Minnesota Lawyer Minnesota Law Blogs

Jury-duty pay cut is latest slap to state's justice system

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:16:11 CDT

Serving on a jury has never been glamorous, but jury duty is quickly turning from an often mundane and time-consuming civic exercise into an insulting one.

Slip Slade-ing away in Hennepin County

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:51:38 CDT

As some of you have noticed, immediately after the filling period closed, the field went down from seven to six in the race for the open Hennepin County seat. Why? One of the candidates -- Minneapolis attorney Nick Slade -- withdrew his name. (And, by the way, what a great-sounding name it is -- right out of a dime-store detective novel or 1940s film noir.)

Gildea saddles up for a real horse race

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:35:14 CDT

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lorie Gildea is one of the more interesting horse races of this judicial-election season. Luckily for her, Gildea -- shown here in period costume for the Sesquicentennial -- is something of an equestrian, so that may gave her advantage in taking the reins and dispelling the naysayers. OK, OK, I can hear your groans, but we had the photo, so I couldn't resist.

In all seriousness, Gildea is involved in one of the most interesting races -- with a field of opponents composes of a sitting District Court judge (Deborah Hedlund), a longtime public defender (Rick Gallo) and Jill Clark, a Minneapolis attorney with a reputation for being "combative" and "fiesty" (the Strib's words, not mine). Some may recall in 2002, when Clark challenged Judge Thomas Wexler, the race got a little ugly at points. I wouldn't expect Hedlund to be any shrinking violet either. In fact, Hedlund has already seemed to adopt a campaign theme that could potentially cause some friction -- her nearly three decades of trial court bench experience compared to the 2 1/2 months Gildea served in the Hennepin County District Court before being elevated to the high court. (You can, of course, argue the point of whether or not that trial court experience is superior to spending that time engaged in the practice of law, and, no doubt, Gildea will.) The third candidate, Gallo, has the advantage of having spent more than two decades involved in appellate work as a public defender. However, he has said he does not plan to raise any funds for his campaign, so I imagine it will be pretty tough for him to get the word out. I would look for him to call attention to the crisis in the public-defense system created by the most recent round of state budget cuts.

First District challenge turns ugly

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:14:44 CDT

There is a very disturbing judicial campaign going on in the bucolic landscape of the First Judicial District. Dakota County Judge Joe Carter, pictured right, is being challenged by Rice County prosecutor Nathaniel Reitz, who appears to be basing his campaign on the tragic case of Justin P. Farnsworth, who sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl in his custody. Farnsworth had a 10-year old rape conviction but was described by officials as a “success story.” Carter, following the advice of experienced court-appointed custody evaluator David Jaehne, awarded custody of the child to Farnsworth with the consent of her mother, who evidently didn’t want her.

3rd Circuit: A bit of breast OK

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:55:49 CDT

Remember the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" episode? The AP reports that a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have overturned acted arbitrarily and capriciously in imposing a $550,000 fine on CBS over the 2004 Superbowl halftime show incident.

Government attorney salaries and more

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:54:04 CDT

I was just over at the Star Tribune's new "data center." At this site, the Strib is attempting to provide a central area for raw data that may (or may not) have some meaning to the public at large.

Catching up with Marvin Anderson

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:52:09 CDT

“Rondo Days” is celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend. The Pioneer Press did a nice article about the history of the event and even caught up with Marvin Anderson, one of the originators of the St. Paul celebration.

Naturalization Ceremony

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:44:11 CDT

Few things can reaffirm your faith in government and country like a naturalization ceremony.

New district judge plays no favorites - not even Mom

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:01:52 CDT

Lost in the flurry of candidacy filings and impending challenges against sitting judges was the news of one newly-minted judge who won't have to face a challenge for more than two more years.

More on the challenges against Justice Paul Anderson

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:40:25 CDT

Alan Nelson Lawrence -- on of the two candidates challenging Justice Paul Anderson for his seat -- has unveiled his biographical information on his website. It turns out that, in addition to being a lawyer, Nelson has been a software engineer for 23 years. He describes his software and law careers ar "parallel."

A roundup of judicial-election filings

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:17:54 CDT

At the Supreme Court level, both justices up for election face a field of challengers. Justice Paul Anderson, the second most senior member of the seven-member high court, faces two opponents. One of those opponents has run twice before for a judgeship, both times unsuccessfully. The second opponent we are awaiting further information on. Justice Lorie Gildea, the second most junior member of the court, faces three challengers in her first election. These include: a longtime public defender, a Hennepin County District Court judge and a Minneapolis defense attorney who has unsuccessfully for a judgeship before.

Lucky number seven in Hennepin judicial race

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:04:25 CDT

Guzik for judge campaign announced

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:04:21 CDT

Roseville attorney John P. Guzik has sent Minnesota Lawyer an announcement of his candidacy for the Ramsey County District Court bench, although he hadn't officially filed when we posted. A 1983 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law, Guzik has a private practice in Roseville. He is running for a seat to be vacated by Judge John Finley. So far, he has five opponents who have filed. Filings close at 4:30 today.

Where's Wersal?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:26:44 CDT

Filings for judicial office close at 4:30 p.m. today and so far Golden Valley attorney Greg Wersal, says he is undecided about whether to run. He's frustrated because he believes he is prohibited by the Code of Judicial Conduct from raising campaign money. Wersal is a plaintiff in a a federal lawsuit challenging the portions of the code of judicial conduct that prohibit judicial candidates from endorsing other candidates and restrict solicitation of funds. In his verified complaint, Wersal states he is a candidate for justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court in the 2008 election and intends to run in future judicial elections. A motion for a preliminary injunction has been argued to Judge Ann Montgomery and is under advisement. Query whether Wersal would have standing to continue with the suit if he doesn’t file? His attorney, James Bopp of Indiana, said yes, since Wersal could plan to run in the future.

Unsung Legal Heroes Awards

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:31:02 CDT

Minnesota Lawyer is very proud to announce the recipients of our first Unsung Legal Heroes award.

Judicial election filing period ends tomorrow

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:34:47 CDT

Thinking about running for a judicial seat? Tomorrow is your last day to file.

A Court of Appeals seat is contested

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:59:53 CDT

We now have a contested judicial race for a seat on the Court of Appeals. Dan Griffith, who has run for a judicial seat unsuccessfully on two prior occasions, has filed a challenge against incumbent Judge Terri Stoneburner.

Prosecutor's restricted license status didn't warrant new trial

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:30:02 CDT

Remember Gemma Graham? She’s the Hennepin County prosecutor who got into hot water last year when it was discovered that she had not reported CLE credits for 20 years.

In-house is in vogue

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:48:00 CDT

Half of all corporate legal departments surveyed are hiring next year.

Counties will have to stretch resources to take CHIPS, TPR cases

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:00:13 CDT

In the face of the shortfall in funds for the state’s public defense system, at least one Minnesota county has already taken the step of digging into its own pockets to cover the shortfall.