S.D.: Incoming law school dean excited for position, engaging with students

USD Volante: "Neil Fulton, a Miller, S.D. native, was named as the USD School of Law Dean last month. Fulton will start his position in June. Fulton is a federal public defender, South Dakota Bar Examiner and former Chief of Staff to then Gov. Michael Rounds."

South Dakota's 2018 crime statistics released

KSFY News: "The State of South Dakota has released its annual crime report. The report shows a 28 percent decrease in sex offenses and a 32 percent decrease in thefts compared to 2017. The state has still seen an overall increase of 49 percent in drug offenses over the past six years."

Nation: 3 months into new criminal justice law, success for some and snafus for others

Wyoming Public Media: "After spending 15 years in prison for a drug offense, Randy Rader had almost lost hope that he might get out of prison before his release date in 2023. If Rader's conviction for 5 grams of crack cocaine — his third drug offense — had happened after 2010, he would have received a much shorter sentence."

U.S.: Supreme Court justices feuding openly over death penalty

CNN: "The justices are still bitterly divided over the execution of Domineque Ray, who claimed his religious rights were violated because he could not have an imam with him in the execution chamber, in February -- so much so that they continued to litigate the case in an unrelated opinion issued on Monday."

U.S. Supreme Court opinions: April 1

The United States Supreme Court has issued opinions in a case on execution methods and in a social security disability benefits case.

Indigent defense offices work hard to recruit attorneys

Minot Daily News: "The hiring challenges facing public defenders’ offices in western North Dakota might not currently be as severe as those of prosecutors’ offices, but they are just as real, according to information from the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents."

U.S.: Supreme Court sees 2 similar death penalty questions very differently

Wyoming Public Media: "Two Supreme Court decisions just hours before a scheduled execution. Two decisions just seven weeks apart. Two decisions on the same issue. Except that in one, a Muslim was put to death without his imam allowed with him in the execution chamber, and in the other, a Buddhist's execution was temporarily halted because his Buddhist minister was denied the same right."

The Supreme Court in Edgeley- The March 27, 2019 photos

The Supreme Court made a visit to Edgeley on Wednesday, March 27, to hear arguments in a case and visit with students from kindergarten to high school. Here are the photos.

Two CLE Programs to be held at UND School of Law on April 5

On April 5, the UND School of Law Rural Practice Association is hosting a program on Alternative Sentencing and the Law Library will present a Legal Technology Bootcamp. Both programs offer CLE credits.

North Dakota juvenile justice efforts advance in House, Senate

Bismarck Tribune: "The state Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution to study the state's juvenile justice system in the 2019-20 interim. And by an 81-9 vote, the House passed Senate Bill 2313, which would establish a children's cabinet and a six-year commission on juvenile justice in North Dakota."