PACER's flaws run counter to original purpose of increasing access to law

ABA Journal: "Like any lawyer, Tina Willis, owner of Tina Willis Law, a personal injury law firm in Orlando, Florida, frequently accesses court records electronically. But as a general rule, she tries to avoid PACER."

New N.D. Law Review issue posted online

North Dakota Law Review Volume 95, Number 1 is now available online.

Federal judge signs settlement in North Dakota voter ID lawsuits

Bismarck Tribune: "A federal judge has approved an agreement between North Dakota and American Indian tribes settling a dispute over the state’s voter identification requirements that at one point reached the U.S. Supreme Court."

Courtroom access: Laboratories for live-streaming?

SCOTUSblog: "On April 13, the Supreme Court announced that it would conduct 10 oral arguments via telephone conference on several days in May in cases whose oral argument dates had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Text notifications now available in criminal, juvenile cases

The North Dakota court system is now offering text notifications to parties involved in criminal and juvenile court cases. Parties who sign up will receive text notifications for all newly scheduled, re-scheduled, or canceled hearings.

N.D. Attorney General opinion: April 29

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has issued an opinion that the Bismarck Public School District’s announcement that an executive session was to discuss “complaints raised to the district” was sufficiently detailed.

Blind justice: No visual cues in U.S. high court phone cases

Associated Press: "Because of the coronavirus pandemic the high court is, for the first time in its 230-year history, holding arguments by telephone."

Dakota Datebook: New constitution rejected

Prairie Public: "On this date in 1972, voters had some heavy measures to consider in a special election. They were asked to adopt or reject a new, shorter state constitution, which would replace the one from 1889."

Federal courts begin to consider guidelines for reopening

U.S. Courts: "The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has distributed to the courts guidelines for restoring operations that rely heavily on conditions in local communities and on objective data from local and state public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Appeals court finds constitutional right to literacy for schoolchildren in Detroit case

Detroit Free Press: "A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the U.S. Constitution includes a right to 'a basic minimum education,' which lawyers claim the state of Michigan denied to a group of Detroit Public School students."