Minnesota Lawyer Blog

Is due process what looks bad?

2008-11-21T14:03:00.000-06:00

Those of you who are following news of judicial elections in other states may be interested to know that the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday accepted certiorari in the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, which I discussed here. The plaintiffs, who argue that campaign donations to the justices created the appearance of impropriety amounting to a due process violation, are represented by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson. According to the New York Times, Olson said in his pleadings, “The issue raised by massive campaign contributions to judges from litigants and their attorneys go to the very heart of what it means to be given a fair trial.” The defendants argued that “looks bad” is not a test of due process.

Looking for a few (really) good attorneys

2008-11-21T11:19:00.004-06:00

Minnesota Lawyer is currently soliciting nominations for its annual "Attorneys of the Year" award. If you know of someone who had a really good year (or did a lot of good this year, for that matter), let us know about it. Click here for more information about the award and to submit a nomination online. You can also e-mail information (to mark.cohen@minnlawyer.com) or send it to us by regular mail at:

c/o Editorial Department
730 2nd Ave. South, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Nominations are due by Dec. 11.

Civil right to counsel a hot topic in today's economy

2008-11-21T10:38:00.003-06:00

I attended a CLE yesterday where a Hennepin County judicial law clerk discussed the fact that more and more parties are choosing to represent themselves in court proceedings.

I’m sure that at least part of the reason for the increasing numbers of pro se litigants is the economy. Many people simply can’t afford to hire an attorney, which is particularly distressing if they are facing the loss of basic needs like shelter, safety, health care and child custody.

While everyone has the “right” to represent themselves, we in the legal community know that it can be a problem -- for the judges who handle the matters and for the lawyers on the other side who struggle with how much, if any, assistance to provide the pro se party. It’s also a problem for the pro se litigants themselves in that they may not get a fair shake due to their unfamiliarity with court procedures and the law that applies to their case.

To address the growing problem of pro se and unrepresented litigants, the American Bar Association Section of Litigation is holding a two-day symposium on the topic early next month. The seminar will address what the lawyers can do to help overcome the barriers of access to justice, and how the legal community can provide a right to legal counsel in order to assure that people are treated fairly in adversarial proceedings, especially given financial tightening by government.

“Real People, Real Needs, Real Solutions: Access to Legal Representation in Civil Litigation” will be held in Atlanta on Dec. 4-5. For more information on the symposium, click here.

Judge Kaman up for UN post

2008-11-20T12:05:00.004-06:00

Here's an interesting piece of news we received in a press release from the Hennepin County District Court today:

Judge Marilyn Kaman, Hennepin County District Court, is one of 15 finalists for the 7-member United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), part of a new system for the administration of internal justice at the United Nations.

The UNAT will be charged with hearing appeals of decisions on employment disputes from the UN system worldwide. The UN’s Internal Justice Council received 237 applications from professional judges in 55 countries.

Applicants were required to have at least 15 years judicial experience, were of high moral character, serve with full judicial independence, and were subject to a rigorous screening process involving both written and oral examination.

Chief Justice EricMagnuson remarked, "The Minnesota Judicial Branch is proud of the international recognition afforded to our judges, and of the willingness of those judges to serve above and beyond the call. Judge Kaman is an excellent example of both sources of pride."

As the recount turns

2008-11-19T10:20:00.001-06:00

The historic recount in the U.S. Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman is under way in St. Paul, and officials at the 100 recount sites are taking the process seriously: In Stearns County, the opening of a sealed box of ballots was shown live on the St. Cloud Times’ web site.

Meanwhile at our sister publication, Politics in Minnesota, it’s reported that Franken’s legal team too issue with former state attorney general Ken Raschke’s opinion on whether Minnesota law allows the review of rejected absentee ballots. Raschke’s thoughts were solicited by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

Among other things, Rashcke points out that Minnesota Stat. 204C.35 says that “only the ballots cast in the election and the summary statements certified by the election judges may be considered in the recount process.”

Attorneys for Franken’s campaign countered that Raschke’s opinion “incorrectly leaves the distinct impression that the recount cannot include the review of and the counting any absentee ballot wrongly rejected during the election judges’ initial counting of the ballots.”

Survey says: Male equity partners earn over $87,000 a year more than female equity partners

2008-11-18T09:42:00.002-06:00

Yesterday the National Association of Women Lawyers released the results of its third national Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms and the news isn’t good.

The 2008 survey shows that women continue to be markedly under-represented in the upper levels of law firms. The majority of women who start as associates in firms do not reach the position of equity partners; law firm leaders, including governing committees and managing partners, are overwhelmingly male.

Highlights of the survey findings include the following facts:

For more than two decades women have graduated from law schools and started careers in private practice at about the same rate as men, yet women continue to be markedly under-represented in the leadership ranks of firms, accounting for fewer than 16% of equity partners.

Only about 6% of law firms report that they have a woman in the highest leadership position of managing partner. The highest governing committee in large firms typically counts only one or two women members although governing committees average 11 to 12 members.

The percentage of women lawyers of color is greatest in the associate category (11%) as compared to women of color who are non-equity partners (3%) or equity partners (1.4%).
The market for lateral partners impacts promotion to equity partner. Laterals account for roughly two-thirds of the women and three-quarters of the men who were newly promoted to an equity position. A startling 31% of new equity partners were recent laterals, suggesting that they were specifically recruited or negotiated for an equity position. The data belie the traditional notion that largely homegrown attorneys are promoted to equity partner.

The survey has captured data on a newly identified category of law firm: the “mixed-tier” firm. In the mixed-tier firm, all “equity” partners are required to contribute capital to the firm but some of them are paid as if they were income partners. About 15% of the nation’s largest firms are mixed-tier firms and preliminary data indicate that women have a somewhat lower chance of advancing to equity partner in mixed-tier firms.

There is evidence that more recent women graduates are being promoted to equity partner at a somewhat greater rate. These numbers show, however, that even in the best of circumstances, women are promoted to equity partner at only about half the rate as men.

At every stage of practice, men out-earn women lawyers, a finding that is consistent with NAWL’S previous surveys and data from other sources. Male equity partners earn on average over $87,000 a year more than female equity partners.

Nearly 97% of large firms have implemented women’s initiatives, which provide a combination of programs on professional development, networking, mentoring and/or business development. Given that women’s initiatives and formal programs for business development skills are relatively new activities in firms, it is too early to say whether these various programs will enhance the level of business development among women lawyers.

For the full NAWL survey visit: http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Documents/2008+Survey.pdf. In addition, NAWL's July 2008 report from its National Leadership Summit, Actions for Advancing Women Into Law Firm Leadership: http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Summit+Report+2008.pdf, provides a list of recommended actions for law firms committed to advancing women into leadership positions.

Resolving the Coleman/ Franken impasse: How's about a coin toss?

2008-11-17T10:32:00.015-06:00

I have a modest proposal for resolving whether Norm Coleman or Al Franken should represent our fair state in the U.S. Senate for the next six years -- a coin toss.

Let me explain.

First of all, all of this back and forth about the relevance of the DFL ties of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to his role in the recount misses the point. Even if Ritchie were they type of old-style politician to try to bend the entire process to his party's will -- and I don't think he is -- the other four members of the Canvassing Board serve as a sufficient check to prevent that. I cannot imagine Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson, Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson and Ramsey District Court Judges Kathleen Gearin and Ed Cleary would stand idly by and allow such a subversion of the process to happen. The two high court justices are both Republican appointees who have done well rising above politics in their judicial roles; Cleary used to head the office charged with overseeing the ethics of all the state's lawyers. If those are supposed to be the co-conspirators that Ritchie hand selected to lead a DFL coup of the democratic process, he ought to be upbraided for his incompetent team-selection skills rather than for his Machiavellian maneuvers. In reality, I think the secretary of state is committed to running a clean process. While there is certainly some subjectivity in declaring which debatable votes should count and which ones shouldn't -- and it's impossible to predict at this point how those calls will affect the final result -- I am reasonably confident at this point that those decisions won't be made on a partisan basis.

An army of lawyers and lay observers will be watching the actual ballot recounts, mitigating the chances for any serious hanky panky at that level.

That leaves human error. Even if the hand recount of the 2.8 million ballots is 99.9 percent accurate, that means that 2,800 votes will be inaccurately tallied. When the candidates are only separated by a paltry 200 votes or so, the odds that we will send the right man to the Senate (i.e. the candidate who would be declared the winner in a completely error-free count) are only marginally better than the result that would be generated by random chance. Which gets me to my point. A coin toss would be a lot cheaper, swifter and more certain than any recount could ever be. So let's do it: Heads Coleman, tails Franken ...

This proposal is, of course, being made tongue in cheek. A recount is required by law in this situation -- and is needed to determine whether there were any glitches or irregularities in the election process that would demonstrate that there is a more statistically significant margin of votes separating Coleman and Franken. In any case, people will be presumably be more willing to accept the result of the recount because -- even if it isn't -- it at least has the appearance of not being as random as the coin toss. Whatever the recount result, we are likely to be stuck with a bevy of related litigation for some time to come.

Of course, even if we were to adopt the coin toss as our method of resolving elections this close, I am not sure we could keep the lawyers out of it. There would likely be lawsuits over who gets to do the toss, who gets heads and who gets tails and which coin to use (e.g. A penny? Sorry, Lincoln was a Republican. A dime? Sorry, FDR was a Democrat).

Perhaps we should make that a game of "rock, paper scissors" instead ...

MSBA weighs in on DOJ hiring practices

2008-11-14T10:36:00.003-06:00

The Minnesota State Bar Association is making its voice heard on the controversy that came to light this summer over the hiring practices by the Department of Justice.

In a recent letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, MSBA president Michael Ford (at right) notes that the organization recently passed a resolution affirming its long-standing support for legal services to the disadvantaged. The resolution, Ford writes, was “compelled” by recent reports that DOJ staff had “categorized public interest legal experience of prospective interns and employees on an ideological basis, and had denied employment to those applicants deemed ‘liberal’ by virtue of their involvement with legal aid, public defender, and related organizations.” Ford notes that several of the organizations identified in the reports are in Minnesota.
“By potentially dissuading lawyers and law students from participating in these efforts for fear that it could harm their careers, the [DOJ’s] actions reduce critical resources for legal aid and pro bono programs,” the letter states.

To that end, the MSBA is requesting that the DOJ “take immediate, concrete steps” to insure that no one is denied employment because of their involvement with legal services organizations and that it communicate to all law students and lawyers its support for equal access to justice.

It’s just one voice, but hopefully the DOJ hears it.

As an aside, according to an article in the Washington Post yesterday, president-elect Barack Obama’s transition team is looking into how it can restructure the DOJ to avoid the infusion of politics into the organization. I, for one, am encouraged that this seems to be a priority for the incoming administration.

Bob Woodward on lawyers, George W. Bush

2008-11-13T21:39:00.011-06:00

Delivering the keynote address at Dorsey & Whitney 's 19th annual corporate counsel symposium earlier today, author and legendary journalist Bob Woodward cracked a couple of jokes and shared his thoughts on President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. The following clip is an excerpt of Woodward's speech, delivered at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis.

For the YouTube version, click here.

What would 'Tricky Dick' say?

2008-11-13T06:00:00.004-06:00

Today Dorsey & Whitney's is having its annual Corporate Counsel Symposium, which is a good way to keep up on some of the major corporate law issues. Dorsey also traditionally has some prominent keynote speakers at the event's luncheon. Two years ago it was former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; last year it was former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin; this year it's legendary journalist Bob Woodward.

We at Minnesota Lawyer thought we might take some video of Woodward's speech so that we could put a clip on this blog for those of you who wanted to get a taste. Being the polite folks we are, we ran it by the Dorsey folks to make sure that was OK.

No problem, we were told, so long as we would only be using brief excerpts. It seems that the journalist instrumental in breaking Watergate restricts the amount of taping that can be done when he speaks. Fortunately, this idea never occurred to President Nixon ...

Ramsey bar lauds veteran SMRLS lawyer

2008-11-12T09:53:00.002-06:00

Congratulations are due to St. Paul attorney Hugh Markley, who was honored last weekend by the Ramsey County Bar Association for more than three decades of pro bono work on behalf of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.

Markley received the Ramsey County Bar Association's 2008 Pro Bono Award at the recent Bench & Bar Benefit in Roseville. Taking time out from his general practice, Markley has devoted thousands of hours to taking on family law and child custody cases for low-income clients throughout Ramsey County.

Markley spent time as a foster child, something that has given him a keen appreication of the needs of at-risk kids and families. The current and coming tough economic times mean more and more lawyers like Markley will be needed -- here's hoping he's an inspiration to young and old lawyers alike to give a little bit back.

Supreme Court elections elsewhere: not Minnesota nice

2008-11-11T10:56:00.003-06:00

A sharp-eyed reader noting our headline that said that this year’s appellate races offered few surprises wrote to remind me about Supreme Court races in other states. In a Mississippi race that shows where John Grisham gets his ideas, three justices running for second, eight-year terms lost: Chief Justice Jim Smith lost to Jim Kitchens, Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. lost to Randy “Bubba” Pierce, and Justice Chuck Easley lost to David Chandler. A fourth, Justice Ann Lamar, who was appointed last year by Gov. Haley Barbour, won her race. Diaz was indicted in 2003 in what he calls a political prosecution in connection with a loan to defray campaign debts, and acquitted. He claimed to have been targeted for defeat by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Oddly, the Mississippi Business and Industry Political Education Committee gave Smith a 72 % rating while giving Easley and Diaz 27 and 28 % respectively.The Smith-Kitchens race reportedly cost over $1 million.

In Michigan, Chief Justice Clifford Taylor was defeated by Judge Anne Hathaway, a nominee of the Democratic Party. Reports are Taylor raised over $1.7 million but Hathaway had Bruce Springsteen at a “Vote for Change” concert in which she said her opponent's judicial philosophy is "a death trap, a suicide rap..." An October television ad claimed that Taylor fell asleep during oral argument, which he denied.

In West Virginia, former Chief Justice Elliot Maynard didn’t survive a primary after pictures of him vacationing in Monte Carlo with a business executive who had a pending case came to light. The case, Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Company, is awaiting a possible grant of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court over whether another West Virginia Supreme Court justice must step aside in the case. The Caperton plaintiffs won a $50 million fraud verdict against Massey but the West Virginia court has twice set aside the verdict by a 3-2 majority. According to the New York Times, Justice Brent D. Benjamin, both times a member of the Caperton majority, won his seat with the help of more than $3 million from the same Massey executive who took the former chief justice to Monte Carlo but has refused to recuse himself from cases involving Massey. The Times says the Caperton case turns largely on whether millions of dollars in campaign support from an interested party creates an appearance of impropriety so strong that recusal is required. Two other cases involving West Virginia are pending at the Supreme Court, both of which involve the state’s odd law that denies companies a right to appeal punitive damage awards.)

Some of these justices may have been turned out of office deservedly, but our reader reminds us, brace yourselves, Minnesotans, for 2010 when a majority of the Minnesota Supreme Court will be on the ballot.

The Coleman/ Franken recount re-examined

2008-11-10T11:31:00.015-06:00

As has been reported elsewhere, the recount of the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken is only the second recount of statewide election results in Minnesota since the 1962 gubernatorial race. The other recount was, of course, just a couple of months ago -- and that came in a judicial election.

As loyal readers of this blog will no doubt recall, Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea faced three challengers in the primary -- public defender Richard Gallo, Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund. In judicial races, which are nonpartisan, the top two vote-getters earn a place on the November ballot. Gildea finished on top with about 54 percent of the vote; Gallo was the bottom vote-getter with about 11 percent. That left Clark and Hedlund to vie for the second spot on the general election ballot. Statistically, they were both fairly evenly split, with both getting between 17 and 18 percent of the vote. Hedlund had an edge in the unofficial tally -- 1,369 votes of more than 316,000 cast in the race. Because state law requires a recount if an election is decided by less than a .5 percent margin, an automatic recount was triggered. Clark narrowed the margin by just seven votes in the recount, not nearly enough to displace Hedlund as the number two vote-getter. Hedlund went on to the general election, where she lost her challenge against Gildea.

The Coleman/ Franken recount -- which hasn’t even started yet -- has already proved to be a lot less smooth. Last Wednesday morning -- the day after the election -- the unofficial tally had Coleman ahead by 725 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast. However, as counties double check and verify their reporting, Coleman’s lead has shrunk to just 204 votes.

The Coleman/ Franken recount will be much more controversial than the judicial race recount for many reasons, including:

The margin is much closer -- 204 votes in a race where each candidate has about 1.21 million votes vs. 1,369 votes in a race where the candidates each had between 55,000 and 57,000 votes.
Primary races tend to be not as closely watched as general election races, since the “winners” only go onto the November ballot rather than into public office.
Judicial races garner much less attention than presidential, congressional or even state legislative races. We have chronicled on this blog the many ways that this fact is unfortunate, but that doesn't stop it from being true.
Senate races, unlike judicial races, are partisan. This makes a difference for many reasons. For example, in a nonpartisan race, you don’t have to worry as much that a voting issue in a GOP or DFL stronghold will affect the candidates disproportionately; you also don’t have to worry about politics affecting vote counters’ decisions about which votes to count (and not count).

I could go on, but I think you get the general gist. No matter what happens with this recount (and I have every confidence that Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will do all he can to make it as clean as possible), the race will provide the political blogosphere conspiracy-theory fodder for many years to come.

Conspiracy theories aside, our imperfect system of paper ballots and scanning technology with recounts by hand is just not set up well for elections this close. Even an error of just one vote tabulating every 10,000 recounted will yield a difference of 240 votes when counters are sifting through 2.4 million ballots. Are you confident you could work your way through 10,000 ballots without making a single mistake? I sometimes have difficulty double checking my change when I purchase something. Yet I don’t think many of us at this point want to shift our elections completely over to computers. All it would take would be one really good hacker or one really bad virus to make Joe the Plumber the president of the United States. No thanks!

I think for the time being we are stuck with our imperfect system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it’s the worst system in existence, except for all the other systems.

Court of Appeals celebrates 25 years of doing Minnesota justice

2008-11-07T10:45:00.004-06:00

The Minnesota Court of Appeals celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday.

At an all-day symposium commemorating the event -- held at William Mitchell College of Law -- Judge Harriet Lansing (at right) gave a really nice lunchtime address, aptly titled “The Minnesota Court of Appeals: Twenty-five years of Doing Minnesota Justice.”

Lansing explained that there was a “notable battle” over the whether the state should create an intermediate court. Many influential people opposed it, arguing that it would not provide finality and instead would add another layer of judicial bureaucracy to the appellate process.

Despite the opposition, a constitutional amendment creating the court passed overwhelming in 1982. The first judges were sworn in on Nov. 2, 1983, at the Landmark Center in St. Paul.
Lansing, who was one of those judges, said that the court has met most, if not all, of the goals set out by the people who created it a quarter century ago. To date, the Minnesota Court of Appeals:

has decided more than 56,000 cases;
is the final decision maker in 97 percent of cases filed;
continues to allow oral argument for every litigant who requests it;
continues to issue written opinions in all cases;
decides all cases within 90 days of being heard; and
continues to hear cases all over the state.

The only area the court has struggled in recently has been promptly setting cases on for oral argument. It’s hoped that the recent addition of three more judges to the court will help it attain its goal of completing all cases within six months of filing. Despite that one area, the Court of Appeals has done what it set out to do and has done it well.

“We have earned the right to celebrate 25 years of doing Minnesota justice,” Lansing told the audience.

Recounts and representational rethinking

2008-11-06T10:32:00.004-06:00

The Minnesota Lawyer website has posted its judicial election wrap up story. Click here to see it.

All-in-all the election went pretty smoothly. Unlike the primary, there were no recounts necessary -- which is probably for the best given that the Secretary of State's Office is pretty busy with that whole Coleman/Franken recount thing. It's an coincidence that there was no statewide recount necessary in Minnesota for 46 years -- and then within a couple of months of each other we get two, one in a judicial race, one is a Senate race.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis attorney (and former U.S. attorney) Tom Heffelfinger, who was to represent Coleman in the recount, has withdrawn.

"I am committed to a thorough, expeditious, and non-partisan review of the interaction between law enforcement and the community during the RNC. I have realized that taking a leadership role with Senator Coleman’s recount team would interfere with my commitment to the City and the RNC inquiry. Therefore I have informed the Coleman campaign I will not be available for the recount effort," Heffelfinger said in a press release issued today.

How do Minnesota voters pick judges?

2008-11-05T15:50:00.003-06:00

We at Minnesota Lawyer were interested in how members of the general public decide whom to cast their ballot for in judicial elections, so we sent intrepid associate editor Barbara Jones -- along with our one-man video crew -- on the road to find out. They stopped off at a polling place in downtown Minneapolis to talk with some voters. As you will find out from this video, judicial election choices can be like sausages, those who love them may not want to see how they are made ...

Incumbents sail through judicial races

2008-11-05T12:48:00.006-06:00

The judicial election results were no surprise at the appellate level, with the incumbents winning handily in the two contested state Supreme Court races and one contested Court of Appeals races.

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson skated by his challenger, 9th Judicial District magistrate Tim Tingelstad, by more than a 60/40 margin. A similar margin of victory was enjoyed by Court of Appeals Judge Terri Stoneburner, who turned back a challenge from International Falls attorney Dan Griffith, who was twice before unsuccessfully sought judicial office. (Tingelstad has also made two prior bids for judgeships.)

In the most closely watched appellate race, Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea beat Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund by a 55/45 margin.

In the 2nd Judicial District (Ramsey County), Children's Law Center executive director Gail Chang Bohr pulled off what at least one political insider described as a "shocker" against former state lawmaker Howard Orenstein to fill a vacant judicial seat. Many had assumed Orenstein's name recognition in Ramsey County and knowledge of political campaigns would make him tough to beat. It bears pointing out that Bohr did narrowly miss beating Orienstein in a State Bar poll, and was endorsed by the Pioneer Press, so maybe it was not that much of a surprise. Nonetheless, it was quite an impressive feat for a political (errr... judicial) newcomer.

In the 4th judicial District (Hennepin County), former state lawmaker Jane Ranum prevailed over Hennepin County District Court referee David Piper in the most closely watched race. Ramum and Piper were competing for an open seat. Piper pumped $100,000 of his own money into his campaign war chest, but in the end lost by about 9 percent of the vote to the better-known ex-lawmaker.

In all the other District Court races, the incumbent prevailed. This includes another closely watched race in the 4th Judicial District, where Judge James Swenson turned back a challenge from Thomas Haeg, a former magistrate with the court.

Click here to see the complete breakdown from the Secretary of State's website.

An up-close look at democracy in action

2008-11-05T10:25:00.001-06:00

I spent yesterday (and I mean the whole day -- 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.) working as a Ramsey County election judge, and it was an eye-opening experience.

The precinct where I worked wasn’t even one of the busiest in town, attracting about 1,100 voters during the 13 hours the polls were open. But there was a long line to start the day, and voters came in steady streams throughout.

The evidence that Minnesota saw near-record voter turnout was confirmed by the hundreds of first-time and newly-registered voters, and the willingness of people to go the extra mile to make sure others got a chance to cast a ballot. On a regular basis, registered voters from the neighborhood -- including folks from the precinct’s halfway houses and homeless shelters -- returned to the polls with friends, roommates and neighbors who wanted to vote, too. (Under Minnesota law, a registered voter can “vouch” for the residency of anyone who lives in the same precinct, even if that person doesn’t have a permanent address.)

Even though no TVs or radios were allowed inside the polling place, the stream of new and young voters gave me a strong hunch about how the presidential race would turn out. That hunch was confirmed when, after closing, the precinct’s chief election judge ran the final tally and found that almost 900 voters (more than 80 percent) of voters in this mostly white, overwhelmingly working-class precinct voted for Barack Obama.

The enthusiasm of the voters even carried over into the judicial elections. Many voters who were advised to examine both sides of the ballot were glad to discover they would have a say in who their judges would be, and a few even brought notes into the voting booth based on research they had done on the judicial candidates.

Updates on judicial election results

2008-11-04T21:43:00.005-06:00

The Judicial Election results -- updated as they come in -- are available on the Secretary of State's website.

Click here to view.

Voting early but not often

2008-11-04T09:34:00.000-06:00

I haven’t been this excited to vote since the first time I cast a ballot, and considering that was for Abraham Lincoln, that’s saying something. It was really fun this morning to be part of the crowd and watch our process. It was a beautiful golden morning and actually a pleasure to stand in line. I got to the polling place about 7:20 and I was about the 250th voter when I got in around 8:00. I live in a precinct near a university so my demographics are skewed, but the vast majority of the group was under 30. That was very cool. A number of people brought their children with them, which I haven’t noticed before, and which was also very cool. However, I thought the woman with three very active little girls who asked the election judges if they had any toys for them was a little odd. Did she think she wasn’t going to have to stand in line? Ditto for the woman with the (non-service) dog. I’m kind of nervous around dogs, even when they are leashed, and I didn’t think the canine needed a civics lesson. But that’s just me. On the other hand, the dog wasn’t questioning anybody’s patriotism.

A brief message from the editor

2008-11-03T19:00:00.012-06:00

Thank you to the thousands of dedicated voters who found and used Minnesota Lawyer's online judicial election guide, our website and this blog to get information about the 2008 judicial election. I was heartened to see how many folks out there want to cast a meaningful ballot in the judicial races and availed themselves of the information that we provided. A number of you were kind enough to drop me e-mails and calls to express your gratitude at having this information at your fingertips, to which I can only reply the pleasure was ours.

If I can be allowed the indulgence of making a few thank yous of my own, I would like to recognize the efforts of the judicial candidates for participating; the rest of our editorial staff (particularly our Web editor, Adam Johnson); Bill Klotz, our photographer/ videographer; the IT folks who made this possible; and our publisher, Steve Jahn, and our corporate parent, Dolan Media, for believing this voter-information project was important enough to allow us to dedicate substantial time and resources to it.

This post concludes Minnesota Lawyer's pre-election coverage of the 2008 judicial races. We will, of course, have follow up coverage of the judicial election on our website and in the print edition of Minnesota Lawyer newspaper.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that very soon we will be launching a completely revamped version of the Minnesota Lawyer blog with an exciting new look. Stay tuned for details. Thanks again for visiting, and we hope to see you again soon!

-- Mark A. Cohen
Editor-in-chief, Minnesota Lawyer

P.S. Don't forget to vote tomorrow! Click here for more info on the judicial races if you are still doing your research.

Hennepin, Ramsey District Court races poised to be most expensive

2008-11-03T14:57:00.006-06:00

The front runner for the honor of the most expensive judicial race this year goes to the contest between David Piper and Jane Ranum for an open seat on the Hennepin County District Court. So far, $203,728 has been raised for that race. Most of the money has been raised by Piper, whose $168,760 in contributions includes the $100,000 which he has loaned to his own campaign.

A close second is the race between Gail Chang Bohr and Howard Orenstein for the open Ramsey County seat. So far, a combined $158,730 has been raised by those candidates.

At the statewide level, Minnesota Supreme Court Justices Lorie Gildea and Paul Anderson have done comparatively well individually in attracting contributions, garnering $64,070 and $58,278, respectively. Meanwhile, their opponents, Judge Deborah Hedlund and Tim Tingelstad, have collected only about $28,000 combined.

At the other end of the spectrum is Alan Eugene Link, who has challenged Hennepin County District Court Judge Philip Bush. Link -- who has declined to provide any information about his campaign to Minnesota Lawyer and other media outlets and who has not participated in any public candidate forums -- reports self-financing his $536 campaign. He reportedly spent $300 on his filing fee and $236.76 on "door hangers," which can't have gone far in the state's most populous county. To my knowledge, this stealth candidate has made no public appearances during his entire campaign. Bush has raised $16,977 to defeat the missing Link. (Some have speculated that Link is hoping that voters somehow equate his opponent's name with that of our not-so-popular president. There is, by the way, no relation.)

More information about the candidates' funding is available at the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board website.

The statewide judicial races: An analysis

2008-11-03T10:24:00.001-06:00

Minnesota Lawyer doesn’t offer endorsements of judges, so the comments below are strictly my own as someone who has closely followed these races.

Justice Paul Anderson is the second most senior justice on the high court, and was previously the chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He takes a scholarly approach to the law, and is the court’s resident historian. He has spearheaded the court’s public outreach efforts and has become its unofficial “goodwill ambassador.” Tim Tingelstad is a magistrate in the 9^th Judicial District whose campaign emphasizes his “biblical worldview,” but does not make the case that his qualifications are superior to Anderson’s. (Tingelstad has said that he would decide cases on the facts and law rather than on his religious views, although most of his website, www.highesthill.com, seems to be dedicated to the latter.) Tingelstad strikes me as a sincere individual, but has nowhere near the breadth of experience and support that Anderson has. Anderson is the clear choice here.

Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea vs. Judge Deborah Hedlund

It’s highly unusual for a sitting trial court judge to challenge a sitting Supreme Court justice, which is why this race has generated a lot of interest. Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea just about three years ago after she served a brief stint in the District Court. She has experience as a prosecutor and as an attorney in private practice. Her challenger, Deborah Hedlund, has been a Hennepin County District Court judge for 28 years. Hedlund has made as a center point of her campaign the idea of adding someone with extensive experience on the trial court bench on the Supreme Court. (Gildea, who was on the Hennepin bench for a few months, is the only justice on the seven-justice court who served as a trial judge.) Hedlund also stresses her criminal trial experience. Gildea, on the other hand, counters she has worked on the high court for three years and has “done well.” Indeed, the Minnesota Supreme Court has an excellent reputation and is fairly collegial. Gildea’s transition onto the court did not change that. While I think Hedlund makes a good point that a seasoned trial court judge could add something to the court, I don’t think she’s made the case that that person should be her or that she would make a better justice than Gildea, who is already on the court and has garnered the support of more than 115 appellate attorneys and the majority of State Bar members polled. While this is a closer call than the Anderson/ Tingelstad matchup, I think Gildea is the better choice. (I make this conclusion without regard to the recent curious e-mail dustup involving Hedlund since it is unclear what was actually going on there.)

Court of Appeals

Terri Stoneburner vs. Dan Griffith

Terri Stoneburner spent 10 years as a trial court judge before Gov. Jesse Ventura elevated her to the Court of Appeals eight years ago. She was in private practice for 10 years prior to that. I think that this is the perfect background for a seat on the Court of Appeals, which has as its primary job reviewing trial court cases to determine if an error has been made. Her opponent, Dan Griffith, who is running for a judgeship for the third time, is an attorney in private practice in International Falls. He has emphasized his belief in contested judicial elections as his reason for running rather than making the case he would make a better appellate judge than Stoneburner. I think Stoneburner is the clear choice here.

Information on Minnesota's judicial races

2008-11-03T10:05:00.007-06:00

Don't forget to check out Minnesota Lawyer's online Judicial election guide to get information on the judicial races. Click here to visit.

And don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Video clip: Howard Orenstein

2008-11-02T15:47:00.002-06:00

Hennepin County prosecutor Howard Orenstein is running against Children's Law Center of Minnesota executive director Gail Chang Bohr for an open seat on the Ramsey County bench. The following clip is from a debate between the two candidates at Hamline University School of Law on Oct. 29, 2008.

To view the YouTube version, click here.

Video clip: Gail Chang Bohr

2008-11-02T15:37:00.003-06:00

Children's Law Center of Minnesota executive director Gail Chang Bohr is running against Hennepin County prosecutor Howard Orenstein for an open seat on the Ramsey County bench. The following clip is from a debate between the two candidates at Hamline University School of Law on Oct. 29, 2008.

For the YouTube version, click here.

A Halloween tidbit from Minnesota Lawyer

2008-10-31T10:50:00.008-05:00

I’ve always loved Halloween. I love to decorate my house with Halloween items, put pumpkins out on my doorstep, hang “Happy Halloween” signs on my doors and go to at least one super scary movie. As my co-workers will attest, I even like to put out Halloween stuff on at my desk at work -- usually more than a month ahead of time. My interest in this spooky “holiday” got me wondering how many times our appellate courts have considered cases that are linked in some way to Halloween.

A search of all Minnesota appellate cases decided since May 1996 revealed that there are only two cases from the high court that even contain the word “Halloween.” There are no published decisions from the Court of Appeals with the term, but there are 13 unpublished cases.

A cursory review of the cases indicated that most of them are criminal matters, some stemming from acts related to Halloween partying. The most interesting -- or in this case, “scary” -- decision involved a Halloween mask found under a dead body eight years ago. It turns out that the mask contained the DNA of the man who was ultimately convicted of murder.

Hopefully nothing quite so horrific will result from all the partying that is sure to go on tonight.

On that note, have a happy -- and safe -- Halloween!

Second protective order filed against candidate John Dehen

2008-10-30T15:10:00.003-05:00

John Dehen, who is running for District Court judge in Sherburne County against Robert Varco, is the subject of an order for protection in Carver County. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mr. Dehen allegedly got in an argument with his 15-year-old daughter, Calen Dehen, while they were in a car, and that he shoved her into the car door causing a bloody nose and a swollen lip. The protection order was sought by Mary Briol on behalf of Calen Dehen. I called Mr. Dehen and he refused to come to the phone, having the person who answered the telephone tell me he was in the process of drafting a comment for the Star Tribune and I could read it there. That was more than three hours ago, and there is nothing up on the Strib's website.

By the way, this is the second time Dehen has been the subject of an order for protection. The last one was in 1995 and went up to the Court of Appeals. The petitioner there was named Mary Vos, and the case said the parties were the parents of a 21-month-old child, C.D. In that case, the Court of Appeals said, Dehen pushed the petitioner away from a door, causing her to fall and sustain injuries. That unpublished opinion is Vos v. Dehen.

Other information about the judicial candidate is available on the Minnesota Lawyer blog and in the Oct. 10 issue of Minnesota Lawyer.

Bohr, Orenstein face off as Second District race winds down

2008-10-30T14:18:00.008-05:00

Last night, Second District judicial candidates Gail Chang Bohr and Howard Orenstein faced off in the only public forum between the two prior to Tuesday's election.

Given that the race is one of the tightest of any district court race in the state, the tone of the forum was cordial. But both candidates were determined to shine a spotlight on their experience and temperaments in an effort to impress the 70 or so attendees who crowded into the Hamline University School of Law's mock courtroom.

Bohr stated that among her priorities as judge would be to work to reduce the incidence of youth contact with the judicial system, especially among minorities.

Orenstein, meanwhile spoke about his passion for justice and his belief that “courts can be a place where people who aren’t respected in other parts of society can find justice.”

Bohr touted her temperament and her background as an advocate for disadvantaged children, hinting that she would transfer that demeanor to her court if elected.

“I know people,” she said. “I know how to deal with them respectfully and talk to them.”

Orenstein pointed to the diversity in his legal background, ticking off a dozen practice areas in which he’s worked. He also indicated that his five terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives made him more qualified to interpret the law.

“A judge needs to know lots of areas of the law,” he said. “As a legislator, I was involved in crafting laws in just about every area that would come before the bench.”

A full story about the candidates' forum will appear in Monday's Minnesota Lawyer.

Picking judges: Two views from two very different sources

2008-10-29T13:36:00.003-05:00

It's easy to forget sometimes that the conventional wisdom of the legal community is not always the conventional wisdom of the world in general. A case in point: Most in the legal community would acknowledge that appellate lawyers are best situated to know who is (and who is not) a good candidate for the Supreme Court and Court Appeals. Appearing before these courts on a regular basis gives you a pretty good idea of what is required. Veteran court watcher and fixture of the Minnesota appellate bar Chuck Lundberg made that point in a piece he penned for the Star Tribune to help voters at the polls in a quandary about who to vote for.

However, lawyer stereotypes can lead members of the general public to distrust any voting advice given by a lawyer, as Lundberg quickly learned from comments made when the Strib put the article on line. A second Strib opinion piece -- written by a member of the public in response to Lundberg's piece -- takes Lundberg to task for his advice to voters that incumbents are usually a good pick because most of them were vetted by a merit-selection commission prior to appointment.

Lundberg's point that the Minnesota bench overall has an excellent reputation is well-taken. Most of the judicial appointments have been very good. On the other hand, voters can and should educate themselves about particular races by looking at resources such as the Minnesota Lawyer online judicial election guide. That may be the best strategy, short of taking an appellate lawyer with you in the voting booth.

Swenson responds to Haeg campaign

2008-10-29T11:18:00.004-05:00

Last week we included a blog entry on a press release issued by the Thomas Haeg for Judge Committee concerning the $75,000 settlement of a discrimination and retaliation charge that had been filed against Hennepin County and Haeg's opponent, Judge James Swenson, by a former Hennepin County referee. Haeg is challenging Swenson, chief judge of the county, for his seat on the bench.

We gave the Swenson campaign an opportunity to respond last week, but they were unable to immediately do so. We received their response today, which we link to here.

More chances to see and hear judicial candidates

2008-10-29T09:50:00.002-05:00

Judicial elections are in the air.

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson and his challenger, Tim Tingelstad, were featured this morning in an MPR news report profiling their race. Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and Hennepin District Court Justice Deborah Hedlund will both be guests on an MPR program today at 11:00 a.m. (See post below). And Ramsey County District Court candidates Gail Chang Bohr and Howard Orenstein face off tonight at a candidates' forum at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul (click here for info).

Meanwhile, in its online Judicial Election Guide, Minnesota Lawyer has added in links to video clips for all the candidates for whom we have video. This is the first year Minnesota Lawyer has taken video of the candidates and made it available. (We always offered to take video of both candidates in a race where we made video available, although not every candidate took us up on the offer.) We'd welcome any input as to whether the video component this year was helpful.

Gildea, Hedlund to be on MPR

2008-10-28T13:35:00.005-05:00

Minnesota Public Radio will feature a radio discussion between Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and the challenger for her seat, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, tomorrow (October 29) on "Midday With Gary Eichten." The show starts at 11:00 a.m. on 91.1 FM.

Controversy over 2010 judicial races is underway

2008-10-28T10:01:00.002-05:00

As we enter the home stretch of the judicial elections, a controversy that may influence the 2010 judicial elections is shaping up. U.S. District Court Judge Ann Montgomery heard cross-motions for summary judgment last week in the case Gregory Wersal v. Patrick Sexton, chair of the Minnesota Board of Judicial Standards, et al. Wersal challenges the portions of the code of judicial conduct that prohibit judicial candidates from endorsing other candidates and restrict solicitation of funds.

Wersal sought a preliminary injunction from Montgomery earlier this year that was denied because he did not file for office, his attorney, James Bopp of Indiania, said. Bopp said Montgomery asked many questions at the injunction hearing but very few this time around.

Wersal said last summer he would definitely run for the Supreme Court in 2010. Apparently referring to the court, he said at the time, "By then they better damn well watch themselves.”

Wersal was a co-plaintiff in Republican Party of Minnesota, et al. v. White, et al., in which the U.S. Supreme Court and 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as free-speech violations most of Minnesota’s restrictions on judicial campaigns. The rules at issue in Wersal’s current lawsuit were not addressed in White -- although the sweeping language of White has left their vitality suspect.

It’s worth remembering that Wersal lost the first rounds in White when U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis dismissed the case. The 8th Circuit affirmed in an 89-page decision written by Judge John R. Gibson. But the Supreme Court accepted cert, thereby permanently altering Minnesota’s judicial landscape. It’s certain that the summary judgment decision will be just a step on a long path.

The terms of four justices of the Supreme Court will be at stake in 2010—Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Justices Christopher Dietzen, Helen Meyer and Alan Page. Wersal ran against Page in 1998.

Stowman: 'Relatively few complaints' about judicial candidates

2008-10-27T12:11:00.008-05:00

With the judicial elections a week from tomorrow, I thought I'd check in with former Minnesota State Bar Association president David Stowman, who chairs the MSBA committee overseeing judicial campaign conduct. Stowman confirmed my sense that things have been relatively quite and the candidates for the most part have steered away from politicizing their races.

"By and large the candidates are conscientious individuals who want to conduct themselves appropriately," he said. "We've received relatively few complaints, and, in some of those cases, [the candidates] agreed to modify their behavior when we talked to them." (Citing his concern that it would be counterproductive to the committee's efforts, Stowman declined to reveal specifics about the complaints that were received.)

Stowman acknowledged that one idea he had -- getting the opposing candidates to meet over a meal -- didn't work out.

"We were not successful in getting them together in the heat of the election process while they are busy campaigning," Stowman said. However, the committee was able to talk with many of the candidates on the phone to discuss how their races are being conducted, he added.

With eight days to go until voting day, Stowman isn't quite ready to give the all-clear signal yet. "I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop," he said with a laugh.

After the election, Stowman plans to solicit input on the role of the MSBA candidates' conduct committee and how it might be refined in future elections.

For more information about the judicial candidates, visit the Minnesota Lawyer's online judicial-election guide.

St. Kate's students make a great point

2008-10-27T10:41:00.004-05:00

I think the future of our country is in good hands if the student body at the University of St. Catherine is any indication.

As the Star Tribune reports, a group of students at the all-female Catholic school in St. Paul is taking the administration to task for its well-meaning, but ultimately wrongheaded policy in banning otherwise interesting speakers in the name of political "neutrality." During the recent election cycle, the school's policy has led to its decision to decline visits from Senator Hilary Clinton and conservative commentator Bay Buchanan, a John McCain proponent.

The following is an excerpt from the students' petition that appears in the Strib article:

"Do we then need to invite an equal number of Socialist, Green, and Independent
party members to campus as well? And what of the anarchists? It is quite evident
that a path of 'neutrality’ is, in actuality, more difficult to negotiate than a
path of political engagement. ...
[The notion of] political neutrality is a figment of our administration's collective imagination," the petition writers add. "We believe that our administration's decision to disallow both Ms. Buchanan and Senator Clinton is embarrassing and inappropriate on the grounds that this college was rooted in stronger stuff."

Bravo to the students! Meaningful discourse is a process, not a zero-sum game where one viewpoint must be immediately negated by an opposing viewpoint. While it's laudable that the school doesn't want to offer an unfair advantage to one side or the other of the partisan divide, I think the sharp young women at St. Kate's are savvy enough to realize a speaker's political agenda without being unduly swayed by it.

Some of the students are reportedly meeting this afternoon with administration officials to discuss their concerns about the speakers' policy. I wish them well.

Hennepin County judicial race heats up

2008-10-24T15:21:00.014-05:00

The race for the judicial seat held by Hennepin County District Court Chief Judge James Swenson is heating up in these final 10 days of the election season.

Swenson is facing a challenge from longtime Hennepin County referee Thomas Haeg. Yesterday, we received a press release from the folks over at Haeg’s campaign, notifying us of a Family Medical Leave Act-related disability discrimination and retaliation charge that a former Hennepin County referee filed last year against Hennepin County and Swenson. According to the Haeg campaign, the charge resulted in a “quiet” $75,000 settlement -- paid for with tax dollars, of course. (While the discrimination charge is a public document, according to Steve Shapiro, the communications consultant for the Thomas Haeg for Judge Committee, knowledge of the settlement amount came from the complainant’s attorney, Seymour Mansfield. A call to Mansfield was not immediately returned.)

I know from having practiced in the employment law area that settlement agreements in cases like this usually contain confidentiality clauses, so presumably neither side can discuss the specifics of the charge. (We attempted to get a comment from Swenson’s campaign chairs, but so far have been unable to do so. If or when we do, we’ll provide an update.) The Haeg campaign believes that the Star Tribune is working on a story, so stay tuned.

It seems to me that both Swenson and Haeg are qualified for the District Court seat and election of either would be a good result for the county. But I’m not sure I approve of the Haeg campaign's use of the discrimination charge and the resulting settlement as a last-minute tactic to turn voters against the incumbent. It seems a little desperate, and even unfair, given that Swenson is likely bound by a confidentiality agreement and can’t discuss the allegations. Moreover, people settle lawsuits for a variety of reasons -- not necessarily because they committed the acts they are accused of. Ultimately, voters will have to decide for themselves how much credence to give to the allegations -- which is really all they are at this point.

UPDATE: The Strib's article, written by Rochelle Olson, is now available, and it provides a lot more detail. Click here for some interesting reading.

Veterans and the criminal justice system

2008-10-24T12:58:00.005-05:00

Minnesota Lawyer just posted an interesting story from our upcoming issue on the justice system's efforts to deal with post traumatic stress syndrome in criminal cases involving veterans. As one source puts it in the article, combat veterans can become "addicted to chaos" and have trouble readjusting to society when they return. It doesn't seem fair to treat these cases as every other criminal cases when some of the problem is caused by their time spent in service to us in some very difficult situations.

There are no easy answers, but, as more and more combat veterans return from overseas, it's something the justice system in Minnesota (and elsewhere) will have to grapple with with increasing frequency. Fortunately, we have a forward-thinking Legislature in this regard. The following is an excerpt from the story:

Fortunately, Minnesota is ahead of the curve when it comes to making concessions for veteran offenders. With help from veterans’ advocate Guy Gambill, the state Legislature this year amended a state statute to take into account the mental health status of veterans during the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings.

Now, if a defendant in Minnesota is convicted of a crime, it’s recommended that the court ask if he or she is a veteran. If the defendant is a veteran and has been diagnosed as having a mental illness, the court may consult with the federal or state Department of Veterans Affairs to determine treatment options in lieu of or along with a jail sentence.

Veterans have done a lot for us and deserve our help when they have adjustment troubles when they return. While our laws must be enforced, I am glad in Minnesota it will be done in a way that takes into account the trauma veterans have suffered in our behalf.

Stop stress toy abuse

2008-10-23T11:25:00.007-05:00

Let's put aside all the partisan bickering for a moment and focus on an issue that tugs on the heartstrings of all Americans: stress toy abuse.

That's right, Westlaw just released another brilliant commercial for its legal research services. Like before, the Sally Struthers-esque spoof offers plenty of hilarious stress toy carnage. But on a happier note, Westlaw offers to adopt all those poor stress toys that have been abused by disgruntled legal researchers.

After all, shouldn't you give your stress toy a new home — a new hope?

The 2-minute must-see video is here.

Appellate court video series: Justice Paul Anderson

2008-10-22T14:40:00.006-05:00

Justice Paul Anderson is the second most senior of the seven Minnesota Supreme Court justices. He has served on the state high court since 1994. Previously, he was chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and, prior to that, an attorney in private practice. His challenger in the upcoming election is Tim Tingelstad, a 9th Judicial District magistrate. (Unfortunately, we were unable to arrange a video interview with Tingelstad for this video series.)

A judicial history buff, Anderson brings a lot of institutional knowledge to the job. He is also extremely active in the court's outreach efforts, and has earned the informal title of the court's "goodwill ambassador."

Click here for the YouTube version.

E-mail etiquette -- Judicial candidate's edition

2008-10-22T13:43:00.002-05:00

There's an interesting article in the PiPress today involving the judicial race between Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and her challenger, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund. According to the press report, the owner of a sign-making company sent Hedlund an e-mail with the subject line, "Can Muslims Be Good Americans?" The e-mail includes false claims that Barack Obama is a Muslim and that he won't salute the flag or put his hand on his heart during the national anthem. At some point the e-mail, which I have not seen, apparently goes on to talk about campaign signs.

Hedlund starts her response to the sender as follows: "We speak the same language. And I still need to let voters know they have a choice to 'Seek Justice, Vote For Experience' for the Minnesota Supreme Court." Hedlund went on to discuss the details of the campaigns signs before inadvertantly hitting the "reply to all" button. Somebody forwarded a copy of the exchange to the PiPress.

Hedlund told the PiPress that she was ignoring the first part of the e-mail and that she went right to the sign discussion. The "speaking the same language" comment referred strictly to the sign discussion, she says.

Given the context and the remarks that follow afterward, I think her explanation is possible, maybe even plausible. However, Hedlund then digs herself into another hole. Stressing how busy she has been with her campaign and judicial duties, she responds to the PiPress as follows when asked whether she thought Obama was a Muslim:

"I have no idea what he is. My level of information about the presidential candidates would not fill a thimble."

Hmmm. Coming from a candidate for a high public office, I find that statement disturbing. I mean the presidential elections are fairly important, aren't they? Can you really be an effective Supreme Court justice with a thimble-full of knowledge about the incoming president? Don't we have a civic duty to educate ourselves on the elections? In short, the response strikes me as ill-advised.

Perhaps we can chalk it all up to a case of foot-in-mouth disease (just ask Michele Bachmann). But it certainly doesn't help to have an embarrassing episode like this late in the campaign. Plus Gildea and Hedlund were both scheduled to go before the PiPress editorial board today seeking the paper's endorsement. I wonder how that went?

Petters woes: too much to Baer?

2008-10-22T09:54:00.004-05:00

A sharp-eyed reader pointed out to us recently that one of our 2006 Attorneys of the Year was David E. Baer, in-house counsel for Petters Group Worldwide. “Is he in any trouble?” the reader wanted to know.

Not at the moment, but Baer did resign from the board of Petters-owned Sun Country Airlines at the same time as his boss, who accused of running a $3 billion investment fraud scheme for 13 years. Tom Petters is scheduled to appear tomorrow before Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis in Minneapolis in an effort to overturn an earlier ruling that Petters be held until the charges against him are resolved.

While he hasn’t been charged with anything, Baer has been cited in some news reports as Tom Petters’ right-hand man within the company, so trouble may still be on the horizon for him and other Petters executives as investigations into the company continue.

Baer, a former corporate lawyer at Leonard, Street and Deinard, was noted as an Attorney of the Year for his work in helping the company acquire Sun Country.

We just hope this isn't the start of a Sports Illustrated-like "Attorneys of the Year Curse."

Gildea's campaign debates Hedlund's debate claim

2008-10-21T15:58:00.006-05:00

Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund's statement on her Facebook page that her opponent, Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea, has canceled debate appearances with her six times is itself debatable, according to Gildea's campaign.

As we blogged before, Hedlund has an entry on her Facebook page asserting that Gildea is "trying to get [her] opponent to show up for a debate. [Gildea] has canceled six times now."

Gildea's campaign chair, Minneapolis attorney Sue Holden, contested Hedlund's characterization of the facts. While acknowledging Gildea was unable to participate in a League of Women Voters' debate due to scheduling conflicts, Holden said Hedlund's statement that Gildea has "canceled" numerous other appearance is incorrect.

Contacted by Minnesota Lawyer, Hedlund explained that the league's debate was rescheduled twice to accommodate Gildea, ultimately to no avail. Hedlund also said she and Gildea were slated to go before the Pioneer Press editorial board earlier this month, but Gildea had another scheduling conflict. (The two are now scheduled to go before the paper's editorial board tomorrow.) Hedlund also said a radio appearance on Minnesota Public Radio had to be rescheduled twice. (Currently the appearance is scheduled for next week.) Hedlund also pointed out that Gildea declined to appear with her on two Ramsey County cable access shows.

For her part, Gildea reported that she is extremely busy with the combination of her judicial duties and campaigning statewide during her off time. The justice said she has to pick and choose her appearances, and frequently runs into conflicts. Moreover, she noted that two of the allegedly "canceled" joint appearances -- the Pioneer Press editorial board and MPR -- are still happening, they have just been rescheduled. (Gildea and Hedlund are slated to go before the Pioneer Press tomorrow; they are scheduled to appear on MPR next week.)

Additionally, Gildea and Hedlund have a joint appearance tonight. Both have RSVP'd to be among the judicial candidates who will address attendees at the 8th District Bar Association at its meeting at Dangerfield's in Shakopee. (Eighth District Bar President Colleen Goggins King told me that the meeting will likely have double the usual number of attendees. The function room being used holds about 70 people, and a capacity crowd is expected.)

Hedlund is still hoping for a debate with Gildea (none of the scheduled joint appearances will be in debate format ). Hedlund said she is willing to appear any time and any place of Gildea's choosing.

While Gildea said she is fine with the joint appearances and even a candidates' forum, she takes issue with the idea of a "debate" used in the context of a judicial campaign. Debating "hot-button issues" is for legislative races, not judicial ones, she said.

Appellate video series: Judge Terri Stoneburner

2008-10-21T12:28:00.005-05:00

Continuing with our video series for the appellate court races, today we bring you Court of Appeals Judge Terri Stoneburner. Stoneburner, who has served on the appellate bench for eight years, faces a challenge from International Falls attorney Dan Griffith, who has run unsuccessfully for a judgeship twice before. Stoneburner's prior experience includes 10 years as a trial court judge and 10 years in private practice in Mankato. She also worked for four years as a staff attorney for the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights.

Bridge collapse hearings commence

2008-10-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

Hearings on the 35W bridge collapse claims are underway. Minneapolis attorney Susan Holden, head of the special master panel, said that 179 claims have been filed and 70 of those will be heard by the full panel. Nine claimants have waived hearings, leaving 100 cases to be heard among the three special masters, although a few claims have already been heard, Holden said. A school bus from Waite House community center with 52 children in it was on the bridge when it went down. Yesterday, Oct. 20, the panel heard testimony from the bus driver as well as the program director and youth coordinator from Waite House. “The purpose of the testimony was to set up the testimony of the kids and understand what happened,” Holden said. “It sets the context for the medical and post-traumatic stress claims.”

The hearing at the offices of Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey also provided a preview for lawyers of claimants. Holden said about eight lawyers attended the hearings. All the hearings will be concluded by the end of January and offers must be made by Feb. 28.

The un-American dream

2008-10-20T13:24:00.016-05:00

Being something of a fan of the First Amendment (it's one of my favorite amendments, in fact), I was somewhat taken aback by Rep. Michele Bachmann's remark that she is concerned that Barack Obama may have "anti-American views." And, of course, her calling on the media to investigate her fellow members of Congress to determine whether they are anti- or pro-America didn't help either.

Congress itself once did the investigating of the "un-American," so some may think turnabout is fair play. But I think the vast majority of folks realize that what is and is not "un-American" (or anti-American) hinges largely on the mindset of the one tossing around the inflammatory word. Offering constructive criticisms of one's country is the hallmark of a free society, and, if you ask me, a higher form of patriotism than mouthing platitudes as it heads down the wrong path.

Bachmann has since backed off her unfortunate comments to some degree, so hopefully that's the end of it. Just in case, I am switching to American cheese on all my luncheon sandwiches, lest I be labeled anti-American. I have always been neutral toward Swiss cheese anyway. And, needless to say, I won't be having that sandwich on French bread ...

In any event, I'd expect a lot more nasty attacks and counterattacks leading up to the election. The good news is there's just two weeks to go. Then we can finally start talking about who is going to run in 2012 ...

Video Clip: Judge Deborah Hedlund

2008-10-20T09:45:00.006-05:00

As we continue with our video election coverage of the state appellate court races, we present Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, who is challenging Judge Lorie Skjerven Gildea for her seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Hedlund has spent the last 28 years on the trial court bench. Prior to being a judge, Hedlund worked in the Minnetonka City Attorney's Office and as an attorney in private practice.

In the clip below, Hedlund discussed why she believes voters should pick her for the Supreme Court seat currently occupied by Gildea. (Video of Gildea appears in the post below.)

Click here for the YouTube version.

Video clip: Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea

2008-10-20T08:43:00.007-05:00

Minnesota Lawyer this week presents its video coverage of the three appellate court races. We start today with the race between Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund.

Gildea, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in late 2005, served briefly on the Hennepin County District Court. She has been also been a prosecutor in Hennepin County, counsel for the University of Minnesota and an attorney in private practice.

In the interview below, Gildea discusses the reasons she believes voters should retain her on the state Supreme Court.

Click here for the YouTube version.

ABA working towards a smooth election day

2008-10-17T09:56:00.003-05:00

The American Bar Association is doing its part to ensure that the upcoming election goes as smoothly as possible.

As part of its effort, the association is providing materials to prepare state trial judges and lawyers who may become involved in election-related litigation. Posted on the ABA's voting website is a state-by-state directory of election statutes that answer basic questions about who can cast a ballot and when votes can be challenged. The site also contains links to video lectures and a manual on election law produced by the National Center for State Courts and the College of William & Mary Law School.

The ABA is also seeking lawyers to provide counsel through the Election Protection Project. This program, co-sponsored by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the ABA, is recruiting lawyers from large and small law firms nationwide to staff voter-assistance hotlines and perform other election-related work. For more information or to register, contact nafziger.jamie@dorsey.com or go to http://www.abanet.org/2008election/.

Joe the Plumber 2, Joe the Lawyer 0

2008-10-16T08:59:00.008-05:00

Pity poor "Joe the Lawyer."

While both presidential candidates professed support for the Ohio man mulling buying a plumbing business, they both disowned trial lawyers to some degree.

In the case of John McCain, the subject came up in reference to a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that a woman who discovered on the verge of retirement retired that her employer had paid her less than male counterparts was time-barred from suing for pay discrimination. McCain thinks the case was rightly decided; Barack Obama has supported congressional attempts to amend federal discrimination law to allow claims such as the woman's. In referring to the bill during the debate, McCain dismissively called it a "trial lawyer's dream."

Meanwhile, Obama, citing examples of times at which he had broken with fellow Democrats in his voting, pointed to a bill he had backed limiting some lawsuits when he first arrived in Congress. The measure "wasn't very popular with trial lawyers," he said.

But I bet Joe the Plumber loved it.

High court candidates come Facebook-to-Facebook, but not face-to-face

2008-10-15T09:51:00.025-05:00

A lot has been written about the use of social-networking sites by lawyers. Now it has even permeated into the arena of judicial elections.

Both Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea (right) and her opponent in the upcoming election, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund (left), have entries on the Facebook networking site for their campaigns. In fact, Hedlund has two.

One Hedlund Facebook entry-- entitled, "Deborah Hedlund for Supreme Court" -- boasts 12 members, and includes some biographical information and a photo. The second Hedlund Facebook entry, which also has a photo, has a prominent message at the top stating: "Deborah Hedlund is trying to get my opponent to show up for a debate. She has canceled six times now."

Hedlund also has put a series of campaign videos on YouTube.

Meanwhile, 53 supporters have publicly stated that they are backing Gildea on her Facebook page, which includes a "fan photo" of one supporter wearing a Gildea T-shirt while eating something or other on a stick at the State Fair. A couple of statements of support came from folks with the last name Skjerven, including on from a Josh Skjerven, who exclaimed, "im with her." In addition to the standard headshot, the Facebook entry for Gildea's campaign also includes pictures of Gildea being hugged by the University of Minnesota Mascot (Goldy Gopher), riding on a horse in western garb and marching in a parade in Thief River Falls.

While campaigns run in the virtual world are all well and good, I would like to see a real-world debate between Gildea and Hedlund. They have one of the more engaging races, and I think it might generate some public interest in judicial elections.

Anoka County buys a big bag of CHIPS

2008-10-15T09:41:00.001-05:00

Does someone in Anoka County have a magic revenue-generating machine in their basement? Recipients of county services had better hope so.

The county board voted yesterday to hire a pair of private law firms to handle the 170 new Child in Need of Protection (CHIPS) petitions and up to 70 new termination of parental rights hearings that come before Anoka County courts each year.

The Anoka law firm of Randall and Goodrich will be paid $5,000 a month and attorney David Cossi will earn $4,500 a month as the second primary lawyer on those cases.

The board estimated that processing all the county’s CHIPS cases will cost between $160,000 to $180,000, none of which had been set aside in the county’s budget. It remains to be seen which county programs and services will have to be scaled back to pick up the slack.

Facing a multimillion shortfall, the State Board of Public Defense decided in June that counties should pay for lawyers for poor adults who are losing parental rights or are otherwise involved in cases in which children need help.

Tough break for Anoka County. But hey, at least there haven’t been any new state taxes during the current gubernatorial administration. That's the important thing, right?

Bridge fund deadline looms

2008-10-14T08:44:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, Oct. 15, is the deadline for survivors of the I-35W bridge collapse to file claims with the State of Minnesota.

The state has established a $37 million fund to compensate survivors of the August 1, 2007 bridge collapse. The law established a special master panel to consider claims, make settlement offers and enter settlement agreements with survivors. The Special Master Panel of Chair Susan Holden, Steven Kirsch and Michael Tewksbury was appointed by Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson on May 29.

The law authorizing this compensation process defines an eligible survivor as “a natural person who was present on the I-35W bridge at the time of the collapse.” A survivor also includes family members who survive a person who perished in the collapse or the legally recognized representative of a survivor, such as the parent or legal guardian of a survivor who is under 18 years of age, or a court appointed trustee authorized to bring a claim under Minnesota’s Wrongful Death Act, Minn. Stat. sec. 573.02.

The claim application forms required to submit a claim in this special compensation process are available, together with instructions, online at the website administered by the panel of Special Masters: www.BridgeCollapseClaims.com. If you are not able to access the claim forms on this website, you may contact us or call the Office of the Special Master Panel at (651) 485-1153.

AAJ upset over pre-emption language in new seatbelt rule

2008-10-10T10:59:00.006-05:00

The American Association for Justice is upset over a rule issued this week that it says will diminish consumers’ legal right to hold vehicle manufacturers accountable through the civil justice system.

According to the AAJ, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s final rule on designated seating positions includes specific language that would pre-empt state tort law claims related to seatbelt positions. The language essentially prohibits consumers from legally claiming they were unable to wear a seatbelt because of lack of sufficient number of seatbelts or the seatbelt’s location in the vehicle.

The AAJ says that the “designated seating position” rule had two main objectives: (1) to revise the definition of “designated seating position” to determine the number of seat belts that are required in a particular vehicle; and (2) to eliminate the exclusion of auxiliary seats from the definition so that all seating locations intended to be used while a vehicle is in motion would provide the appropriate levels of crash protection.

But the final rule issued Wednesday specifically includes the pre-emption language, in addition to the preamble, where NHTSA has included pre-emption language in past rules.

Before when the language was only in the preamble, the agency was giving an advisory opinion,” AAJ president Les Weisbrod said in a press release. “Clearly the agency wanted to give the manufacturers a free pass on seatbelt safety.”

Correction: Candidate fundraising for appellate races

2008-10-10T09:31:00.008-05:00

Last Monday, in a chart accompanying a story on the appellate court races, Minnesota Lawyer reported the amounts of the contributions to the appellate court candidates in the upcoming election. There was an error in the information listed for Court of Appeals Judge Terri Stoneburner, who faces a challenge from International Falls attorney Dan Griffith. The chart erroneously showed that Stoneburner has raised $25,066. As of Oct. 8, Stoneburner's campaign had, in fact, raised only $8,700. The figure reported for Griffith, $2,275 is correct.

So far, Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea, who has reported contributions of about $35,000, is in the lead for fundraising in the appellate races.

Happy Leif Erikson Day!

2008-10-09T13:14:00.006-05:00

Today is dedicated to that famous Norse explorer who made landfall some 1,000 years ago in what is now known as Newfoundland.

I'm not sure how you celebrate such an event, but I plan on brushing up on my history at NOVA's excellent website, "The Vikings."

Debt-laden student escapes job market by going to law school

2008-10-08T10:19:00.004-05:00

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article today about parents having to "bailout" loan-laden students having trouble finding well-paying jobs in today's abysmal economy. I found the following excerpt particularly relevant to our readership:

Some parents are taking a deep breath and upping the ante. A Pennsylvania mother says that after her 23-year-old daughter took on $20,000 in loans to help finance a $160,000 undergraduate degree, the best job she could get last year paid less than $40,000, failing to cover rent, expenses and loan payments. In hopes of helping her gain entry to a higher-paying career, her parents picked up her loan payments, paid off $2,000 in credit-card debt and persuaded her to move back home, where she's preparing to apply for law school. The mother asked that her name not be used to avoid embarrassing her daughter.

As many of you know and have pointed out on this blog, competition for legal jobs is fierce, with many younger lawyers having trouble finding the kind of jobs that pay enough to allow them to service their ever increasing student debt loads. Hopefully it will work out for this young woman, but it's not always the best plan to treat the law as a safe haven in an economic storm.

The First Amendment: not always pretty

2008-10-08T09:59:00.003-05:00

Prosecutors last week dropped charges against a Winona, Minn., teenager who was ticketed in September for desecrating an American flag.

Police had charged the 14-year-old boy after he wrote song lyrics on a flag, burned holes in it, and tore it into several pieces. He then scattered the pieces throughout his high school before skipping class to attend the Rage Against the Machine concert on Sept. 3rd in Minneapolis during the Republican National Convention.

While the U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the U.S. flag, Minnesota is one of 47 states with laws on the books prohibiting such acts. Why was this incident allowed to slide? Perhaps city prosecutors had bigger fish to fry, or as legal blogger Sam Lea speculated, maybe they didn't want Minnesota's anti-flag desecration law to be held up to constitutional scrutiny via the courts.

Judicial candidate keeps interesting company

2008-10-07T09:47:00.009-05:00

I recently came across a disturbing website connected to the Stanbury Law Firm, P.A., run by Minneapolis lawyer Alfred Stanbury. The site asks visitors if they’ve been injured when removing a Pampered Chef knife from its sharpening case – but that’s not what’s alarming.

Stanbury's site features such things as a mock traffic sign stating “Warning: Muslims nearby” in which there is a silhouette of a person with a knife in one hand and a severed head dripping blood in the other.

Interestingly, Stanbury was co-counsel a while ago in a case with attorney John Dehen, who is running for a judicial seat against incumbent Judge Robert Varco in the 10th Judicial District. Dehen and Stanbury were involved in a nuisance suit against Dehen’s elderly neighbors, according to Anoka attorney Joan Quady, who represented the neighbors. The case has since settled. Dehen has also been involved in Pampered Chef knives cases, one of which led to a public reprimand for violating a court order regarding the use of information obtained in discovery. Dehen hasn’t returned several phone calls seeking comment

Obviously Stanbury has the right to put anything up on the Web. But voters in the 10th District should remember, as our mothers used to say, that you are known by the company you keep, or kept.

Lawyers an instrumental part of 'Attractive Nuisance Tour'

2008-10-06T21:10:00.015-05:00

I had the pleasure of stopping by the sixth Annual “Attractive Nuisance Tour” at the Fine Line Music Cafe last Friday evening. The tour is always a great legal community event with an excellent objective -- raising money for the Minnesota Justice Foundation and the Hennepin County Bar Foundation. Over its five year lifespan, the event has raised more than $200,000 for these worthwhile causes.

The Attractive Nuisance Tour features music from an array of bands – each of which includes at least one member who is from the local legal community. The festivities last Friday were led off with the all-lawyer band “Noisy Withdrawal.” (For more on the band, click here.) I had the chance to chat with three of members of band – Laurie Hartman, Steve Beck and Ryan Johnson. When they are not practicing their music, all three of these bandmates can be found practicing law at Fredrikson & Byron.

Below is a clip of “Noisy Withdrawal’s” performance at Friday's fun-filled event along with a few comments from the above band members.

Click here to see this clip on YouTube.

Judge Venne charged with four gross misdemeanors

2008-10-06T12:57:00.004-05:00

The Associated Press and the St. Paul Pioneer Press have reported that Anoka County District Court Judge Donald Venne has been charged with four gross misdemeanors for failing to pay all his taxes from 2003 to 2006.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue reported today that the Dakota County attorney's office filed the charges.

The criminal complaint filed Friday alleges Venne owes the state more than $3,100. It also says the state has had to take action to recover his taxes for the 2002 and 2003 tax years.

His lawyer, Doug Kelley, has said the judge was not trying to avoid paying his taxes, and that the needed tax returns are being prepared.

Incumbent designation 'shall' be on the ballot

2008-10-03T10:19:00.003-05:00

For the past several weeks, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, who is running for the Supreme Court seat currently held by Justice Lorie Gildea, has been challenging her opponent to forgo using the “incumbent” designation on the November ballot.

In August, Golden Valley Jill Clark -- who also ran for the spot but didn’t make it through the primary -- brought a formal court challenge that among other things, also sought to strike the incumbent designation from judicial ballots. Clark’s petition was unsuccessful, but like Hedlund, she continues to request that Gildea voluntarily drop the label.

I met with Gildea last week and asked her to address the request. In response, she relied on the statute that discusses the incumbent designation, Minnesota Statute 204B.36, subd. 5, which says “the word ‘incumbent’ shall be printed after that judge's name as a candidate.”

“The statute that the Legislature has written is directed to election officials,” Gildea said. “And the statute says what the election officials are to include on the ballot. It says [they] ‘shall’ [include the incumbent designation], and shall means shall. Also it’s the truth, I am the incumbent in this race.”

She makes a very good, perhaps irrefutable, point. (The statute is silent about a candidate’s ability to opt out of using the designation.)

I understand that Minnesota is one of only a few, if not the only, state that includes the “incumbent” designation on the ballot in judicial races. If we are going to stick with the election system for choosing judges in Minnesota, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate that requirement. At a minimum, it would be interesting to hear some discussion on the idea.

Twin Cities Legal; The Siebens are ready for their closeup

2008-10-03T10:02:00.004-05:00

If you are a fan of Boston Legal, you may see a few familiar faces on Monday's episode. Local attorneys and brothers, Harry, Mike, Bill and John Sieben will all make a cameo appearance.

The Sieben brothers, originally from Hastings, were given the opportunity to appear on the episode titled “Dances with Wolves” after expressing their fondness for the series to former Hastings resident and Hollywood Producer Trent Broin, according to a press release.

The Siebens are, of course, well-known personal injury lawyers when they are not hobnobbing with the Hollywood elite. They report the cast was cordial, and that actor James Spader even expressed an interest in their professional lives.

Hennepin County judicial races: Judge James Swenson

2008-10-03T09:36:00.002-05:00

For the final installment in our five-part video series on the Hennepin County District Court races, we present a clip of Judge James Swenson. Swenson, who was appointed to the bench in 1995, faces a challenge from Hennepin County referee Thomas Haeg.

In this clip from the Sept 22 Hennepin County Bar Association's judicial candidates' forum, Swenson discusses some of the challenges facing his court and how he has dealt with them during his time on the bench.

For the other installments in this series, click bellow:
Part I: Judge Philip Bush
Part II: David Piper
Part III: Jane Ranum
Part IV: Thomas Haeg

Hennepin County judicial races: Thomas Haeg

2008-10-02T16:55:00.007-05:00

For part four of our five-part video series on the Hennepin County judicial races, we present Hennepin County referee Thomas Haeg. Haeg has been a referee in the District Court since 1976. He is running against incumbent Judge James Swenson.

In this video clip from the Hennepin County Bar Association's judicial candidates' forum on Sept. 22, Haeg discusses his qualifications for the judicial seat for which he is running.

You can also view this clip on YouTube by clicking here. To see the prior three installments in this video series, click here (part I), here (part II) and here (part III).)

State Bar announces lawyers' preferences in District Court races

2008-10-02T10:26:00.010-05:00

In the previous post, we report the results of the Minnesota State Bar Association poll for the statewide appellate races. The following are the results of the Bar poll for the contested local District Court races. The polling was conducted in conjunction with local bar groups.

1st Judicial District

The incumbent, Judge Joseph Carter, handily beat Rice County prosecutor Nathaniel J. Reitz 91.5 percent (43 votes) to 8.5 percent (4 votes). Minnesota Lawyer has a story on this race in its upcoming edition.

2nd Judicial District (Ramsey County)

In the race for the seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge John Finley, Hennepin County prosecutor Howard Orenstein squeaked by Children’s Law Center of Minnesota executive director Gail Chang Bohr 51 percent (234 votes) to 49 percent (228 votes). This race, which pits a well-known former state lawmaker against a popular nonprofit executive/ attorney is turning out to be a nail biter.

3rd Judicial District

Incumbent Judge Lawrence E. Agerter prevailed over Burnsville attorney Anthony J. Mossbrugger 75.5 percent (40 votes) to 24.5 percent (13 votes).

4th Judicial District (Hennepin County)

Incumbent Judge Philip D. Bush trounced challenger Alan Eugene Link 97 percent (1,015 votes) to 3 percent (30 votes). Link has declined to furnish information about his candidacy, including his photo, and was the only candidate not to participate in the Hennepin County Bar Association’s debate.
In the race for the seat left vacant by the retiring Judge Thomas Wexler, family court referee David Piper fetched 59.5 percent (622 votes) to Hennepin County prosecutor Jane Ranum’s 40.5 percent (424 votes);
Incumbent Judge James T. Swenson received 78 percent (836 votes) to District Court referee Thomas F. Haeg’s 22 percent (234 votes)

8th Judicial District

Incumbent Judge Randall Slieter outpolled challenger Glen M. (Jake) Jacobsen 84 percent (31 votes) to 16 percent (6 votes).

10th District

There are two contested District Court races in the 10th District, but the 10th District Bar chose not to participate in the polling.

For more information on the judicial elections, go to Minnesota Lawyer's online Judicial elections guide, which you can access by clicking here.

MSBA poll: Lawyers favor incumbents in statewide appellate races

2008-10-02T09:22:00.004-05:00

The Minnesota State Bar Association has released the results of its plebiscite in which members are polled on the judicial races. The following are the results for the statewide seats that will be on the ballot in November.

There were no surprises in the race that pits 15-year Minnesota Supreme Court veteran Justice Paul Anderson against 9th Judicial District referee Tim Tingelstad. The well-known justice trounced Tingelstad, receiving 92 percent of the vote (i.e. 2,229 votes of 2,417 cast) from participating lawyers.

In the other Supreme Court race on the ballot, Lorie Skjerven Gildea, who was appointed to the high court by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2005, received 72 percent of the vote (1,703 of 2.377 cast). Gildea’s challenger, Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund, got 28 percent of the vote, which is actually not a bad showing in the MSBA poll, where the incumbent tends to do very well. Hedlund has made the central focus of her campaign her lengthy experience as a trial court judge. It’s highly unusual in Minnesota for a trial court judge to challenge a sitting justice for a high court seat, so this race is being closely watched. As Minnesota Lawyer will report in its upcoming edition, Gildea leads Hedlund in another important respect – funds raised. Gildea’s campaign reports taking in about $35,000 so far. Meanwhile, Hedlund’s campaign reports only $600 in contributions.

In the one contested Court of Appeals race, Terri J. Stoneburner, who joined the court eight years ago, received an impressive 92 percent of the vote (2,175 of the 2,375 votes cast). Her opponent, International Falls attorney Dan Griffith, has made two prior bids for a judgeship.

Hennepin County judicial races: Jane Ranum

2008-10-01T15:01:00.005-05:00

Continuing with our five part video series on the Hennepin county judicial races (click here and here for the prior installments), today we bring you Hennepin County prosecutor Jane Ranum, who is one of two candidates running to fill the seat left vacant by the forthcoming retirement of Judge Thomas Wexler. (The other candidate is Hennepin County District Court referee David Piper.) Ranum is a former state senator.

In this clip, Ranum discusses why voters should pick her to fill the open seat.

Click here for the YouTube version of this video.

College fairs put students on their way

2008-10-01T10:16:00.004-05:00

Attention budding law students: You've gotta start somewhere.

A good first step for great future great legal (and non-legal) minds is the two-day Fall National College Fair, starting today at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The fair is expected to draw 25,000 high school students and their parents, who will visit booths representing more than 75 public and private two- and four-year college and universities from all over the United States.

The fair lets students and parents meet one-on-one with admission representatives and will learn about admission requirements, financial aid, course offerings, and campus environment, as well as other information pertinent to the college selection process.

As the parent of a high-school junior, I can tell you that events like this are valuable for learning about a wide array of higher-education options all at once.

Hennepin County judicial races: David Piper

2008-09-30T11:03:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we brought you video of Judge Philip Bush at last week's Hennepin County Bar Association judicial forum. Today we bring you part two of our five-part video series on the Hennepin County judicial races with David Piper. Piper has been a full-time family court referee in Hennepin County since 2001. He is one of two candidates who survived the primary in the race to fill the seat left open with the forthcoming retirement of Judge Thomas Wexler. Piper's opponent in the race is Hennepin County prosecutor and former state Senator Jane Ranum.

In the clip we present today, Piper discusses his qualifications to make the move from referee to judge.

Click here to see the YouTube vsersion of this video.

Magnuson multi-tasks

2008-09-30T10:46:00.002-05:00

Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson is working the rooms across the state to garner support for an additional $54 million for the justice system and told Minnesota Lawyer he’s gratified at the public reception so far although he knows there is a lot more work to do with the governor and the legislature. A measure of the court’s success in getting its message out was Sunday’s editorial in the St. Cloud Times, “Our view: Justice system requires funding.” It cautions, “Remember, legislators and the governor largely created this situation with their latest budget-balancing efforts. They need to fix it or justice might not just be delayed (even more); it might well be denied statewide.”

Also this week, Magnuson attended the MSBA Appellate Practice Council launch of its quarterly lunch series, designed to elevate the practice of the appellate bar and bring together appellate practitioners and appellate judges to discuss current appellate practice issues. Not only did he attend, he set the table when the caterers were late. “I’ve always been a hands-on kind of guy,” the chief joked modestly.

Minnesota Lawyer election videos debut: Judge Philip Bush

2008-09-29T10:36:00.008-05:00

Minnesota Lawyer is trying something new this judicial-election cycle -- providing video clips of the candidates in selected judicial races. Our cameraman, Bill Klotz, shot video footage of judicial candidates responding to questions at the Hennepin County Bar Association's judicial candidate's forum in Minneapolis on Sept. 22. (Five out of six of the Hennepin County District Court candidates participated.) This week, we will provide a video clip of each of the five candidates who were there.

Today, we start with Judge Philip Bush. Bush, the incumbent, has been challenged by attorney Alan Eugene Link, who works for Regis Corp. Bush has served in the seat for 19 years. Link declined to participate in the forum and has not responded to informational requests.

In the following clip, Bush responds to a question about when the laws a judge must apply conflict with his/her personal views. The debate moderator was former Hennepin County District Court Judge Pamela Alexander, who now heads the Council on Crime and Justice.

Rocking for legal charities

2008-09-26T09:39:00.007-05:00

It's that time of year again -- time for lawyers to put down their legal pads and briefcases and pick up their guitars or drum sticks to jam with their colleagues!

The sixth annual Attractive Nuisance Tour --"ANT" as it's affectionately known in the legal community -- will be held Friday, Oct. 3, at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. The event is a benefit rock concert featuring bands that include at least one lawyer or law student. You might be surprised to discover who among your professional colleagues has a totally separate, secret life as a rock star, or at least as a rock star wannabe ...

Proceeds of the show benefit two legal service organizations, the Minnesota Justice Foundation and the Hennepin County Bar Foundation. The MJF sponsors and funds law student summer clerkships at Legal Aid offices and public interest organizations in Minnesota. The Hennepin County Bar Foundation supports programs that facilitate legal services to people of limited resources, among other services.

You can go and enjoy the music -- and contribute to a worthy cause while doing it -- for just $20. VIP tickets are available for $60 and include a T-shirt, preferred seating and appetizers. For more information, click here. To buy tickets, contact Joy at (612) 752-6614 or by e-mail at joy@hcba.org.

Why run when you can walk?

2008-09-25T10:45:00.008-05:00

While assembling our judicial election website, I noticed that several challengers are running because of their distaste for the governor's selection process. For these folks, yesterday's news must've been particularly bitter.

To fill two vacancies in the 4th Judicial District, the Commission on Judicial Selection named Gov. Tim Pawlenty's own counsel, Karen A. Janisch, as one of four finalists.

Kinda makes you wonder why someone would bother spending all that time and money on a campaign — and on another level — why we bother with judicial elections in the first place.

Citizens' meeting lacking one thing: citizens

2008-09-24T10:11:00.004-05:00

Last night we attended what was promoted as a "community listening session" in Eagan that was meant to engender discussion about racial fairness and how residents of Minnesota's First Judicial District perceive the justice system where they live.

Despite aggressive efforts by the meeting organizers to get the word out, only one of the 25 or so people in attendance was a member of the community who didn't have a tie to law enforcement, the courts, or the corrections system. Unfortunately, as those in attendance acknowledged, coming to such a meeting is a tall order for a lot of the people for whom it would be the most relevant: the growing numbers of minority and working-class residents of Dakota County. On a rainy Tuesday evening, many of those folks are likely to be either working, watching their kids, or reluctant to leave the comfort of home after a long day.

The meeting's organizers (The First Judicial District Equal Justice Committee and the Minnesota Judicial Branch Racial Fairness Committee) are all ears when it comes to hearing from members of the community about how relationships between citizens and the courts can improve. But the people need to speak out on those issues, whether that means getting on the phone to the court office or making times for meetings such as this one. The judicial system has shown its willingness to meet the people it serves halfway.

Minnesota Lawyer will run a more extensive article in its next issue about some of the issues and trends discussed at the meeting.

Advocates calls for stronger community response to sex trafficking

2008-09-23T10:55:00.003-05:00

The Advocates for Human Rights has issued a “Sex Trafficking Needs Assessment for the State of Minnesota” that finds that Minnesotans are facing a huge challenge in creating an adequate community response to the problem of sex trafficking in the state. As announced at a press conference yesterday by Cheryl Thomas, director of The Advocates Women’s Program, among the group’s recommendations are:

· That the federal definition of sex trafficking be amended to exclude the requirement of force, fraud and coercion – consistent with the Minnesota law;

· That Minnesota law be changed to include all victims of commercial and sexual exploitation, not just those cases where there is sexual contact or penetration involved;

· That there be a widespread effort to provide training and awareness on the issue and that the Legislature provide funding for this purpose;

· That there be increased funding to meet these needs of sex trafficking victims and training to ensure that service providers have the expertise to respond effectively in assisting trafficked persons; and

· That prosecution of sex traffickers and patrons be prioritized at all levels of law enforcement – local, state and federal – and that the sentencing guidelines be amended to increase sentences for these crimes, and that officials prioritize the protection and assistance of trafficked persons over their arrest and prosecution.

The report was prepared at the request of the State of Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force and was to be presented to the task force today at a conference in St. Paul. The task force will meet in October to discuss recommendations to the Commissioner of Public Safety. On Thursday, Sept. 25, the University of St. Thomas School of Law will hold its fall law journal symposium on “Human Trafficking: Global and National Responses to the Cries for Freedom,” although registration for that event is closed.

Clark to Gildea: "Drop incumbent"

2008-09-23T10:31:00.007-05:00

Golden Valley Jill Clark in an open letter to Minnesota Lawyer has congratulated Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund on her primary victory and appears to have thrown her support to Hedlund by commenting, “Think it doesn’t matter whether the district bench is represented on the appellate courts? Think again.” She has also challenged Supreme Court Justice Lorie Gildea to voluntarily remove the designation “incumbent” from the ballot. Although Clark lost that argument before the Supreme Court, Clark says, “Just because she [Gildea] can, doesn’t mean she should….”

Minnesota Statute 204B.36, subd. 5 addresses the incumbency designation and says “the word ‘incumbent’ shall be printed after that judge's name as a candidate.” It is silent about a candidate’s ability to opt out.

Memo to the U.S. Navy: So long, and thanks for all the fish

2008-09-22T11:11:00.006-05:00

I spent a little time this weekend reading the briefs for a case on the U.S. Supreme Court's docket next month. (I know, I know, it's a gripping way to spend one's off time, isn't it?) Actually it was for a piece I was putting together for Supreme Court Preview, an excellent ABA publication that provides a sneak peek at upcoming high court decisions.

The case I was turning my attention to -- Winter v. Natural Resource Defense Council -- involves an epic battle between the U.S. Navy and err ... dolphins. OK, OK, the parties on the other side of this mammalian struggle are really environmental groups. You may have heard about the case -- which has made quite the media splash. It involves a federal court injunction limiting the Navy's use of sonar during training exercises off the coast of California. The dolphins -- and certain type of whales -- apparently don't appreciate the high pitch blasts of sound. The extent of the injury to their populations is part of the litigation.

It's a serious environmental case that brings up a bevvy of legal issues. For example, when must environmental-protection concerns yield to military preparedness? I can't help recalling those above-ground atomic tests in Nevada back in the 1950s. Those weapons tests obviously wreaked havoc on the environment, but a very good case can be made that they were a necessary part of our national-security strategy. What would have happened if today's environmental laws had existed then? Of course, that would have been the least of the government's potential problems. Officials were allowing spectators in the area to watch the tests with only sunglasses for protection ...

The Winter case also implicates a number of interesting procedural issues that involve the interplay of the three branches of government. It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court treats the case in a world faced with an increasing number of both national-security and environmental hazards.

Meanwhile, the dolphins (and whales for that matter) have no idea that this is playing out in the highest court in the land of something called the United States of America. Yet, despite their ignorance of our legal system, Douglas Adams, the late author of the very humorous "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series, referred to dolphins as the second most intelligent mammal on the planet-- next to, of course, us. However, even that was the subject of some dispute. The following is one of my favorite quotes from the Hitchhiker series:

"It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons."

Recount done -- It's Gildea vs. Hedlund for high court

2008-09-22T09:09:00.004-05:00

It's now official -- Supreme Court Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea's challenger in the November election will be Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund.

In the primary, Gildea was top vote-getter for the seat she currently occupies, receiving more than 53 percent of the vote. Hedlund and Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark finished within a half of percentage point of each other for the #2 spot spot on the ballot (Hedlund had 17.86 percent to Clark's 17.43 percent), necessitating a recount under state law. With a margin of more than 1,300 votes separating the two candidates, the gap was narrowed by just 7 votes in the recount. (Click here to see the breakdown of the voting.) The results were certified yesterday.

A shout out to the counties and the office of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie for getting this recount done so speedily. The retabulation by hand of thousands of ballots in a statewide election is no easy feat, and in this case was carried out with record alacrity.

The Gildea-Hedlund race should be an interesting one if, for no other reason, for the first time in recent memory it pits two sitting judges against each other. Stay tuned for more coverage of this and other judicial races ...

Think you've got the answers to judicial elections? Take the MWL quiz

2008-09-19T11:14:00.005-05:00

No legal group in Minnesota makes more of an effort to distribute useful information about the judicial races to voters than does Minnesota Women Lawyers. For example, the group maintains a website, "Judges & Politics Don't Mix" (www.dontmix.org) and puts out a regular newsletter during campaign season, "MWL Judicial Election News."

Public information efforts like MWL's are valuable. Since judicial elections tend not to get a lot of media attention, many voters find these races quizzical. And speaking of quizzes, MWL recently devised one to teach the public about judicial races. Click here to give it a try. Participants have a chance to win a valuable prize. (See the quiz site for details.)

So how did your truly do? I actually got a few of them wrong despite thinking myself fairly attuned to the topic area. It is an entertaining way to learn more about some issues of vital importance to the judiciary (and everyone else, for that matter). Give the quiz a shot -- and perhaps pass along the link to some members of the public who want to learn about judicial elections in Minnesota.

Study shows employees fare poorly in federal court

2008-09-19T10:28:00.004-05:00

A study released by The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy yesterday corroborates the practice of many plaintiffs’ employment lawyers to avoid federal court like the plague.

The report, to be published by the Harvard Law & Policy Review, shows that workers bringing employment discrimination lawsuits increasingly fare poorly in the federal courts.

The authors of the report -- Stewart J. Schwab and Kevin M. Clermont, both with the Cornell Law School -- studied data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and concluded that they have “unearthed an anti-plaintiff effect that is troublesome.”

Highlights from the study, “Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs In Federal Court: From Bad To Worse?” include:
-- As a result of the likelihood of unfavorable rulings in employment discrimination cases, more employees are declining to bring actions in federal court. Over seven years, 1999-2007, there has been a drop of 37 percent in the number of cases brought by plaintiffs.
-- Employment cases fare much worse than other types of cases that are filed. Between 1979 and 2006, the win rate for plaintiffs in job discrimination cases in the federal court system was 15 percent, in contrast to 51 percent for non-job related cases.
-- Employment discrimination plaintiffs are not likely to experience any greater success at the appeals court level. Data reveal that plaintiffs who lose at trial achieve reversals in less than 9 percent of their cases. In contrast, defendants who lose at the trial court level are granted reversals in 41 percent of their cases.

The findings of the study will be a subject of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the federal courts scheduled for next Tuesday.

I don’t think the results of this report are much of a surprise, especially to employment lawyers. For years, I’ve been hearing from plaintiffs’ attorneys (and some defense attorneys who will admit it) that federal court is not the place to bring an employment discrimination claim. I’m sure this study will at least validate their feelings on the issue.

Birthday and a book

2008-09-18T14:21:00.008-05:00

As if an 85th birthday wasn't enough reason to celebrate, former governor-slash-judicial watchdog Al Quie gets some fresh ink today with the release of Riding into the Sunrise: Al Quie, A Life of Faith, Service & Civility.

The book, written by Mitch Pearlstein, chronicles Quie's decades of public service through personal (sometimes-emotional) interviews and exhaustive historical research.

We just got our paws on a copy in the morning mail. Look for a review soon in Minnesota Lawyer.

Happy Constitution ... errr ... Citizenship Day

2008-09-17T14:07:00.007-05:00

Happy Constitution Day! Or is that "Citizenship Day?" ...

On this date in 1787, the delegates at the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution. Until 2004, today was known as "Citizenship Day." An amendment to a budget bill, sponsored by West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd changed the official name of the holiday to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day." (Click here for more on the holiday from Wikipedia). More and more I'm seeing it abbreviated as just "Constitution Day."

I could delve here into the politics of naming a holiday, but I just don't have the constitution for it today. Instead, I would just like to offer a tip of the hat to the Founders for coming up with one of the greatest openings ever for a document establishing a new government: "We the people ..." As Abraham Lincoln would allude to many years later, it was evident from the outset that it was to be a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." Not a bad way at all to start the American experiment.

Happy Constitution (and Citizenship) Day!

UPDATE: John Kostouros over at the State Courts Information Office has kindly provided me with a helpful link to some highly educational information on the courts' website pertaining to Constitution Day (including lesson plans for teachers and parents). Click here for all you've ever wanted to know about Constitution Day, courtesy of your local judiciary.

Krivosha continues to tread lightly --- at least according to the New York Times

2008-09-17T13:03:00.007-05:00

Terri Krivosha has gotten a lot of mileage out of the treadmill desk she uses to keep fit while she works. There's been a prior post about it on this blog, two articles mentioning it in Minnesota Lawyer (see here and here) and most recently a New York Times piece making prominent mention of it in the paper's fitness & nutrion section. (The first two words in the article? "Terri Krivosha").

So in true media style, we are reporting on all the coverage, thereby giving the subject even more coverage. Plus it gives us a good chance to again run our nifty file photo of Terri using the desk. But don't expect us to report on this again anytime soon. At this point, it's not a stretch for us to say that Terri's desk has had its run. (Phot0: Bill Klotz)

News of the weird

2008-09-17T09:54:00.001-05:00

A couple of strange-but-true recent news items:

Duluth native Howard O. Kieffer, who has been accused of impersonating a lawyer in federal courts in at least 10 states, pleaded not guilty in Bismarck, N.D., to two felony charges, mail fraud and making false statements. Among other clients he quasi-represented, Kieffer defended former St. Louis Blues hockey player Michael Danton, who was charged four years ago with plotting to kill his agent. That didn't work out too well: Danton pleaded guilty and is serving a 7 1/2-year sentence at a minimum-security federal prison in Sandstone, Minn.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Schwartz, a Denver personal-injury lawyer, says he was drugged and robbed of $50,000 in cash, clothing and jewelry (including a $30,000 watch) during the Republican National Convention. Unlike the rest of the Colorado delegation, which stayed at the $130-a-night Four Points Sheraton in St. Paul, Schwartz stayed at the Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis, where rooms range from $300-$3,000. That's where he says he was ripped off by a woman he picked up in a bar. Interviewed during the convention, Schwartz was asked what change he would like to see in a McCain presidency. His response: “Less taxes and more war. Bomb Iran!”

Some people are pretend lawyers, and some people you sort of wish were pretend lawyers.

Chiropractic accounts for majority of no-fault payments

2008-09-16T13:01:00.001-05:00

No-fault insurance rates going up? Blame your chiropractor. According to a study by the Insurance Research Council, chiropractors now account for a greater share of total provider charges in Minnesota's no-fault insurance system than all other types of treating providers combined. A new IRCstudy says that 58 percent of all provider charges for treatment of no-fault insurance claimants in 2007 were from chiropractors. In a study conducted five years earlier, IRC found that 41 percent of all treatment charges were from chiropractors.

The recently released study, Analysis of No-Fault Auto Insurance Claims in Minnesota, is based on a review of more than 500 personal injury protection (PIP) insurance claims closed with payment in 2007. The claims were among the 42,038 claims examined in the IRC's countrywide report, Auto Injury Insurance Claims: Countrywide Patterns in Treatment, Cost, and Compensation. Twenty-two automobile insurance companies representing 57 percent of the countrywide private passenger auto insurance market, and 61 percent of the Minnesota market, participated in the study.

According to the study, the growing cost of chiropractic treatment in Minnesota's auto insurance system is attributable primarily to rapid growth in average charges per visit to chiropractor offices. Between 2002 and 2007, average chiropractor charges in Minnesota increased 30 percent, from $122 to $158 per visit. In addition, the percentage of PIP claimants receiving chiropractor treatment increased approximately 5 percent. Minnesota had the third highest utilization rate for chiropractors (42 percent) among 17 states with no-fault insurance claims. Only Washington and Florida had higher chiropractor utilization rates in 2007.

MSBA is now conducting its judicial election poll

2008-09-16T10:51:00.009-05:00

I just voted in the Minnesota State Bar Association's plebiscite for the upcoming judicial elections. It's actually fairly easy. You get an e-mail with your member number and "e-signature" along with a link to the voting site. Once on the site, you enter your information, and all the appellate races and the District Court races from your district are listed out. You click your mouse when the cursor is next to the box of the candidate for whom you wish to vote and a check mark appears in the box. You also have the option of reading the brief statements provided by the candidates and seeing their pictures.

My ballot had the three appellate races on it along with the District Court races in Hennepin County, where I both live and work. However, it occurred to me there might be a glitch in this system if I lived and worked in different counties. The MSBA might have someone listed as Hennepin County, when, in fact, Ramsey County is where he lives and votes. (This is particularly true since atttorneys are apt to give their work addresses to the MSBA.) The safer route would have been to list out all the trial court races, but limit users to voting in a single district. It will be interesting to see if this creates an issue for anyone using the system.

There is an interesting twist in the voting for one of the Supreme Court seats. The ballot provides only two choices for the seat currently occupied by Lorie Skjerven Gildea -- Gildea and Hennepin County Deborah Hedlund. That match-up is, of course, not yet official. The race is subject to a recount because Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark lost to Hedlund, the #2 vote-getter, by such a narrow margin (.5 percent). In the admittedly somewhat unlikely event that Clark should pick up enough votes in the recount to displace Hedlund on the November ballot, the MSBA will have to commission a second poll just for that seat. (The MSBA ballot does note with an asterisk that the race is currently subject to a recount.) In any case, Clark would probably not like the MSBA ballot, since it specifically designates who the incumbent is for the seat.

Overall, I think the MSBA balloting-process was very user-friendly. The only glitch I ran into was that since I took the time to read the bios the candidates had provided, I was told my session had "timed out" when I went to cast my ballot. However, when I used the information the MSBA gave me to log back in, I noticed my choices were all still checked off. I just had to click the "cast my ballot" button and I was done.

Minnesota Lawyer updates judicial election site for November races

2008-09-15T14:44:00.009-05:00

Minnesota Lawyer has updated its online Judicial Election guide to reflect the results of the recent primary. The site now includes information about all the races that will be on the November ballot including candidate photos, bios and responses to Minnesota Lawyer's questionnaire.

There is one race -- the race for Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea's seat -- which is not yet final. Gildea, the top vote-getter in the primary, will be on the ballot in November. However, two of the challengers -- Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund -- were seperated by such a small margin in the primary (less than .5 percent) that a recount is necessary to determine who will get to challenge Gildea in the November election. (The unofficial count has Hedlund in the lead by 1,369 votes.) Once the recount is done -- which could be as soon as the end of the week -- we will add the challenger's information to our site.

In the meantime, there is plenty of information up about the other races to keep you busy. Click here to check it all out.

Some innocent fun for a good cause

2008-09-15T09:28:00.013-05:00

One month from today -- on Wednesday, Oct. 15 -- the Innocence Project of Minnesota will hold its annual "Benefit for Innocence" at the Depot in Minneapolis.

The project has a noble goal, which is to keep innocent people from being convicted and to free those who have been. (It's hard to argue with that objective.) This annual fundraiser is a big part of helping the group to fulfill this mission locally, so I would urge you to support it by attending or being a firm sponsor. (Click here for info). In the interests of full-disclosure, Minnesota Lawyer is a "media sponsor" -- as it has been, I believe, since the group formed -- but it's a worthy cause that I would be in favor of supporting regardless.

Even if the philanthropic reasons don't catch your interest, there is another reason to go to this year's event -- the keynote speaker is none other than lawyer/ author John Grisham. Grisham's legal thrillers have been blockbusters to say the least --- and the movie versions have starred such folk as Tom Cruise, Susan Sarandon, Denzel Wahington, Claire Danes and Julia Roberts.

So, whether you are "The Rainmaker," "The Partner," or "The Associate" where you work, make "The Firm" commitment to have a little innocent fun on Oct. 15. Sorry, but I'll have to end my series of of eye-rolling Grisham puns here, as I have no more "Time to Kill." But for any of you still with us who want to have a good time at a worthwhile event, I'll repeat the link to the Innocence Project's information.

Judicial campaign conduct committee's idea is food for thought

2008-09-12T09:43:00.008-05:00

The Minnesota State Bar Association committee monitoring the conduct of judicial campaigns has an interesting idea -- get together with the opposing candidates over a meal.

Detroit Lakes attorney David Stowman, the chair of the MSBA Judicial election Campaign Conduct Committee, recently explained it this way to Minnesota Lawyer's Michelle Lore: "When people get together face to face and they get to know each other on a personal basis, it's more difficult for them to have a nasty campaign. I don't see any downside in doing and I think some good might come of it."

Hmmm. Well, the words "food fight" do come to mind ... But assuming the candidates mind their table manners, it's an intriguing concept.

If a lunch can't be arranged for logistical or other reasons, the committee will try to coordinate a conference call.

Stowman also said he plans to contact the candidates who lost in Tuesday's judicial primary to get their input on the committee and how it might be improved.

Will fantasy football get sacked?

2008-09-11T11:20:00.006-05:00

Since the Large Hadron Collider apparently hasn't torn a gaping hole in the universe, I need to find another doomsday scenario.

(rifling through my End Times folder)

Here we go: The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday against CBS Interactive over the use of player statistics in fantasy football games, the Associated Press reports.

The suit, filed in Miami, comes a week after CBS Interactive sued the NFL Players Association in federal court in Minneapolis. That suit seeks to clarify who controls the statistics that underlie its fantasy football games.

As a Wisconsin native, I've already lost the most talented quarterback known to man. Now take away our fantasy teams? There's no telling what will happen!

Recount necessary in Supreme Court race

2008-09-10T15:46:00.020-05:00

Stop the presses! The ballot presses anyway.

It looks like there will be a recount in the race for Justice Lorie Gildea's seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Gildea came out far ahead of her three challengers with 53.45 percent of the vote in the primary election yesterday. Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund is the purported second-place finisher with 17.86 percent of the vote, which is less than one-half of a percentage point ahead of Golden Valley attorney Jill Clark's 17.43 percent.

According to Clark, the recount was initiated by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. She indicated that she got a call about 1:00 p.m. this afternoon from the office indicating that the race fell with the "automatic recount range."

Hedlund said a recount in such a close race wasn't unexpected, although she was not aware there was an automatic recount range. "I think the entire state is electronic so at least we won't have any hanging chads," she said.

In fact, it is the paper mark-the-oval ballots that will be retrieved, reviewed and recounted by hand. According to the Secretary of State's Office, the recount will involve a manual review of more than 300,000 ballots (most of which were originally fed into optical-scan machines). An estimated 90,000 of those were cast in Hennepin County. The current count has Hedlund leading by 1,369 votes-- a margin unlikely to erased by any recount, according to a knowledgeable source.

Discussing the recount this afternoon at a St. Paul event sponsored by Politics in Minnesota, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said it is "a very unusual thing to have happen. " The last statewide recount reportedly was in the 1962 governor's race.

Ritchie also said that his office had contingency plans in place for a statewide recount and anticipates that it could be completed in as little as three days once it starts. The recount has to be completed in time for ballots to be printed and in the mail to absentee voters by Oct.3.

It's Justice Gildea vs. Judge Hedlund

2008-09-10T10:03:00.005-05:00

It's now official. It will be Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund who will face off against Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea in the general election in November. Hedlund squeaked by Jill Clark, who fought a highly aggressive campaign, which included filing unsuccessful state and federal court actions to get Gildea disqualified from the ballot.

Hedlund got about 17.86 percent of the vote to Clark's 17.43. (Gildea, the first place finisher for the seat, got 53.44 percent).

Analysis:

I think the voters got it right here. While Clark's campaign was hard fought, she dedicated the lion's share of it to trying to get one of her opponents disqualified and to challenging the word "incumbent" on the ballot. I think some of that time might have been better served doing what is incumbent on all candidates -- making the case for why they are the best choice. The publicity surrounding the various court challenges gave Clark some name recognition, but also may have rubbed some voters the wrong way.

By contrast, Hedlund concentrated on what she would potentially add to the mix -- years of experience as a trial court judge. Whether or not you buy Hedlund's argument that the high court needs someone with her background, it's a more constructive approach.

Push to exit -- and we mean PUSH!

2008-09-10T09:39:00.002-05:00

Like many regular visitors to the Minnesota Judicial Center in St. Paul, I enter the building through its southeast side, from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. And as regular visitors to the building no doubt know, the doors to that entrance weigh approximately 10,000 lbs. each. I don’t know what kind of triple-reinforced armor they’re made out of, but they make the entrance to the average bank vault seem like a cottage screen door.

Usually I can muster the strength to open the doors if I remember to plant my feet and square my back, just as I was taught in the weight training unit of a long-ago gym class. But on a recent visit to the Judicial Center, in my haste I forgot to do those things as I exited, and not only did I walk square into the unyielding door, but my attempt to lightly push it open resulted in a gashed finger, thanks to a metal edge on the door frame. I briefly considered a personal injury action against the building’s management, but a quick mental survey of the legal minds within it made me reconsider.

I used to silently mock the able-bodied people who would insist on pushing the automatic door-opening button when entering the Judicial Center, but no more. Sometimes the path of least resistance really is the best way to go.

Judicial primary results; Incumbents advance, plus ...

2008-09-10T08:34:00.006-05:00

As expected, the two incumbent Supreme Court justices up for election -- Paul Anderson and Lorie Gildea -- easily sailed through the primary. Anderson, who got about 64 percent of the vote, will square off against the number two vote-getter, 9th District referee Tim Tingelstad, in the November election. Tinglestad got about 22 percent of the vote. The third candidate in that race, software engineer/ attorney Alan Lawrence Nelson, got about 14 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, the race between two of the challengers who want to face Gildea in November is a real squeaker. Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund currently leads Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark by a razor-thin margin of about half a percent. (Both candidates have between 17 percent and 18 percent of the vote. At the time of this post, the counting for 95 percent of counties was reported as complete.) The fourth candidate in the race, Richard Gallo, finished with a little more than 11 percent of the vote.

In Hennepin County, family court referee David Piper (26 percent) and prosecutor/ former state Senator Jane Ranum (22.3 percent) emerged victorious in a field of six attorneys running for an open seat, earning themselves spots on the November ballot. (Prosecutor Liz Cutter made a valiant effort, missing out by only about 1 percent). In Ramsey County, prosecutor/ former state Representative Howard Orenstein (28.6 percent) and Children's Law Center of Minnesota Executive Director Gail Chang Bohr (20.4 percent) were the top two vote-getters in a field of eight for an open seat.

Minnesota Judicial Races on Primary Ballot

2008-09-09T11:00:00.001-05:00

For complete information about the judicial races on today's primary ballot,
Click here or on link above.

Don't forget to vote!

A vote for the justice system

2008-09-09T10:11:00.001-05:00

Just in time for primary election day, Hennepin County District Court Chief Judge James Swenson and Hennepin County Bar Association President Mary Vasaly have issued a press release addressing the cut in jury pay and other effects of budget cuts on the courts. They write that civil filing is now closed on Wednesday afternoons; mandatory non-binding arbitration has been shut down; supervision of parent visitation services has been discontinued; and staff has been cut that would otherwise help victims process their domestic abuse cases.

Vasaly and Swenson continue: “The results:

“The time it takes to process civil judgments has doubled. One attorney noted it will now take more than two months to begin efforts to collect a multi-million dollar judgment. In that time, he fears the money will be hidden or gone. Previously, a writ was ready in two to four weeks;

“Homeowners suing a contractor for work not done will wait four to five months for a hearing date. Meanwhile, there are no funds for the homeowner to finish the incomplete home improvement project;

“If you suspect ill-treatment of your parent in a nursing home, the nursing home may file a harassment claim against you. A hearing request regarding the claim now takes two months. In the meantime, the harassment order remains in effect which bars you from seeing your parent.”

The solution is in the public’s hands. “Tell candidates for public office that it is time to properly invest in our court system. Fair pay for jury service, keeping all Hennepin County courthouse doors open, protecting children and domestic abuse victims, and ensuring that justice is not delayed all depend on it,” Vasaly and Swenson write.

Blog readers, please pass the word, and don’t forget to vote!

Alito puts a period on Clark's primary ballot battle

2008-09-08T14:07:00.006-05:00

Minneapolis attorney and judicial candidate Jill Clark has lost her last-ditch bid for federal relief in her effort to remove the name of her opponent, Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea, from the primary ballot, or, in the alternative, to prevent Gildea from being identified an an incumbent.

A special panel appointed for the purpose of hearing Clark's state Supreme Court petition had denied the contentious candidate's request for relief hours after arguments in the case. Clark then sought relief from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the circuit justice for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking him to prevent the "unconstitutional text" from the ballot. (Clark had argued, among other things, that identifying the incumbent as such on the ballot violates the state Constitution.)

On Sept. 5, without further comment, Alito denied Clark's application for an injunction.

Two other candidates -- Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund and Hennepin County assistant public defender Richard Gallo -- are also challenging Gildea in tomorrow's primary. The top two vote-getters will earn a place on the November ballot.

Judicial races not political so far, but not all 'nice' either

2008-09-08T09:46:00.004-05:00

Despite concerns about the possibility that politics would infuse themselves into the state's judicial elections, so far its been a pretty quite judicial election season. With the primary slated for tomorrow, none of the four judicial races with a primary has turned overtly political. That's not to say that everything has been Minnesota nice, mind you.

In one of the two Supreme Court races, Minneapolis attorney Jill Clark has filed legal challenges seeking to disqualify her opponent, Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea. The substance of those various complaints has been detailed in prior posts, so I won't bother reiterating them here. (Suffice it to say that a special panel appointed to look into Clark's arguments disposed of them in record time. However, Clark hasn't given up, seeking relief from the federal courts.) I've not heard much from Gildea's other two opponents -- public defender Rick Gallo and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund. It will be interesting to see if Clark's combative tactic of filing these court actions -- and of getting the resultant media coverage and name recognition -- translates into enough votes to get her through the primary. (Only the top two vote-getters will be on the general election ballot in November.)

The second Supreme Court primary pits Justice Paul Anderson, the second most senior of the high court, against 9th Judicial District referee Tim Tingelstad of Bemidji and attorney/ software engineer Alan Nelson. Tingelstad, who has run before unsuccessfully for a high court and a District Court judgeship, emphasizes his experience as a referee and his "biblical worldview." As for Nelson, if he kept a profile that was any lower, he'd be able to star in an episode of "Lost." He has not provided us or the Star Tribune for that matter with a photo, he has not answered our questionnaire (and did not give much of a response to the Strib) and responds to questions only via e-mail. (He does have a website though).

As for the two District Court judgeships up for grabs in Ramsey and Hennepin, it's anybody's guess who will prevail tomorrow. There are eight candidates in the Ramsey race and six candidates in the Hennepin race. I live in Hennepin County and received a number of direct mail pieces from candidates for that seat. I think there are a number of very good choices for both seats, so I am looking forward to seeing how those races come out.

For information about the candidates involved in tomorrow's judicial primary, check out the Minnesota Lawyer Judicial Elections 2008 website.

Court issues complete constitutional opinion on Clark's case

2008-09-05T15:14:00.010-05:00

The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued a 35-page per curiam opinion in the case of Clark v. Pawlenty, Jill Clark’s challenge to the election procedures governing the upcoming Supreme Court race. Clark is challenging incumbent Lorie Gildea, along with Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund and attorney Richard Gallo.

The court –actually a specially designated panel, since the sitting court recused itself--last month denied Clark’s request to strike Gildea from the ballot or at least strike the incumbent designation. Clark argued that Gildea, as an appointed justice, was barred by the Minnesota Constitution from running for election to retain her seat. She also argued that the appointed justice should not be designated an incumbent and that the use of the incumbent designation was prohibited by Minn. Stat. sec. 204B.35 as well as the state and federal constitution. A full opinion was issued today.

The court’s opinion addresses the primary election and the general election separately. Addressing first the primary challenge, the court denied the petition on the grounds of laches. “[I]n the absence of the relief requested, petitioner Clark has not been barred from the primary ballot and petitioner [Heather] Robins will not be barred from voting for her (or any other candidate on the primary ballot). Given petitioners’ unreasonable delay in asserting the interpretations of the constitution and election statutes that they espouse here, and balanced against the significant potential prejudice to other candidates, and to the electorate, we conclude that it would be inequitable to grant the relief sought by petitioners with respect to the primary ballot even if we were to conclude that their arguments had merit. Accordingly we deny the petition on grounds of laches with respect to the primary ballot,” the court said.

The court then decided it would address the general election in advance of the primary results, in the interests of judicial economy and to remove uncertainty from the election process.
It then turned to Article VI, sec. 8 of the Minnesota Constitution, which says that when a judge is appointed to fill a vacancy, the “successor” must be elected at the next general election occurring more than one year after the appointment. The court declined to interpret “successor” as excluding the appointed judge currently holding the seat.

It also said that under the common usage of the word “incumbent,” Gildea could be designated an incumbent even though she was appointed to the seat. The court also concluded that the petitioner did not present any facts supporting her argument that the designation “incumbent” conferred an advantage, let alone an unconstitutional advantage. “[T]he effect of the challenged provisions on the asserted candidate and voter rights is no more than de minimis and does not warrant strict scrutiny. The purpose of the incumbent designation—to inform the voters—is sufficient to justify the minimal intrusion, if any, on petitioner’s First Amendment rights. We concluded that petitioners have not established any violation of their First Amendment rights.”
Clark is seeking an injunction from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the Eighth Circuit justice. She told Minnesota Lawyer today that she is advised that her petition was filed with the Supreme Court on Sept. 3 and is on its way to Alito.

Members of the Supreme Court panel were Acting Chief Justice James Gilbert and Acting Associate Justices Lawrence R. Yetka, Bruce D. Willis, Gordon W. Shumaker and Marilyn B. Rosenbaum.