September 29, 2000 - First it was drug court, then DWI court, Hennepin county is adding another specialized court--this one will handle only domestic violence cases. The idea is that by dedicating judges and other court personnel to one area of law, such cases will move faster and with more sensitivity through the system. Hennepin county also announced it's shifting some of its judges away from civil court to handle the exploding number of child protection cases in juvenile court. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
September 20, 2000 - A recent case before the Minnesota Court of Appeals suggests one of the state's efforts to crack down on drunk drivers could be in legal jeopardy. A Coon Rapids man challenged a three-year-old law that allows police to pull over people whose license plates indicate a history of drunk driving. The appeals court ruled against the man on other grounds, and declined to consider the law's constitutionality. But in a concurrent opinion, one judge essentially invited another challenge. Jim Randall wrote that whenever a society brands its citizens based on past conduct, we've not only just taken one step down the slippery slope toward a police state, but rather four giant steps toward a mindless rush into fascism. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
September 5, 2000 - Even a quick search of the internet shows law-based websites are growing exponentially. That expansion is expected to continue in large part because the internet and the law, which is text-based are a good fit. But web-based law is largely unregulated and there are pitfalls for the unwary. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports on what law on the web means for the profession and the consumer: MInneapolis attorney Don Nichols has practiced law for nearly 30 years and is astounded by the range of legal services offered on the web:
August 4, 2000 - The Minnesota Attorney General's office has settled its lawsuit with Minnesota Public Radio over sharing member information with other organizations. Attorney General Mike Hatch filed suit last December alleging MPR misled its members about the *extent* to which the network shares data with organizations such as the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and Planned Parenthood. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports: {Exchanging donor lists is legal and organizations routinely trade names in hopes of expanding their contributor base.
July 19, 2000 - Minneapolis Police are trying to assure the public that officers won't stop, question or search people in the area of the controversial animal genetics conference next week without reasonable suspicion of a crime. That follows earlier reports that police planned to screen pedestrians on a two-block stretch of the Nicollet Mall to ensure those pedestrians had a "legal reason" to be in the area. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.
July 18, 2000 - A Golden Valley attorney today renewed his quest for a seat on the state Supreme Court and his challenge to restrictions placed on judicial campaigns. Longstanding constitutional law dictates that judges are supposed to be impartial--not only in actions but in *perception*. With this premise in mind, Minnesota ethics rules bar judicial candidates from speaking on political and legal issues such as abortion. But two-time judicial candidate Greg Wersal opposes the restrictions and has filed another lawsuit challenging those rules. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.
November 15, 1999 - This week, Minnesota Public Radio is looking at the erosion of privacy in America. In this installment of "The Surveillance Society," Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki examines the trade-offs you make when you give up a little privacy. The courtrooms of Minnesota weigh those trade-offs all the time. Judges have to strike a balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of society. When it comes to public safety, "privacy" loses out; especially since it's not guaranteed by either the Minnesota or U.S. Constitution.
August 13, 1999 - Imagine Minnesota without a legal system. That was the case before 1849 when Minnesota, then a territory, had no judges, no courtrooms to settle disputes. But 150 years ago this month, that all changed as Minnesota's first justice Aaron Goodrich was sworn in near the banks of the Mississippi river in Stillwater. Goodrich's story and other accounts of the famous and infamous in Minnesota justice are chronicled in a new book, "For the Record: 150 years of law and lawyers in Minnesota". 250 legal enthusiasts dug into historical archives to piece together the history of Minnesota's legal profession.
July 6, 1999 - Attorneys have long touted a code of ethics they say rises above other professions such as accounting or banking. That code includes a rule that bans them from entering into partnerships with other professions as a way to safeguard clients' interests. But now a commission of the American Bar Association wants to scrap that century-old rule; an action some critics say strikes at the very heart of the legal profession's independence.
June 3, 1999 - News that the state's oldest lawfirm is going out of business has attracted public attention...namely because it's a distinguished lawfirm that goes back to Minnesota's territorial days.