MinnLawyer Blog

‘Tis a great day for the … Nordic? Faith and begora, it may be the day for the wearing of the green, but not at the Minnesota Supreme Court, where, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the leadership torch has been passed from a Scandinavian to a Scandinavian. Governor Tim Pawlenty has appointed friend, [...]

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Rumors have been rife in the legal community that Gov. Tim Pawlenty will act speedily in announcing a new chief justice for the Minnesota Supreme Court. Court watchers expect an announcement as to who will replace retiring Chief Justice Russell Anderson as early as this week. UPDATE (3:58 p.m.): Make that really speedy. The governor [...]

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I thought we did pretty well on this blog to give you a heads up that Chief Justice Russell Anderson might step down from the high court three days before his retirement was officially announced. But then I got an e-mail from Burton Randall Hanson over at the Daily Judge blog. Hanson sent me a [...]

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Governor Tim Pawlenty is currently looking for a new chief justice for the Minnesota Supreme Court. While I obviously don’t know who will be picked yet, I can take a pretty good stab at what that person’s background will include: – impeccable conservative credentials;– well known to Gov. Pawlenty (a/k/a “a friend of Tim”);– with [...]

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Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson today announced that he is stepping down from the high court effective June 1. Anderson, 65, cited his age and his wife’s health concerns. (Click here for Minnesota Lawyer article.) The announcement means that Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who made Anderson chief justice in January 2006, will have another [...]

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Local law firm Lindquist & Vennum is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue an interesting case involving tribal court jurisdiction. In a petition filed by Minneapolis attorney Paul Banker (right), the Minneapolis firm argues that the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to adjudicate a civil tort claim between a corporation [...]

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It used to be like clockwork. Go grab a bite to eat for lunch, come back to the office and find out how your case did on appeal. Both state appellate courts would release their week’s opinions at exactly 1:00 p.m. (Tuesdays for the Court of Appeals, Thursdays for the Supreme Court.) But, as Minnesota [...]

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In two 4-3 decisions issued yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against admitting evidence obtained by police officers executing invalid nighttime warrants. In both cases, the officers failed to meet the Minn. Stat. sec. 626.14 requirement that they demonstrate special circumstances existed justifying conducting the search at night. (Absent such a demonstration, the law mandates [...]

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If you read Star Tribune columnist Nick Coleman’s column today, you might be under the misimpression that Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen is some sort of mafioso. It’s well known that Dietzen, who was recently appointed to the state Supreme Court, has conservative credentials and close ties to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, including serving as [...]

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Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen is to be elevated to the state Supreme Court to replace departing Justice Sam Hanson. Gov. Tim Pawlenty made the announcement at a press conference earlier this afternoon. Dietzen, who formerly served as legal counsel for Pawlenty, was an attorney with Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren in Bloomington [...]

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