Minnesota Lawyer articles from March 2003

Minnesota Lawyer archives from March 2003

High court gives approval to new DNA test method.
March 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court last week resolved the questions surrounding the admissibility of a relatively new form of DNA testing, allowing dozens of criminal cases that have been on hold to move forward. The...

Commentary: Lawyer advisory opinion service--What is it?
March 3, 2003... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility In addition to its role investigating and prosecuting attorney disciplinary cases, the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (the Director's office) has an equal, if not greater,...

Minnesota judge to hear Arkansas justice's discipline case.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A Minnesota federal judge was assigned last week to hear the case of an Arkansas Supreme Court justice challenging disciplinary proceedings against him. Wendell Griffen says in a federal lawsuit...

For more than 40 years, New Brighton atty. has been handling consumer bankruptcies.(interview with bankruptcy lawyer Jack Prescott)(Interview)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore By now, almost everyone in the state with a television has likely seen the ad by the New Brighton attorney who says he does only bankruptcy work -- and does it well. Jack Prescott has been handling consumer...

Court of Appeals finds elderly man had capacity to sell farm at low price.
March 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore An 88-year-old man did not lack capacity to enter into a contract to sell his farm where he was sufficiently competent to understand the nature and effect of his actions at the time of the sale, the Court of Appeals...

Commentary: U.S. Supreme Court revisits stance on hate crimes.
March 3, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick If there is a theme to the cases forming the current docket of the U.S. Supreme Court as the 2002-03 term reaches its midpoint it may be "Back to the Future." The high court is revisiting a number of...

New faces take lead on recurring judiciary issues.
March 3, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Even though party majority within the Republican-controlled House and DFL-controlled Senate of the Minnesota Legislature remained the same after the November election, every legislative committee dealing with...

Admission of prior conduct in assault case was erroneous.
March 3, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Evidence of a criminal defendant's prior assaultive conduct toward his fiancee, who was not the victim of a charged offense, was erroneously admitted under Minn. Stat. sec. 634.20 to prove a charge of first-degree...

Commentary: Disappointed with response to story on law clerk.(Letter to the Editor)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission To the Editor: I recently read an article in a national publication about how attorneys with disabilities are overcoming obstacles in the legal profession. The article made me think about the experience of...

Commentary: Bar assn. president's letter on proposed budget cuts.
March 10, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission Editor's Note: Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) President Jon Duckstad recently sent the following letter concerning funding for the courts and Legal Aid to the membership of the MSBA. Dear Members: ...

Commentary: Recent cases illustrate consequences of lying in court.
March 10, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Noted attorney F. Lee Bailey has observed that more people are imprisoned for lying about what they didn't do than because of what they did do. Bailey, who kept a lot of people out of prison, including O. J....

MN Supreme Court rejects enforcement proposal for tribal courts.(Minnesota)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen The Minnesota Supreme Court last week declined to adopt a proposed rule that would have required state courts to give full faith and credit to orders and judgments issued by tribal courts. The Minnesota Tribal Court/...

Commentary: Disciplined lawyer shouldn't be viewed as martyr.(Letter to the Editor)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission To the Editor: I am writing this letter in response to the publicity which has existed around the case entitled: Charges of Unprofessional Conduct Contained in Panel No. 15976, 653 N.W.2d 452, (Minn. 2002)....

Minneapolis atty. to hold CD release party and benefit.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter On Friday, May 9, Minneapolis attorney Larry McDonough will celebrate the release of his second solo piano CD, "Tuscarora: Short Stories for Jazz Piano," with a CD release party and benefit at Dakota...

Building repairs may void city's order to demolish.
March 10, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Relief from a judgment authorizing demolition of a building may be appropriate where the landowner voluntarily made repairs that would make destroying the building inequitable, the Court of Appeals has ruled. ...

U of MN celebrates the 200th birthday of 'Marbury v. Madison'.(University of Minnesota)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore For two centuries legal scholars have debated the significance and meaning of the 1803 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison, known for being the first judicial decision to assert the authority of judges...

Unfitness presumption found to be constitutional.(parents who have had their parental rights terminated may be presumed to be unfit to parent other children)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A statutory presumption that parents who have had their rights to other children involuntarily terminated are palpably unfit to parent additional children is constitutional, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

Commentary: Building the social capital of the profession.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Neil Hamilton Healthy peer communities are the foundation of the learned professions. In these communities, we both hold each other accountable to meet minimum professional standards, and encourage and support each other in...

Commentary: Senate action will decide tort reform's fate.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Tort reform bills increasing the fault threshold for joint and several liability and increasing protections for employers giving employee references have passed quickly through Minnesota's...

New Bureau of Criminal Apprehension headquarters to open in St. Paul.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's new Bureau of Criminal Apprehension headquarters is scheduled to open Aug. 1. Construction on the three-story 225,000 square-foot building is rapidly...

Commentary: Dispute should never have become atty. disciplinary matter.(Letter to the Editor)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission To the Editor: Most of the correspondence concerning the Helgesen disciplinary matter has centered on the substantive issues of freedom of speech, disability discrimination, and the right of a lawyer to...

Telecommuting (slowly) gaining acceptance at Twin Cities' firms.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore With today's advanced software, e-mail, laptop computers, and cellular phones, telecommuting would seem to be a more viable work alternative for attorneys. So, are lawyers in the state taking actually advantage of new...

Commentary: Revenue rift revives 'rights and remedies' clause.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The battle over the budget constitutes an ongoing tussle at the state Capitol. It pits the administration of Gov. Pawlenty and its allies against an ever-changing group of opponents, who seem to crop up wherever...

Commentary: Investors should consider protecting bond portfolios.
March 17, 2003... Byline: James Eccleston Investors -- and their investment advisers -- should consider protecting, or hedging, the gains in their bond portfolios. The year 2002 was a good one for bonds, as measured by four relevant indexes. The Lehman...

Commentary: Movie portrays fictional atty. without ethics.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Charles Lundberg "Chicago" -- nominated for 13 Academy Awards and the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar for best picture this Sunday -- provides a striking cinematic portrayal of a fictional attorney, Billy Flynn. Richard Gere...

ABA president speaks out against med-mal caps.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The American Bar Association has issued a statement critical of the medical- malpractice caps approved last week by the U.S. House of Representatives. According to a statement issued by ABA...

Reporters' shield law under high court scrutiny.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court currently is pondering whether a reporter can be compelled to disclose his sources in a defamation action in which neither he nor his paper are defendants. On March 3, the high court...

Court watchdog group celebrates 10 years.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Ten years ago, a small group of citizens formed an innovative court-monitoring program called WATCH. For a decade, the volunteer group has observed tens of thousands of cases involving domestic...

MN Court of Appeals upholds $50 million award.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A multi-million dollar verdict awarded by a Norman County jury against a herbicide manufacturer in a consumer fraud action should not be overturned, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The case was brought as a class...

Assignment of mortgage to insurer was valid.
March 17, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore An insurance carrier that was assigned a mortgage and a note in exchange for setting a title claim could enforce the note and, in doing so, was not limited to the amount of subrogation damages, the Court of Appeals...

Bar Benefit 2003 raises record contributions that support local legal service programs.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hennepin County Bar Foundation has announced that for the fifth consecutive year its Bar Benefit 2003 set a record for contributions from the legal community in support of local legal service...

Commentary: New cases reflect tough times for whistleblowers.(Anderson-Johanningmeier v. Mid-Minnesota Women's Center Inc., U.S. ex. Rel. Costner v. United States )(Column)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Whistleblowers were venerated throughout most of the past year. Their honorific status was recognized by Time magazine, which named three of them, including Minneapolis FBI agent Colleen Rowley, as "Person of the...

Parentage Act procedure not required for probate.
March 24, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen Where a decedent who had a child out of wedlock died intestate, the decedent's child can inherit property as the decedent's heir, even though parentage was never established under the state Parentage Act, the Minnesota...

MN law school graduates to be recognized for public service.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Members of the public interest and academic legal communities will come together April 9 to celebrate 140 spring law school graduates in Minnesota who have each given more than 50 hours of law-related...

Commentary: 'Gideon' turns 40 - a look at the case, and its future.(Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963))
March 24, 2003... Byline: Leonardo Castro March 18, 2003, marked the 40th Anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S 335 (1963). The importance of this decision cannot be overstated as it forever changed the...

Hennepin County Bar Assn. recognizes lawyers for outstanding community service.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hennepin County Bar Association's annual Pro Bono Publico awards were presented March 11 during Bar Benefit 2003 to three individuals who have distinguished themselves in service to the...

Court finds that corporate CEO is criminally liable for code violation.
March 24, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A corporate officer of a construction company may be held criminally liable for a subcontractor's violation of the State Building Code, the Court of Appeals has held in a case of first impression. After a bench...

Claims against spit tobacco companies are dismissed.
March 24, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Three smokeless tobacco companies, as well as the Smokeless Tobacco Council, can breathe a little easier these days, having recently dodged a lawsuit brought by the widow of a pro baseball player who died of mouth...

Bar groups sponsor Legal Expo 2003 for students.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Co-sponsored by the Ramsey County Bar Association and the Hennepin County Bar Association, Legal Expo 2003 took place last week at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. Legal Expo...

MN Legal Briefs March 24, 2003.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Messerli & Kramer P.A. mourns the loss of shareholder Robert G. Renner, Jr., who passed away on Dec. 11, 2002, after a courageous battle with renal cancer. He was 51. Renner was a shareholder in...

Commentary: Helgesen has superior sensitivity to rights of disabled.
March 24, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission To the Editor: As both a relative and a fellow attorney, I have watched with somewhat amused interest the controversy regarding my cousin, Mike Helgesen, including the recent letters from two disabled...

High court considers whether truckers' privacy was violated.
March 24, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court is currently grappling with the question of how much "publicity" is required to support an invasion of privacy claim for publication of private facts. The central issue in the case is...

Federal jury awards $1M in damages in sex-bias case.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A federal jury recently awarded a female executive $1 million in damages in a sex bias lawsuit against her former employer. The woman, a former marketing executive with Mallinckrodt, Inc., a subsidiary of Tyco...

Minnesota State Bar Assn. offers two chances to help military personnel and families.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota State Bar Association has announced the following two continuing legal education seminars for lawyers willing to assist veterans and active-duty military personnel. The Veterans...

Minn. Court of Appeals rules church can't be sued for negligence in hiring pastor.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A parishioner's negligent hiring claim against a church for hiring a minister who had an affair with her was barred by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the Court of Appeals has ruled. A Watonwan...

'Minnesota Lawyer' recognizes ten as 'Up-and-Coming Attorneys' for 2003.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter In this issue, Minnesota Lawyer announces the names of the 10 lawyers its editors have selected as its "Up-and-Coming Attorneys" for 2003. In order to be eligible for selection, individuals had...

Recent Minnesota State Bar CLE program examined the collapse of big law firms.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore In these uncertain and changing economic times, some of the largest and most venerable law firms in the country are finding they cannot survive. Since December, four notable law firms have failed -- Brobeck Phleger &...

U.S. Supreme Court upholds IOLTA practices.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the practice of using funds generated on Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) to pay for legal services provided to the indigent. The case, Brown et al....

Minnesota judges and lawyers to play hockey for Legal Aid.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Generation Next Committee has announced the annual "Lawyers on Ice" hockey event to raise visibility for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Rep. Tim Pugh, and...

Plan seeks to speed up court appearances for juveniles.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Proposed changes to the procedural rules governing juvenile delinquency cases could mean a speedier investigation and an earlier court appearance for juveniles in many counties. If adopted, the rules will no...

Minn. Court of Appeals issues opinions on verbal confrontations between police, suspects.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Verbal confrontations with those suspected of criminal behavior are a recurring feature of law enforcement. Police and occasionally prosecutors have an opportunity to discuss criminal cases with those suspected of...