Minnesota Legal News

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

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 05:00:00 GMT

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.

The Supreme Court sided with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in the case Meagan Abel v. Abbott Northwestern Hospital and St. Mary’s University Minnesota.

The case stems from Abel’s practicum (a practical experience during a course of study) at Allina's Abbott Northwestern Hospital, which was part of her doctoral program at St. Mary’s University.

Read the court's opinion at: http://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Supreme%20Court/Standard%20Opinions/OPA190461-072920.pdf

Minn.: Court in the time of COVID

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 06:00:00 GMT

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.

For the past five months, however, the vast majority of court proceedings — those considered a high enough priority to not be suspended entirely — have occurred this way, with attorneys holed up in their offices and clients appearing from any number of locations, including in their vehicles while on lunch break.

Virtual court appearances are just one of the impacts on Minnesota’s court system born from the necessities of attempting to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus that rocked the globe this spring. Changes are underway to case scheduling and the physical setup of courtrooms and other public spaces in the judicial center to accommodate social distancing recommendations of both state and federal public health officials.

Minnesota might allow law grads to bypass bar exam

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 06:00:00 GMT

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.

The move comes after a group of recent law graduates submitted a petition asking for the change. If it's adopted, Minnesota would become at least the third jurisdiction to allow graduates to skip the bar on a conditional basis, after Washington and Utah.

The petition asked the state high court to consider waiving the bar examination and grant diploma privilege for applicants to the Minnesota Bar already registered for the July, September and February bar exams who otherwise qualify for admission.

Court upholds move to restore Minnesota lake's Dakota name

Fri, 15 May 2020 06:30:00 GMT

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.

The state Court of Appeals ruled in April that the Department of Natural Resources overstepped its authority in January 2018 when it restored the name Bde Maka Ska. It said authority to change the name of Lake Calhoun rested with the Legislature under statutes governing lake and other place names.

Justice David Lillehaug, writing for the majority of five justices, said the Department of Natural Resources commissioner has the statutory authority to change the name.

Read the court's opinion at: http://mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Supreme%20Court/Standard%20Opinions/OPA181007-051320.pdf

State high court ruling keeps some Minnesota voter data private

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 06:00:00 GMT

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 and that the law does not prohibit that information from being released to citizens.

The Supreme Court opinion means that the secretary of state has the authority to release the complete set of election records to the public. The 5-2 decision reverses a lower court ruling in a lawsuit by the alliance. The group has sought information about inactive or challenged voters as a way to determine whether ineligible ballots are cast.

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

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 06:00:00 GMT

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.

Chuck Ramsay, of Ramsay Law Firm, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the group of defense attorneys is considering a federal lawsuit claiming their defendants' constitutional rights of due process and fair legal counsel are being violated.

"It is a huge disadvantage to not have equal, remote computer access to court files," said Ramsay.

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

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 08:00:00 GMT

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.

Winona County changed its comprehensive zoning ordinance in 2016 to prohibit “industrial mineral operations.” “Construction materials” were still able to be extracted, but a conditional-use permit was required.

Minnesota Sands, LLC, filed a lawsuit against the county about these limitations.

Read the court's opinion at: http://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Supreme%20Court/Standard%20Opinions/OPA180090-031020.pdf

Minnesota justices revive defamation claims over cop’s murder

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 08:00:00 GMT

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.

Justice Margaret Chutich wrote that reporting the statements of law enforcement officials at a public press conference can fall under the fair report privilege, which allows news organizations to report on public proceedings, including any potentially defamatory statements made during those proceedings.

Jury instructions given in a Hennepin County District Court defamation case against media conglomerate Gannett did not take this into account, leading the Minnesota Supreme Court to order a new trial.

Read the court's opinion at: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/larson-gannett.pdf

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

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 07:00:00 GMT

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.

The decision comes in response to concerns raised by advocates — and some in the criminal justice system — who say Minnesota’s lengthy probation terms do little to enhance public safety or keep those convicted of crimes from reoffending.

The state has the nation’s fifth highest percentage of residents on community supervision: 2,450 out of every 100,000 adults. And while 82 percent of current probation terms are five years or less, another 13 percent on felons received probation terms of up to 10 years, while the rest are sentenced to probation terms of 15-to-40 years.

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

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 09:00:00 GMT

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.

It all started 30 years ago with a batch of 900 DNA samples from sexual assault crimes in Minnesota. Those samples were tested and logged as part of an FBI pilot program, together with samples from several other states. The idea was to create a database of DNA samples from crime scenes and convicted offenders that could be searched.

It didn't take long for law enforcement to start seeing results from that first batch of 900 DNA samples. Within just a year or two, the BCA got its first in-state hit, linking a homicide in Minneapolis to a sample from that original batch of DNA evidence.

Some lawmakers support removing slavery reference from Minnesota Constitution

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 07:00:00 GMT

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.

“There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the state otherwise than as punishment for a crime of which the party has been convicted,” the language in article 1, section 2 reads.

In a Facebook post this week, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell wrote that he has long been troubled by the clause.

Minn.: New laws start in 2020

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 07:00:00 GMT

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 will join a growing number of states that regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the entities that negotiate how much health plans pay drug manufacturers for the medications they cover.

The deals often involve rebates or administrative fees, but little has been known about how much the companies keep for themselves.

Minnesota Court of Appeals overturns revenge porn law

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 09:00:00 GMT

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.

The ruling Monday upends the state’s 2016 law addressing revenge porn and has supporters pushing for a review by the state Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel found the revenge porn law not only covered situations where someone knowingly posts explicit images of someone without their permission, but also situations where someone might not know the other individual did not consent to its publication and “did not cause or intend to cause a specified harm.”

Read the court's opinion at: http://mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Court%20of%20Appeals/Standard%20opinions/OPa190576-122319.pdf

No delay for Minnesota probation reform hearing

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 08:00:00 GMT

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.

The commission voted 6-5 Wednesday to reject a motion to indefinitely delay next Thursday’s hearing.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, who originally advanced the proposal, said the panel has a duty to move forward with the hearing and gather public advice.

“We have to start by giving people a voice, when we know, when the data is crystal clear that on a day-to-day basis depending upon where you live is going to determine oftentimes what your term of probation is going to be,” Schnell said. “That’s simply not OK.”

Minnesota Supreme Court dives into lake name controversy

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 16:55:00 GMT

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.

Instead, the seven justices delved into the statutory power of the DNR commissioner to make a 2018 name change despite a law that might restrict it. And they challenged a lawyer for the Save Lake Calhoun group that opposed the switch to Bde Maka Ska on its ability to press its case.

Arguing to preserve the rebrand, state Solicitor General Liz Kramer contended that the Legislature long ago vested authority in the Department of Natural Resources to name or rename lakes, including “when there are offensive and derogatory names.”

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

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 06:00:00 GMT

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.

At a ceremony Wednesday, the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis will be named after her, just the sixth U.S. courthouse named for a woman.

Murphy’s path to the federal bench began relatively late in life. In 1971, when she was 37, Murphy enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School. Ann Montgomery, a federal judge herself, said her classmate immediately stood out, and not just because she was a decade and a half older than the other students.

Minnesota court strikes down coercion law on free speech grounds

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 07:00:00 GMT

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.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of a trial court judge who found that the criminal law restricted free speech under the First Amendment.

The state had appealed the dismissal of its complaint against John Jorgenson. Prosecutors said he threatened to release a video of his ex-girlfriend to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. He made the alleged threat after the couple broke up in the fall of 2016, and she told him to leave her house.

Amid the dispute, Jorgenson called the woman’s father and told him that he wanted $25,000, according to court records,. In return, he said he would not send the video of her “talking about smoking marijuana” to the department where she worked.

Read the court's opinion at: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/minn-coercion.pdf

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

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 08:00:00 GMT

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."

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

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 07:00:00 GMT

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."

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

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 07:00:00 GMT

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."

Read the court's opinion at: http://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/Appellate/Supreme%20Court/Standard%20Opinions/OPA180167-090419.pdf