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."