Minnesota Lawyer

There has been intense pressure to, once again, pass police-policy reform. The House is fully on board with such proposals. But with one minor exception, the Senate is not.

A breach-of-contract civil suit commenced as soon as the appellant answered the original summons, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled. That’s true even though the appellant failed to return an acknowledgment-of-service form.

University of Minnesota Law School Professor Michael Tonry hopes the book he is writing will offer a new account of the forces that have made the American justice system “systematically unjust, unprecedentedly severe and largely indifferent to defendants’ and offenders’ human dignity.”

Foreshadowing friction likely to be repeated over the coming days, racial tensions went briefly but fully on display Monday, as virtual public safety-judiciary conference committee hearings launched.

Meritas, the Minneapolis-based global network of independent law firms founded by a Maslon partner three decades ago, is launching new racial and gender equality and inclusion initiatives stemming from the police killing of George Floyd.

A start date for the joint House-Senate judiciary and public safety committee hearing has finally been set. It begins Monday, May 3, at 9 a.m.

The In-House Counsel Awards celebrate the achievements of attorneys who, among other things, navigate complicated contract negotiations, defend their companies in high-stakes litigation and defend some of their organization’s most important assets.

The state Senate has backed away from holding committee hearings on police accountability reforms, but the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board, it turns out, has not.

Both sides declared victory following a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that affirms the Court of Appeals’ rejection of PolyMet Mining’s permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes.

In another setback for those hoping the courts will force Gov. Tim Walz to stop issuing emergency executive orders, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a group of small businesses and GOP lawmakers have failed to make their case.