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."