Minnesota

Appeals Court Upholds Blog Take-Down Order in Harassment Case

A Minnesota appeals court has upheld a judge’s order requiring a woman’s onetime boyfriend to remove a blog questioning her relationships and mental health. The Minnesota Court of Appeals found no constitutional problem with the “harassment restraining order,” which also restricted the boyfriend’s future electronic communications. Forbes’ The Not-So Private…

Dec 15, 2011 7:19 PM CST

Catholic Rights Group Files Ethics Complaint Over Minn. Lawyer’s Religious Slurs in Court Filing

A Catholic rights group has filed a formal ethics complaint against a Minnesota lawyer whose bankruptcy filing was filled with religious slurs against a federal judge and others. The complaint was lodged against Hastings, Minn., lawyer Rebekah Nett, who filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court last month calling U.S.…

Dec 13, 2011 7:56 PM CST

Lawyer Faces Possible Sanction for Signing Client Memo Calling Judges ‘Bigoted Catholic Beasts’

Updated: A Minnesota lawyer is facing a possible sanction after she signed a legal memorandum written by her client calling a bankruptcy judge a “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.” The document signed by lawyer Rebekah Nett said the courts were “composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry…

Dec 8, 2011 12:32 PM CST

New Smartphone Suit re Data-Sharing Software Targets Apple, Wireless Cos., Device Makers, Carrier IQ

In at least the third would-be class action filed since technology blogger Trevor Eckhart last month reported that smartphones are providing carriers with private information about individual users, eight major defendants are accused in a federal lawsuit (PDF) filed Dec. 2 in Delaware of violating wiretap law via their common…

Dec 6, 2011 1:44 AM CST

Minnesota Judge Suspended for Living Outside Her District; Are Her Decisions in Question?

The Minnesota Supreme Court has suspended a Hennepin County judge for six months without pay because she lived full-time in a lake home outside her district in the summer of 2009. The censure and suspension raise questions about the validity of decisions issued by Judge Patricia Karasov from July to…

Nov 17, 2011 4:36 PM CST

Defense Lawyer and Life Coach Accused in Ethics Complaint Cites Lectern Misunderstanding

A well known Minneapolis defense lawyer who touts his services as a life coach says some of the recent ethics allegations against him are due to misunderstandings. Lawyer Barry Voss is accused in an ethics complaint (PDF) of failing to pay employer withholding taxes, overdrawing his trust account, failing to…

Nov 16, 2011 4:48 PM CST

Panel Says Now-Retired Judge Broke Judicial Rules, Recommends Reprimand and Denial of Senior Status

A retired Minnesota judge should be publicly reprimanded for disclosing confidential information from a sealed court file and for withdrawing from a judicial election at the last possible moment without telling anyone but his law clerk and a court reporter, a state disciplinary panel has held. Retired Washington County District…

Nov 4, 2011 7:15 PM CDT

Ferret Autopsy Pending in Minn. Domestic Abuse Case

It appears that prosecutors will have to prove the cause of death of a ferret in a domestic abuse case in Minnesota if it is not resolved before trial. Authorities filed felony animal cruelty charges today in Hennepin County District Court against a 23-year-old Minneapolis man who allegedly drowned his…

Oct 22, 2011 12:40 AM CDT

William Mitchell Law Grad, Now a Health-Care CEO, Gives $2M to School

The president and chief executive officer of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America is giving $2 million to his alma matter—the William Mitchell College of Law. Stephen Bonner, a 1972 law grad, donated the money to the law school in St. Paul, Minn., with his wife, Lisa, the National Law…

Oct 7, 2011 6:07 PM CDT

LSAC Settles ADA Case, Gives Test-Taker with ADD More Time on LSAT

The nonprofit that administers the Law School Admission Test has settled a disability claim by an unidentified test-taker, giving the 22-year-old University of Minnesota graduate more time to complete the exam. The man, who has attention deficit disorder and a learning disability, took the LSAT last week and is waiting…

Oct 4, 2011 9:11 PM CDT

Partner Who Used $144K in Client Trust Money to Help Law Firm Weather the Recession Is Suspended

Finding that “substantial mitigating factors” weighed against disbarring a lawyer who made $144,000 in improper client trust account transfers to help her law firm weather the recession, the Minnesota Supreme Court today suspended attorney Jo Fairbairn for 18 months. It also imposed an unusual requirement that she never again serve…

Sep 14, 2011 8:17 PM CDT

US Atty for Ariz. Resigns, Minn. US Atty Promoted in Shake-Up re Botched ATF Gun-Running Probe

The top federal prosecutor in Arizona has resigned, effective immediately, and two other officials who oversaw a botched federal investigation of gun-running operation have been reassigned. In the probe, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly stood by as hundreds of weapons were illegally purchased for…

Aug 31, 2011 7:16 PM CDT

I’m Not the Guy Who Just Died, Duluth Lawyer Says in Obit Ad

There are two lawyers named Robert Kaner who attended the University of Minnesota law school, but only one of them is dead. Duluth lawyer Robert M. Kaner, 63, wants clients and friends to know he’s the one still alive, the Duluth News Tribune reports. Toward that end, he paid for…

Aug 26, 2011 3:51 PM CDT

Meet Michele Bachmann, Oral Roberts Law Grad and Former IRS Tax Attorney

Now that Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and portraying herself as a potential tax reformer, her background as an Oral Roberts University law graduate and tax attorney is news even though it dates back to the late 1980s. Bachmann also earned a master’s…

Aug 22, 2011 10:31 PM CDT

Lawmakers Call for Robo-Signing Probe After AP Reports Practice Is Still Widespread re Mortgage Docs

Federal lawmakers today called for hearings and a criminal investigation after a news report yesterday by the Associated Press that so-called robo-signing of mortgage documents continues to be a common practice. The attorneys general of Massachusetts and Minnesota this morning also contacted county officials in their respective states to get…

Jul 19, 2011 10:17 PM CDT