylum. In a housing court in Minneapolis where tenants try to expunge evictions from court records to get decent apartments. The settings, while different, share a common bond: Minnesota lawyers, stepping up to do pro bono work."

Minn.: A day for people to clear their warrants and 'move on with their own lives'

MPR News: "Defense attorneys, judges and even court reporters will be on hand at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul on Saturday. Anyone who has an outstanding misdemeanor warrant from any county in the state will be able walk into the school and deal with it there."

Mont.: New family treatment court a resource for reunification

Daily Inter Lake: "Last week, a long-awaited family treatment court officially opened its doors to Flathead County families impacted by dependency and neglect cases, offering support for program-eligible parents pursuing reunification with their children who have been placed into Child Family Services."

SD justices say injured driver doesn't owe insurance company

KELO News: "State Farm can't recover $5,000 from motorist LeRoy James Jr. it paid to him for medical expenses, the South Dakota Supreme Court said in a decision released Thursday. Jones was rear-ended on July 16, 2016, on SD 16 near Rapid City by another driver, Melissa Rivers."

Minn.: Under watch, ex-offenders reenter prison's revolving door

MPR News: "More than a third of people who have been incarcerated in Minnesota prisons will be locked up again within three years of their release — but not for committing new crimes. They're sent back for what's called a 'technical violation' of their probation or supervised release, such as missing an appointment with their probation officer or flouting curfew."

Court: Montana ethics complaints are public information

Helena Independent Record: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down a Montana law requiring that any ethics complaint made against a state official be kept confidential, ruling that the law violated free-speech rights."

South Dakota project fights financial crimes against tribes

Associated Press: "A South Dakota project has uncovered dozens of people and organizations that collectively stole millions of dollars from nine Native American reservations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota."

Minn. Supreme Court: Malpractice ruling has doctors concerned

U.S. News: "A recent ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court saying doctors can be sued for malpractice even if they're not directly treating a patient is causing angst in the state's medical and legal communities."

Noem nominee sworn onto the South Dakota Supreme Court

Dickinson Press: "Things have come full-circle for South Dakota's newest Supreme Court Justice Patricia DeVaney. On Thursday, May 23, DeVaney took her oath of office in the state's Capitol Rotunda in Pierre, steps away from her first office as a young lawyer with the Attorney General's Office."

Legal battle over fossil rights kicked back to Montana Supreme Court

KTVQ News: "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is doing some digging to figure out who exactly owns fossils found buried in Montana. The long-standing dispute is between landowners and mineral estates in Garfield County, who are making competing claims for the rights to the valuable finds."

Minn.: Criminal justice system changing approach towards mental health

Fox 21 News: "The worlds of mental health and criminal justice often come together in our court system as law enforcement tries to help those dealing with mental illness. One in five people in Minnesota face a mental illness every year."

Minn.: Healing incarcerated women through storytelling and song

MPR News: "As a singer hits the high notes of a tune about never having to walk alone, women dressed in prison-issued gray sweats and white tennis shoes pass around a box of tissues."

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."