Minnesota Lawyer articles from January 2003

Minnesota Lawyer archives from January 2003

Judicial evaluation results for administrative judges released.(Office of Administrative Hearings releases results of latest survey)
January 13, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has released the results of its latest judicial evaluation survey. The OAH solicits input from attorneys and parties that appeared before the judges and provides the...

Commentary: American Arbitration Assn. administers No-Fault caseload through MN office.(Letter to the Editor)
January 13, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter To the Editor: A recent story that ran in Minnesota Lawyer, "Minnesota Arbitrators Seek Road Into State's No-Fault" (in the Dec. 30, 2002, edition), inaccurately implies that the American...

Appeal of termination of parental rights found time-barred.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones An appeal from a termination of parental rights was properly dismissed where the mother did not timely serve the notice of appeal on the guardian ad litem, the Supreme Court has ruled. The decision affirms a...

Study shows race not a factor in judges' pre-trial decisions.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Ramsey County District Court officials have released the results of a study demonstrating that race of the defendant is not a factor in the decisions of judges during the pre-trial phase in criminal...

Judgment notwithstanding the verdict ruling is upheld in whistleblower litigation.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Where a jury found an employer had not violated the state's Whistleblower Act, the suit was properly dismissed Co even though the jury also found that the plaintiffs' supervisor had individually violated the statute,...

Hamline University School of Law gets new dean.(Brief Article)
January 13, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Professor Jon M. Garon has been appointed dean of the Hamline University School of Law. A Minnesota native, Garon is a nationally recognized authority on intellectual property, particularly...

Jesse Ventura's error as MN governor comes to an end.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen Last week was the end of an era as Gov. Jesse Ventura handed over the reigns of power to Tim Pawlenty. As the always outspoken, sometimes-petulant former governor was driven away, trademark cigar in hand, the pundits...

Leaving kids unattended in van was not child neglect.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A District Court judge has reversed a decision by the Commissioner of Human Services that a woman neglected her children by leaving them unattended in a van for four minutes while she ran into a fast food restaurant....

Gov. Ventura makes final judicial appointments.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter During his final days in office Governor Jesse Ventura appointed Terrence Walters to the 3rd Judicial District trial court bench and John McBride to the 10th Judicial District bench. Walters will...

MN Legal Briefs Jan. 20, 2003.(appointments)(Brief Article)
January 20, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Messerli & Kramer P.A. has elected its Board of Directors for 2003. John W. Lang was re-elected as president, and Ross E. Kramer, Joseph W. Lawver, Michelle R. Jester, and William C. Hicks were...

Commentary: The possible future of Medical Assistance estate recovery.
January 20, 2003... Byline: Craig Goldman It is somewhat premature to declare a winner in the most recent battle in the ongoing war between the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and the tens of thousands of Minnesota Medical Assistance recipients...

Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights turns 20.
January 20, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights Co an organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights Co is celebrating its 20th birthday. The group is the largest...

Commentary: Law schools contribute to students' detachment from morals, faith.
January 20, 2003... Byline: Jerry Organ Psychologists affiliated with the school of "positive psychology" would suggest that a major goal for people wishing to be relatively happy and content in their lives should be "living from the inside out rather than...

Should school be liable for teacher's accident in school car?(Christensen v Milbank Insurance Co.)
January 20, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Should a school district's insurer have to pay a claim arising out of a car accident that occurred when a teacher used a school vehicle for a personal errand after consuming alcohol? In Christensen v. Milbank...

Damages on appeal are not limited to bond.
January 20, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Damages incurred as the result of a stay of a judgment during an appeal are not limited to the amount of a supersedeas bond but may be awarded in the amount of the actual damages incurred, the Court of Appeals has...

MN courts address preemption principle issues.(preemption of federal law)
January 20, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Under the Supremacy Clause, Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, federal law must prevail when it collides with state enactments. However, determining whether the preemption principle applies requires...

Attorney fees available with offer of judgment.(case against Minnesota School of Business Inc.)
January 20, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen Eighteen former students who accepted a $200,000 Rule 68 offer of judgment from the business school that they were suing for fraud are entitled to recover their attorney fees, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. ...

Discharged employee's claim not precluded by collective bargaining agreement.(Daniel LaFee v. Winona, Minnesota Lawyer No. CA-47-03)
January 20, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A discharged employee who brought an arbitration claim against his employer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement was not collaterally estopped from also asserting a federal statutory claim in District Court,...

Commentary: Courts confirm couple of noncompete contracts.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick One of the more enduring legal myths is that noncompete clauses in employment agreements are rarely, if ever, enforced by the courts. The view is held more by laypersons, especially those who sign the covenants not...

Commentary: Ensuring that you receive 'breakpoint' discounts.(Editorial)
January 27, 2003... Byline: James Eccleston Investors buying mutual funds need to know that special discounts, or "breakpoints," may be available to them. It has become apparent that some investors are not receiving these discounts. The problem has...

Iraqi terrorism victims hope to enforce their judgments.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Victims of Iraqi terrorism may soon find out whether they can recover judgments that they received against Iraq and its president, Saddam Hussein. Since 1999, American citizens who were held hostage and used as...

Verdict against bar is upheld; evidence was sufficient.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Ample circumstantial evidence existed to support a jury's inference that a liquor establishment had illegally sold alcohol to an obviously intoxicated man who subsequently injured a woman on her bicycle, the Court of...

New criminal rules amend guilty plea procedure.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A number of amendments to the state's rules of criminal procedure take effect next week. The changes will apply to arrests made or criminal actions commenced on and after Feb. 1, 2003. The changes include: *...

MN Rules of Civil Procedure apply to conservatorship proceedings, court concludes.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Conservatorship proceedings under the probate-practice provisions of Minn. Stat. secs. 525.539-.6199 are generally subject to the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure, including the rules that permit pretrial discovery,...

Assistant U.S. Atty. works to prosecute gangs, leaders.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Paulsen's office in the Minneapolis federal courthouse says a lot about him. It is uncluttered, immaculately organized and elegant, furnished with delicately engraved...

William F. Mohrman: Takes canon 5 to Washington - and wins.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen The most closely watched case in the legal community in 2002 was Republican Party of Minnesota, et al. v. White, et al. Co the challenge to Minnesota's judicial campaigning restrictions brought by Golden Valley attorney...

ACLU president to speak at MN Women Lawyers event.(Brief Article)
January 27, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The 8th Annual Rosalie Wahl Leadership lecture, sponsored by Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL) will be held Thursday, Feb. 13, and will feature Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties...

Minneapolis atty. procures $35.3M verdict in brain-injury case.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones It has been almost exactly 16 years since Minneapolis lawyer John Sheehy left Washington, D.C., after arguing his first case at the U.S. Supreme Court. As Sheehy watched the Washington Monument recede through the rear...

Minneapolis atty. wins $156M verdict for Marvin Windows.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Minneapolis lawyer Robert R. Weinstine felt a sense of relief wash over him as the jury returned the massive verdict for his client, Marvin Windows, in its suit against wood preservative supplier PPG. The total award,...

Jennifer L. Kramer: Establishes project to help innocent inmates.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Jennifer Kramer is no stranger to start-ups. In 1997, she started her own continuing legal education (CLE) seminar business out of her home, All District Legal Education. More recently, Kramer had a major role in...

Law professor Neil W. Hamilton: Making ethics more than an academic pursuit.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen For University of St. Thomas School of Law Professor Neil Hamilton, 2002 was a productive year. He chaired a committee to find a new dean for his law school, served as interim associate dean, authored a book, wrote a...

Morris atty. concludes a difficult dram shop case.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Amy Doll has had an exciting year. Not only did the 35-year-old Morris attorney successfully complete a complicated personal injury case that had more twists and turns than a bar exam hypothetical, but she was also...

James C. Backstrom: A high-energy prosecutor on a mission.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Dakota County Attorney James C. Backstrom is a high-energy, high-profile prosecutor, who makes it his mission to find better ways of doing things. It wasn't always that way. The son of a fireman and...

Minneapolis atty. wins suit that keeps baseball team playing.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen As the Minnesota Twins played their first home game of the 2002 season, many of the attorneys at the Minneapolis firm of McGrann Shea Anderson Carnival Straughn & Lamb, Chtd. were on hand to join in the fun. The smell of...

Atty. Jeffrey R. Anderson: Fighting for the rights of sex-abuse victims.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge The last week of the year was a hectic one for St. Paul attorney Jeffrey R. Anderson. He met two days with a California attorney with whom he has 200 pending or prospective clergy sexual abuse cases against 80...

MN Assn. of Black Lawyers president fights for the underdog.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones As a young, awe-struck law student, Minneapolis employment attorney Stephen L. Smith walked the halls at the University of Iowa Law School where pictures of all the school's graduating classes were posted. The first...

Richard J. Thomas: A leader among defense attorneys.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Richard J. Thomas has had a long and active career with the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA). Back in the late 1970s, while still in law school, Thomas served as the organization's first executive...

2002 'Attorneys of the Year' are in good company.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen This is the fourth year that Minnesota Lawyer has honored a number of local lawyers as its "Attorneys of the Year." The idea behind the "Attorneys of the Year" is a simple one Co to take a moment out from the hustle...