Minnesota Lawyer articles from October 2004

Minnesota Lawyer archives from October 2004

Federal judge disqualified law firm from race bias lawsuit against Cargill Inc.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A federal judge recently disqualified the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Cargill, Inc., for committing ethical misconduct that prejudiced the litigation. On...

Minnesota District Court races are now nearing their final stretch.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore Editor's Note: Last week Minnesota Lawyer reported on the three contested District Court races in Hennepin County. This week, Minnesota Lawyer takes a look at the four remaining contested District Court races, which...

MN Court of Appeals rules city not immune for cleanup by its workers.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The city of Columbia Heights was not entitled to immunity for the actions of city employees who cleaned up a duplex that had been declared a "garbage house," the Court of Appeals has ruled. While finding that the...

Continuing legal education program in Minneapolis focuses on strategies for women leaders.(Minnesota Women Lawyers)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Women who aspire to success in the legal profession must strategize, accept the likelihood of change and develop their leadership skills. That was the message of "Leadership Skills: Winning Strategies for...

What soon-to-be lawyers and law students can't do.(Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Every year as summer approaches, and then again in October after the results of the bar exam become known, the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility begins receiving calls...

Hennepin County judicial candidate forum on Thursday.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA), the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis, and WATCH will co-sponsor a judicial candidate forum on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2004. The event will feature the...

MN State Bar Assn. asks judicial candidates to help educate voters.(Minnesota State Bar Association)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) has called on judicial candidates to "educate voters to understand how judicial elections differ from legislative and executive branch elections." Ten of 102 open...

MN Legal Briefs: October 4, 2004.(Minnesota)
October 4, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Faegre & Benson has announced that the following attorneys have recently become associated with the firm: Kenneth A. Brandt, intellectual property group, J.D., William Mitchell College of Law in...

MN State Board of Legal Certification openings announced.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter One lawyer position and one public (nonlawyer) position are open on the 12-member Minnesota State Board of Legal Certification. The all-volunteer board is responsible for the process by which...

Eight cases from 8th Circuit before U.S. Supreme Court.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Cases from the federal courts in Minnesota are playing a prominent role in U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence. The high court did not hear any cases from the Minnesota state court system in its 2003-04 term. But it...

Business law pro bono program is launched.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore LegalCORPS, a business law pro bono program started by the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), is now up and running. Through the recently incorporated nonprofit, business lawyers will donate their time and...

Appellate court upholds $1.9M jury award to bar patron.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld an award of $1.9 million to a man who was attacked outside of a downtown Minneapolis bar at closing time. The plaintiff and a companion were confronted earlier in the...

Commission suggests changes to state's sentencing procedures.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones An upward departure from a sentence called for by the Sentencing Guidelines can be an important tool, but some modification to practices in how such a departure is imposed is required by the U.S. Supreme Court's...

Races are well underway for two Court of Appeals seats.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The contested Court of Appeals races this year feature challenges to one of the court's longest-serving members and to one of its newest. Judge R.A. "Jim" Randall, facing a challenge from International Falls...

Commentary: Alliance supports International Criminal Court.(Letter to the Editor)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Letter to the Editor To the editor: Thank you very much for the excellent article on the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the work in the United States on its behalf by the American Non-Governmental...

Commentary: MN Hispanic Bar Assn. serves a key role in state's legal community.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Editor's note: Hispanic Heritage Month, which began on Sept. 15, runs through Oct. 15. Anyone can learn to salsa - even Minnesota Scandinavians. To prove it, the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) will...

Commentary: See National Labor Review Board disciplinary rulings for 'flip-flops' on position.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The charge of "flip-flopping" is in vogue these days. As the presidential campaign enters the home stretch, one of the most stinging, and seemingly effective, accusations by President Bush and his cohorts is that...

Vacancies announced on 10th District trial bench.(Brief Article)
October 11, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced that applications are now being accepted for two 10th Judicial District trial court bench vacancies. The vacancies are due to the retirements of...

Pattern of criminal conduct is jury issue, rules MN Court of Appeals.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore A defendant had a constitutional right to have a jury, rather than a judge, make the determination of whether his prior convictions formed a "pattern of criminal conduct" that would subject him to an upward sentencing...

Continuing legal education seminar examines ethical constraints on practitioners.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The duty to be a zealous advocate must be balanced with the obligation to the justice system and its participants, attendees were told at a recent legal ethics program. The continuing legal education (CLE) seminar...

MN Court of Appeals rules compensation not awardable for removal of billboard.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Where a billboard is removed as a condition of a city permit to develop property and not by direct action of the city, the owner of the lease to the billboard is not entitled to compensation under state or federal...

At 91, St. Louis Park lawyer is currently battling utilities.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones In the early 1960s, a spark of interest in utilities law was lit for St. Louis Park attorney Myer Shark - and it has never flickered. The 91-year old attorney has been asserting the rights of ratepayers - mostly...

Minnesota State Bar Association poll favors incumbent judges by significant margins.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones All the incumbent judges running in contested elections this year outpolled their opponents by significant margins in a recent bar survey. The survey was conducted by the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA),...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules random search for contraband violates rights of students.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Drugs, weapons and other illicit materials constitute a growing menace in schools in Minnesota and throughout the rest of the country. In Minnesota, "zero tolerance" statutes provide broad discretion for...

MN Legal Briefs: October 18, 2004.(Minnesota)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Karon Trial Law Office has announced the relocation of Edina office to Mendota Heights. Stanley Karon also announced that he will be working out of his Arizona office Oct. 23 through April. ...

G. Barry Anderson sworn in to Minnesota Supreme Court.(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter G. Barry Anderson was sworn-in as Minnesota's 86th Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court last week. The event took place on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2004, at 1:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the...

Court rules Blakely v. Washington not applicable to dispositional departures in Minnesota.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore A defendant sentenced to prison rather than the presumptive sentence of probation that was called for by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines did not have a constitutional right to have a jury determine the facts...

MN Supreme Court streamlines the rules for guardians ad litem rules.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court recently streamlined the state's guardian ad litem rules. Several years ago, Minnesota moved all 56 of its guardian ad litem programs into one centralized, state-run program. According...

Court of Appeals rules that religious nonprofit can't be sued for firing gay worker.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Where a nonprofit religious organization's activities are exclusively evangelical and entirely related to the religious purpose for which it exists, an employee cannot sue the organization under the Minnesota Human...

8th Circuit hears challenge to Minnesota's judicial campaign rules.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, last week heard arguments in the latest chapter of the long-running challenge to Minnesota's judicial campaign rules. In Republican Party of Minnesota, et...

Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Castro re-appointed for another 4 years.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Leonardo Castro has been re-appointed by the State Board of Public Defense to lead the state's largest public defender office for another four-year term. The...

Commentary: Bush or Kerry? Either way it's immigration reform.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Robert P. Webber All the polls make it clear that the presidential election this year is too close to call. Even Minnesota, a traditionally safe "blue" state, appears to be in play. This year's election will therefore be a repeat...

MN Legal Briefs October 22, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand has announced that Mark A. Klos, Ranga S. Nutakki and Shanna Sadeh have joined the firm as associates and Thomas M. Sipkins as partner. Klos, joining the business and...

Minnesota lawyer asks: Are you elite or left behind?
October 25, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones This year's election could be described as blue states v. red states, liberals v. conservatives or Democrats v. Republicans. It could also be characterized as a form of class warfare, according to Minneapolis...