Administrative Law
Within the Scope 
On Administrative Law and the Public Sector.
Post Frequency: 0.8/day Last Entry: September 27, 2009 at 11:12:00 Recent Entries: 213
By Eric L. Lipman
Go to Within the Scope, find other Administrative Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Search
Posts
Stras to Preview October 2009 U.S. Supreme Court Term
Posted on September 27, 2009The MSBA Administrative Law Section is co-hosting with the Appellate Practice Section an exciting CLE at the Minnesota Judicial Center.Professor David Stras, of the University of Minnesota Law School, and a key player in the ensemble that writes SCOTUSblog, will give a detailed preview of the U...
On Neglect
Posted on September 27, 2009Neglect (ni-glekt?) ? transitive verb: 1. to ignore or disregard; 2. to fail to care for or attend to sufficiently or properly; 3. to fail to carry out (an expected or required action) through carelessness or by intention.I know that I have been neglectful of this blog...
Franken, Coleman, the Forest and the Trees
Posted on July 04, 2009While mindful of the very wide range of opinions that have already been expressed on the Minnesota Supreme Court's conclusion that Al Franken?s was elected U.S. Senator from Minnesota last fall (see, e.g., here and here), I thought that I would add a few comments of my own on Tuesday's landmark decision...
Does Caperton Invite More or Less Danger for Judges in Retention Elections?
Posted on June 26, 2009In the run-up to their fundraising benefit scheduled for next week, supporters of retention elections for state court judges here in Minnesota have hailed the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company Co.As readers of these pages are aware, earlier this month a divided U...
Really Clever People Get Free CLE
Posted on June 26, 2009At its annual meeting last week, the Minnesota State Bar Association?s Administrative Law Section announced a program under which it is trading good ideas for complimentary admission to an upcoming Continuing Legal Education program sponsored by the Section...
?Released from Confinement?: What it Means for Offenders, Agencies and You
Posted on June 21, 2009In an interesting set of opinions issued on June 9, the Minnesota Court of Appeals turned away dual challenges to the risk level assessments imposed by the Department of Corrections? End of Confinement Review Committee. As readers of these pages are aware, Minnesota law obliges the Department to assign a risk level to predatory offenders upon their ?release from confinement...
Beck Internship Turns $4,000 into $16,000 for Indigent Clients
Posted on June 20, 2009On Wednesday of this past week, the MSBA Administrative Law and Health Law Sections' commemorated their joint underwriting of a summer internship program in Administrative Law with the Volunteer Lawyers Network. The Sections' $4,000 contribution will, in combination with federal Work-Study matching grants, translate into $16,000 worth of stipend resources for VLN as it assists indigent clients with administrative law matters...
The AGO's Annual CLE Seminar and the Oral Argument Everyone is Talking About
Posted on June 07, 2009I had a great time at the annual all-day CLE seminar hosted by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, held this past Friday. The program was entitled ?Anatomy of a Contest Case? and explored elements of effective administrative law practice from various different perspectives...
Some Thoughts on the Sotomayor Nomination ? Part I
Posted on June 06, 2009On Thursday of this week, the U.S. Senate?s Committee on the Judiciary posted to the internet Judge Sonia Sotomayor?s replies to the Committee?s background questionnaire. Submission of the questionnaire replies is an important early step as Judge Sotomayor seeks confirmation to become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Some Thoughts on the Sotomayor Nomination ? Part II
Posted on June 06, 2009While the story has already been covered in great detail by the Washington Examiner and the Washington Post, to my mind the most interesting feature of the run-up to the confirmation hearings for Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the U...
Federalism and the Predatory Offender
Posted on May 16, 2009In a remarkably interesting opinion issued on Wednesday of this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court?s decision that had declared the civil commitment portions of the Adam Walsh Act unconstitutional. Last May, then-Chief Judge of the U...
Take Homes from The Big Easy
Posted on May 16, 2009As noted in an earlier post, I had spent much of the last few weeks and months preparing for a presentation I was giving to the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section?s 4th Annual State and Local Procurement Symposium. (That post, and a copy of the paper I presented, are accessible here)...
Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places
Posted on May 07, 2009I was vacationing in Israel when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. And while details as to the holding and rationale announced by the High Court were a bit sketchy in news accounts at that time ? even from the plaintiff Fox Television ? since my return to the U...
Gabba Gabba Hey: Is the Decision "In Re Gabby?s" a Big Deal or Not a Big Deal?
Posted on April 02, 2009On Tuesday of this week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a published decision which has had me thinking.At issue in the case was the propriety of the City of Minneapolis? imposition of licensing conditions on the liquor license held by Gabby?s Saloon and Eatery in Northeast Minneapolis...
Mankato Diary, Our Federal Bargain and Some Heretical Ideas
Posted on March 26, 2009I have had the good fortune to spend the last two days with some of the state?s brightest and most dedicated professionals. Yesterday and today, the Minnesota State University at Mankato has hosted the Third Annual Midwest Regional Special Education Law Conference...
Thanks for Being Patient
Posted on March 22, 2009I am scheduled to make a presentation at the American Bar Association's 4th Annual State and Local Procurement Symposium in May, and, as noted immediately below, suspended my blogging for a few weeks so that I could complete the article requested by the symposium organizers...
For Wersal?s Challenges to the Code of Judicial Conduct, Tomorrow is Another Day
Posted on February 15, 2009I only recently received a copy of the Memorandum Opinion and Order issued by Judge Ann H. Montgomery, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, in Wersal v. Sexton.As readers of these pages will recall, in March of last year, Golden Valley attorney and sometime candidate for election to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Gregory F...
Our Ratings Wars: Court Puts Advisory Committee to Work on Courtroom Camera Pilot Project
Posted on February 13, 2009Today, a divided Minnesota Supreme Court directed the Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice to ?recommend draft rules establishing a pilot project on cameras in the court that includes ? effective mechanisms for measuring the impact of: cameras on the proceedings and on the participants before, during and after the proceedings, and the financial impact of both the pilot project and study, and the ongoing administration of cameras in the courtroom ?...
Session Update: Bills for Administrative Lawyers to Note (and Watch)
Posted on February 11, 2009HF 347 (Lenczewski) Repeals the Mandatory Retirement Age for Administrative Law Judges.HF 395 / SF 215 (Anderson, B. / Koch and Dille) would establish a Board of Oversight of Human Services Appeals to review ?challenges by aggrieved parties to the commissioner's final orders from fair hearings and contested case hearings under chapter 245, 245A, 245B, 245C, 252, 253B, 256, 256B, 256C, 256D, 256J, 256L, 257, or 626 ?...
I Noticed, Then Commented ? Thoughts on a New Application for the Notice and Comment Process
Posted on January 20, 2009Note: The following essay is slated for publication in the forthcoming Winter Issue of the Minnesota State Bar Association Public Law Newsletter. I thought that this item might likewise be of interest to readers of these pages. At the close of last year, I had a something of an old home week...
Sunset Stripped
Posted on January 15, 2009In an interesting published opinion issued on Tuesday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals set aside the assessment of penalties against a major telecommunications firm, AT&T. Among the issues in the case was whether the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission maintained the authority to penalize misconduct by a regulated party after the sunset date of the Commission?s penalty statute, but as to conduct which occurred before the statute expired...
Board Urges Refusal of Money and Requirements of Adam Walsh Act
Posted on January 15, 2009The California Sex Offender Management Board recently announced that acceptance of the requirements that are associated with full compliance under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 would be "costly and ill-advised." The 16-member state board oversees community management of adult sex offenders by "identifying and developing recommendations to improve policies and practices...
2008 Snapshot: Charts Depict the Work of OAH's Administrative Law Division
Posted on January 13, 2009Circulating at the State Capitol these days are two charts which may be of interest to readers of Within the Scope. The first chart documents the nature and number of complaints of unfair campaign practices that were resolved by the Office of Administrative Hearings' Adminstrative Law Division in calendar year 2008...
Key Overviews: Recounts and Elections; Energy; the Courts; Metrics for Human Services
Posted on January 08, 2009With the start of the 86th Session of the Minnesota Legislature, this past Tuesday, legislative committees are turning to a set of marquee issues in ?overviews.? Importantly, these overviews could forecast the mechanics of reforms that will be undertaken later this year...
DNA Case has Clues on Administrative Exhaustion and the RFRA
Posted on January 03, 2009In a very interesting decision issued on Tuesday of this week, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit turned away the challenge of a federal prisoner to the FBI?s analysis of his DNA.Russell Kaemmerling, the inmate, filed suit to enjoin application of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act to him, on the grounds that it violated rights that were guaranteed to him under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (?RFRA?)...
Sierra Club v. EPA: A Wider Doctrine on the Time to File Rulemaking Challenges?
Posted on December 24, 2008In an interesting opinion issued last Friday, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that a set of 2006 revisions to certain Clean Air Act rules ?constructively reopened? the rules to collateral attack.The Clean Air Act provides that ?[a]ny petition for review under this subsection shall be filed within sixty days from the date notice of such promulgation, approval, or action appears in the Federal Register...
RTO Government Affairs Expenses Survive ?Compelled Speech? Challenge
Posted on December 20, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Tuesday of this week, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit turned away the challenge of three northeastern utilities to the tariff sheets submitted by their Regional Transmission Organization ? the ISO New England, Inc...
Minnesota U.S. Senate Recount: Oral Argument Video Posted to the Web
Posted on December 18, 2008And is accessible a href="http://www.tpt.org/courts/MNJudicialBranchvideo_NEW.php?number=A08-2169"here/a.
A New Code of Judicial Conduct! (Minus the Most Worrisome Parts)
Posted on December 18, 2008By way an Order issued today, the Minnesota Supreme Court promulgated a revised Code of Judicial Conduct that will take effect on July 1, 2009.br /br /The revised Code sets forth ?overarching principles of judicial ethics that all judges must observe? and includes specific prohibitions with respect to extra-judicial activities ? most notably, standards for ethical conduct during campaigns for judicial office...
Coloring Outside of the Lines: Is State Law a Boundary on VRA Remedies?
Posted on December 17, 2008In a genuinely fascinating opinion issued yesterday, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court?s order abolishing the city council ward system in Martin, South Dakota and replacing it with an at-large council system...
Not Everything is a Potential Blog Post!
Posted on December 15, 2008How true....There are lots of interesting articles and legal news items that cross my desk, but for one or another reason are simply not matters that oblige a separate post. Presumably, that is why there is Twitter.Twitter is an online posting site where short messages (of no more than 140 characters) can be shared with subscribers and a wide range of others...
In a One-Horse Open Sleigh (Hey!): Podcasts for Administrative Lawyers
Posted on December 14, 2008Mindful that many of the readers of these pages will be going over the river and through the woods to Grandmother?s house, I have listed a few items that might be worth downloading for your holiday travels.n A panel discussion reflecting upon the 25th anniversary of the landmark case Chevron U...
Timing is Everything: Panels Explain Deadlines for Final Action
Posted on December 11, 2008Within the last four weeks, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has twice addressed the question of when an agency head must make a final decision upon a contested case record ? both times providing the instruction in unpublished opinions.As readers of these pages will recall, Minnesota law provides that ?[u]nless otherwise provided by law, the report or order of the administrative law judge constitutes the final decision in the case unless the agency modifies or rejects it ? within 90 days after the record of the proceeding closes ?...
Until the Cows Come Home: Stray Voltage and the Filed Rate Doctrine
Posted on December 10, 2008While the Minnesota Supreme Court continues to consider the reach of the filed-rate doctrine as a bar to judicial consideration of claims filed by ratepayers against their utilities (as I noted here and here), yesterday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals touched upon this same question in a parallel and unrelated case...
Senator Craig, the First Amendment and Our Collective Struggles for Modesty
Posted on December 09, 2008In an unpublished opinion issued earlier today, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals turned away dual challenges to the August 2007 conviction of U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R ? Idaho) on charges of disorderly conduct.The appellate panel denied both Senator Craig?s request to withdraw his earlier guilty plea as well as the Senator?s and the American Civil Liberties Union?s challenges to the constitutionality of Minnesota?s disorderly conduct statute...
Bagenstos: Courts' Focus on Process Doesn?t Aid Disabled Students Much
Posted on December 08, 2008Among the most interesting posts to the Social Science Research Network in recent weeks is a draft article by Professor Samuel R. Bagenstos of the Washington University School of Law: ?Where Have All the Lawsuits Gone? The Shockingly Small Role of the Courts in Implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
Speaker Kelliher Unveils Slimmer Committee Structure
Posted on December 08, 2008On Friday, Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher unveiled a slimmer and more compressed committee structure for the Minnesota House of Representatives.Among the features of the new committee structure is a retooling of the Biosciences and Emerging Technology and the Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs committees into divisions of other committees; a shuttering of many of the smaller policy subcommittees; and the splintering of civil justice and criminal justice policy jurisdictions between two separate policy committees...
Chanukah Arrives Early This Year
Posted on December 04, 2008With grateful thanks to the very generous staff of the Minnesota State Law Library, who named Within the Scope its "Blog of the Month."As someone who is a very frequent visitor to the Law Libray's collection in the Judicial Center, and a great admirer of the materials and services that the Library offers, this is a real honor...
Chief Justice Links Courts Funding with an Orderly Society
Posted on December 04, 2008Following the announcement earlier today by state forecasters that Minnesota faces a budget deficit in Fiscal Year 2009 of $426 million, and is predicted to experience a $4.847 billion shortfall during Fiscal Years 2010-2011, Chief Justice of Minnesota Eric J...
Eighth Circuit: Administrative Exhaustion First, Jury Later
Posted on December 02, 2008In an interesting published opinion issued on Monday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit turned aside the challenge of a set of Arkansas landowners. The landowners challenged the requirement that they first present their takings claims for review by a state administrative tribunal - the Arkansas State Claims Commission - before being permitted to proceed in federal court...
Quasi-Legislative or Quasi-Judicial: Is it a duty or just a good idea?
Posted on November 28, 2008In an interesting unpublished opinion issued on Tuesday of this week, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the Metropolitan Council?s decision to undertake a park land exchange with the Minneapolis Park Board was a ?quasi-legislative? decision that was beyond the reach of the state courts to review by way of a writ of certiorari...
A Big Day at the Capitol: Three Short Stories
Posted on November 25, 2008This was a day in which the events that I wanted to write about just kept coming in; one right after another. Among the noteworthy events occurring today in Saint Paul, any one of which could made for its own post, were:Item One: The recently-merged agencies of the Department of Finance and Department of Employee Relations unveiled its new moniker ? Minnesota Management and Budget ? and a new website today...
Practice Point: A New ALJ Could Mean a Whole New Schedule
Posted on November 21, 2008As part of an opinion issued today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that a federal Administrative Law Judge?s power to regulate the course of proceedings (under the Securities and Exchange Commission?s rules), included the power to revisit and revise the earlier orders of a predecessor ALJ...
MPR Hosts a Fantasy Canvassing Board in the U.S. Senate Recount
Posted on November 20, 2008Ever wish that you could you could be a part of the State Canvassing Board during a hotly-disputed election? Well, perhaps, now you can.Thanks to the creative and very clever folks at Minnesota Public Radio, anyone can join this all-star Fantasy Canvassing Board...
Judge Lindman Orders the Release of Absentee Ballot Data
Posted on November 19, 2008By an Order issued earlier today, Judge Dale B. Lindman, of the District Court for Ramsey County, Minnesota, entered an injunction directing the disclosure of ?the names and addresses of all persons who submitted absentee ballots [in Ramsey County] in connection with the general election of November 4, 2008, but whose absentee ballots were rejected or otherwise not counted...
A Room with a View ... of the Disputed Ballots
Posted on November 19, 2008Apropos of not very much, I thought that the ex parte order issued by the District Court for Sterns County, Minnesota, securing the ballots in the contested U.S. Senate election, was of interest. The Order provides for securing the ballots in a room with windows, such that the containers of ballots may be seen (during normal business hours) by the ?visual guards? appointed by Al Franken?s and Norm Coleman?s campaign committees...
Paulsen: Written Textualism is the Sole Approach for Interpretation
Posted on November 18, 2008In an article posted on Sunday to the Social Science Research Network, Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, writes that the U.S. Constitution ?both as a consequence of its nature as a written document, and by virtue of its specific words, prescribes written textualism as the sole appropriate approach to understanding and applying its provisions...
Free Speech and Free Markets: Where Should They Cross?
Posted on November 17, 2008Last week, Professor Eugene Volokh made a post to his blog The Volokh Conspiracy that had me thinking. The post equated the controversy that is now swirling around Scott Eckern, the former artistic director of the California Musical Theater, with the fracas that Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines faced in 2003...
In Memoriam: Former Chief Judge Johnson Passes Away
Posted on November 16, 2008Kevin E. Johnson, former Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings, died this past Tuesday, the victim of an apparent heart attack. He was 57.Having served with distinction as both a public defender and an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney, Judge Johnson was appointed by Governor Arne Carlson to head the OAH in 1993...
What is "Inherently Judicial" is Inherently Difficult
Posted on November 13, 2008As voters were streaming to the polls on the morning of Election Day, the Minnesota Supreme Court was wrestling with its own set of difficult choices: Specifically, what kind of disputes are ?inherently judicial? and, thus, must be resolved by an Article VI court?Irene Hoffman and her fellow plaintiffs sought contractual damages from Xcel Energy, a provider of electricity service to residential customers in Minnesota, for claimed failures in maintaining the points of connection between the utility?s electricity distribution wires and the homes of the plaintiff customers...
Hannah and Her Zingers
Posted on November 11, 2008Posted this week to the Duke Law Journal website, and to Howard Bashman?s ?How Appealing,? was a copy of a forthcoming law review article by Duke third-year law student and Senior Notes Editor, Hannah L. Weiner.The Article, The Next "Great Dissenter"? How Clarence Thomas Is Using the Words and Principles of John Marshall Harlan to Craft a New Era of Civil Rights, links Justice Thomas? early experiences, with the themes announced in Justice Harlan?s famous dissent in Plessy v...
OMB Watch Task Force: The Internet is Key to Transparency in Rulemaking
Posted on November 09, 2008Posted to the Social Science Research Network earlier this month was a report, commissioned by the Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy group OMB Watch, on methods by which the next Administration could enhance transparency and public participation in federal rulemaking...
If You Don?t Have Something Nice to Say, Be Sure to Post It to the Net
Posted on November 07, 2008Is your right to due process of law implicated by the things that government officials write about you and post to agency websites?Two different federal Circuit Courts of Appeal addressed this question this week and came to different results in their respective cases...
OAH and Collateral Estoppel: We're All Inclined to Follow Klein
Posted on November 05, 2008As I have noted before, retired Administrative Law Judge Allan Klein was fond of remarking that in proceedings before the Office of Administrative Hearings, parties who ?save? their best arguments for later decision-makers ? whether it be an agency head or a reviewing Court ? do so at their peril...
Today We Mark Our 500th Post! (And one great interview!)
Posted on November 03, 2008Just over two years ago, I started posting to Within the Scope, and it has been among the most interesting and rewarding ventures of my professional life.Through these pages, I have been linked in with fellow lawyers (... and the just-plain curious) from every time zone on the globe; some of my case synopses have made it into Mr...
In Re: Family Room Messes
Posted on October 30, 2008Assistant Professor Hillel Y. Levin, of the University of Georgia Law School, recently posted to the Social Science Research Network a hilarious (and very insightful) working paper on the various modes of statutory construction.In the paper, Everything I Needed to Learn About Legisprudence I Learned by the Time I Was Nine, Levin charts various instances of claimed violations of his Mother?s rule that ?no food may be eaten outside of the kitchen...
President: Prove Bi-Partisanship by Confirming My Nominees
Posted on October 29, 2008While it is perhaps old news now ? I must have been under a rock somewhere ? I have only just learned of President Bush?s remarks in Cincinnati earlier this month regarding the confirmation of judges to the federal courts.Included in the President?s address was a call for votes on the nominations he has made to the federal bench ? urging this as a key test of bi-partisanship...
Panel: Schizophrenic Man with HIV a Danger to the Public
Posted on October 28, 2008In an interesting opinion issued today, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a Hennepin County man could be indefinitely committed as a "person who is mentally ill and dangerous to the public," because he was schizophrenic, HIV positive and had a pattern of engaging in unprotected sex with others...
The Year?s Most Interesting Moot Court Recalls the ?Minnesota Model?
Posted on October 23, 2008On Monday, the Georgetown Law Center, in conjunction with the Georgetown Law Supreme Court Institute, the Ohio State University Election Law Center at Moritz and the American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Institution Election Reform Project, hosted a not-so-hypothetical oral argument...
20 Large: OAH Dockets its 20,000th Case for a Hearing
Posted on October 22, 2008Raymond R. Krause, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) announced this afternoon that the Office had docketed its 20,000th request for a hearing in its 33-year history as an administrative tribunal.OAH currently conducts administrative hearings and rulemaking oversight proceedings for over 80 state agencies and presides over hearings for large number of political subdivisions...
100 Foot Bubble Case is a Parable on Testimony to Legislative Bodies
Posted on October 18, 2008About two or three times a year, I am asked to speak to groups of agency officials on the topic of making effective presentations to the State Legislature. For those who still remember the days when I was in the other branch, I cheerfully do this type of training; reviewing my ?Tips for Successful Legislative Relations...
Is There More to the Non-Delegation Doctrine than Duties Judges Won?t Miss?
Posted on October 13, 2008A panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an interesting separation-of-powers opinion last Tuesday ? and one that arose in a noteworthy context; namely, a challenge by an offender to the revocation of her court-supervised probation.Elizabeth Suzanne Bradley challenged the imposition of a 15-day jail sentence as an intermediate sanction for her violation of the conditions of her probation...
Don Draper's America
Posted on October 13, 2008With apologies, this post is not about Administrative Law, but it just might be about ?the public sector....?Mrs. WTS and I are deeply committed fans (some might say fanatical fans) of the AMC mini-series Mad Men. In fact, we are known to growl at callers who telephone us on Sundays during the broadcast, answering the phone with a perturbed ?What?!?...
Anatomy of a "Hard Look"
Posted on October 03, 2008In an interesting opinion issued last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota enjoined the U.S. Forest Service from further implementing its "Echo Trail Project" in St. Louis and Lake Counties, Minnesota.The Forest Service had earlier hoped to undertake a variety of forest management activities, over a 10 to 15-year period, in a 203,000-acre zone that borders, but does not include, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness...
Annual Rulemaking Seminar a Triumph
Posted on October 01, 2008Today was the 13th Annual Rulemaking Seminar hosted by the Inter-Agency Rules Committee. The Committee played host to over 100 attendees ? providing both plenty of food for lunch ? and plenty of food for thought.I was delighted to be a part of the faculty this year ? particularly because the Committee made a number of innovations to this important annual program...
OAH Celebrates its One Year at the Stassen Building
Posted on September 24, 2008Yesterday, the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings celebrated its first anniversary since the move to its new quarters in the State Capitol Complex.The Judges and Staff of OAH are a very hearty and rugged band; one needs to be in order to enjoy white cake and frosting at eight-thirty in the morning...
M.M. is Among SCOTUS Blog?s Cases to Watch
Posted on September 21, 2008A week from tomorrow, on September 29, 2008, the United States Supreme Court will convene for what is known as the "long conference." At this meeting, the Justices will make decisions on which of the petitions for certiorari that have been filed during the summer recess will be granted ? placing the underlying cases on track for presentment to the Court during the Term that officially begins on the following Monday, October 6...
Constitution Day and the Early Predictions
Posted on September 17, 2008Happy Constitution Day, everyone!We have been part of the Union, through thick and thin, for 219 years now.In my reflections today, I have been thinking about how Alexander Hamilton?s predictions in Federalist 78 have become a little dated since they were first published; and precisely why that might be so...
Does Marlowe Signal a Rebuke (and Headaches) for Washington County?
Posted on September 17, 2008In an interesting opinion handed down yesterday from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the appellate panel ruled that a Level II sex offender on supervised release, Brian Marlowe, could not be returned to jail following his failure, ?through no fault of his own,? to secure housing in the community...
What is a Judge to Do When Plain Meaning and Precedent Clash?
Posted on September 14, 2008Two Fridays ago, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit handed down an interesting opinion on the recovery of attorneys fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).Catherine G. Ratliff, an attorney in Hot Springs, South Dakota, successfully represented two claimants in their efforts to receive benefits from the Social Security Administration...
Welcome Back Judges and Staff
Posted on September 14, 2008Tomorrow marks the triumphal return of the Judges and Staff of the Saint Paul Division of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.For months court personnel have been working out of adjacent space on Fifth Street, but are now able to return to a newly renovated Warren E...
House Research Updates its Rulemaking Summaries
Posted on September 12, 2008The Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department recently updated its summary publications on rulemaking.Individually, and in combination, these items are concise and useful overviews of our state's rulemaking process. Among the two-page summaries are Rulemaking: Process for Adopting Rules; Rulemaking: Expedited Process and Exemptions, and Rulemaking: Review of Adopted Rules (and accessible through the highlighted links)...
How Broad an Inquiry Do We Need for Court-Ordered Expungements?
Posted on September 12, 2008In an interesting opinion handed down by the Minnesota Supreme Court last Thursday, the Court divided over the question of how broad the inquiry over the expungement of records held by other agencies needed to be.All six of the justices who participated in the decision agreed that the appellant, S...
Seizing the Moment: Investigations and Pre-Hearing Deprivations
Posted on September 07, 2008In an opinion issued on Tuesday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals addressed a very interesting question: Does the fact that the Department of Natural Resources conducted a six-month investigation into the destruction of 19,838 pounds of buffalo fish argue for, or against, a prehearing revocation of the game and fish licenses held by the person that the Department accused of destroying the fish?The panel held, in part, that because the Licensee, Dean Mertins, had the use of his game and fish licenses while the DNR investigation into the destruction of the fish was underway, a later pre-hearing seizure of Mertins' licenses by state conservation officers comported with due process...
Latching on to Errors and Omissions in Ballots
Posted on September 06, 2008Yesterday, a special substitute panel of the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an opinion resolving recent challenges to designating judicial officers as "incumbents" on the canary ballot.Golden Valley attorney, Jill Clark, is a candidate for Seat 4 on the Minnesota Supreme Court...
The Right Training, the Right Folks, the Right Price (Right Now)
Posted on September 04, 2008Minnesota's Annual Rulemaking Seminar turns 13 on October 1.Today, the Seminar's sponsor, the Inter-Agency Rules Committee, announced its plans for a thirteenth autumn training conference; featuring 5.25 hours of continuing legal education programming, and a catered lunch, all for the breathtakingly low price of $20...
Dueling Claims to Plain Meaning Divide High Court
Posted on September 01, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Thursday, a divided Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Buddie Green, was obliged to receive employment services from her Tribe?s social service office and was not permitted to access these services, alongside non-tribal members, through Aitken County...
If You Only Read a Handful of Articles This Year ? Read These ?.
Posted on August 31, 2008In the latest issue of the Minnesota State Bar Association?s Public Law Newsletter, published yesterday, I included a summary of some important research coming out of the University of Chicago. Relying upon a database of 4,500 Court of Appeals decisions that have been issued since 1995, Professor Cass Sunstein and his team argue that while the ideology of judges has an important effect on the outcome of decided cases, the ideology of a judge?s colleagues is a better predictor of a judge?s vote in a particular proceeding than the judge?s own views...
Election Reporting, Yes.? Although Not for the Truth of the Matter Asserted
Posted on August 21, 2008In an interesting opinion issued late last month, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a trial court?s exclusion, as inadmissible hearsay, certain election-related reports made by the Missouri Secretary of State?s office...
Minnesota ?. Also the Land of Lincoln
Posted on August 21, 2008Today, the Minneapolis-based Center of the American Experiment released its latest symposium of essays ? Learning from Lincoln: Principle and Pragmatism, Getting the Balance Right.Individually, and collectively, these essays touch upon President Lincoln?s special brand of statecraft and the methods that he used to overcome practical challenges...
"Making Your Case": The Gift for a Lawyer You Love
Posted on August 15, 2008This past weekend I had the occasion to fly home to Minnesota from the East Coast, by way of a discount airline carrier. With this particular carrier, comparatively low fares were combined with a bewilderingly long layover in Atlanta before passengers and crew could depart for the prairie...
Damn, This Traffic Jam. It Hurts My Car to Go So Slow.
Posted on August 13, 2008The City of St. Paul has released its Traffic Management Plan for the downtown area during the upcoming Republican National Convention. The plan will begin after the evening rush hour on Friday, August 29, and will end by Saturday, September 6.Current information on Capitol-area road closures during the Convention includes the exit from Route 94-East to 5th Street and the exit from Route 35E to Kellogg Boulevard...
Construing Statutes and the Art of the Possible
Posted on August 13, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit turned away the challenge of an Iowa landowner to her exclusion from certain farm payment programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture...
Our Neighbors and Friends: District Court Seeks Comment on Pro Hac Vice Rules
Posted on August 12, 2008The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota has circulated for public comment proposed changes to Local Rule 83.5. Under the proposed rules, the District Court would jettison the requirement that ?local counsel? be a resident of Minnesota ? presumably making appearances by attorneys who reside in Wisconsin or the Dakotas, but who are licensed to practice law in Minnesota, to serve in this capacity...
Hello?. Are You Still There?
Posted on August 12, 2008To the regular readers of these pages, please accept my apologies for the drop off in posts recently.As always, work comes first before blogging ? and in recent weeks I had some important writings to complete for my day job.Also, I was away from my writing desk on a bit of extended travel that I will describe in more detail in subsequent posts...
Minnesota Supreme Court Grants Review of Cost Recovery Case
Posted on July 17, 2008In an Order issued this morning, the Minnesota Supreme Court has granted further review of a decision of the Court of Appeals, from May, as to the recovery of certain overhead costs by CenterPoint Energy.In May, the appellate panel had reversed the decision of the Public Utilities Commission disallowing the recovery of costs that were presented to the Commission after more than a year; holding that the PUC did not ?consistently apply the principles that it articulated and applied? in two earlier requests to recover costs beyond the one-year limitations period...
Legislative Reform: Which Do You Prefer, an Army of One or the Committee of the Whole?
Posted on July 12, 2008I have followed with interest the legislative reform discussions now being undertaken by the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. This week, the Committee held the first of three hearings on potential changes to the parliamentary rules of the House...
Boyd to Lead PUC, Wergin to Help
Posted on July 11, 2008Governor Tim Pawlenty announced today that he has appointed Dr. David C. Boyd, to lead the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.Boyd, of Lakeville, is a Professor of Chemistry and, before his appointment to the Commission, chaired the Chemistry Department at the University of St...
A Good Story for the Sabbath: Jews at Sea
Posted on July 11, 2008This item is over a year old ? but I only just learned about it; thought that it was kind of cool and wanted to share it.The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Harry S. Truman is carrying a wooden ark and torah scroll (see a U.S. Navy photo here) that was rescued from the Holocaust by Lithuanian Jews...
D. Haw: 45-Day Time Limit Under IDEA is Not Jurisdictional; Just Motivational
Posted on July 10, 2008In an interesting opinion from the Aloha State, the U.S. District Court for District Court of Hawaii vacated the dismissal of a disabled child?s petition in a special education case ? instructing that the hearing officer still had jurisdiction to resolve the child?s claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
Eighth Circuit: Hearing Subpoenas Not Required by the Due Process Clause
Posted on July 09, 2008In an interesting opinion issued today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that Social Security claimants do not have an unqualified right to summon and cross-examine agency physicians who render unfavorable medical assessments in their cases...
Right, Center, Left: A Supreme Court Roundup for Lawyers of Every Stripe
Posted on July 08, 2008For me, the signature sounds of July are crickets, fireworks and lawyers arguing over the just-recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court Term.So you won?t miss out on any of the last item, below, I have linked to four different Term-ending reviews. Individually, and collectively, these broadcasts will have you longing for the High Court?s return on October 6...
Why July 4th is Such a Big Deal
Posted on July 04, 2008I occasionally have the chance to speak to high school, college and civic groups on topics relating to public service and self-government. To set a larger context for the messages that I will deliver, I frequently ask these audiences: What made the American Revolution so Revolutionary?And while defeat of the British is certainly part of an answer to that question, to me ? a former political science major ? it is the smaller portion of the answer...
An Outer Edge to Johnson v. Fabian?
Posted on July 03, 2008In an interesting, and no doubt important ruling in Minnesota?s development of the law on the right to avoid self-incrimination, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals has turned away the Fifth Amendment challenge of a civilly-committed sex offender, Brad Ronald Stevens...
Same Time, Different Perspectives on Our Record of Preserving Privacy and Liberty
Posted on July 03, 2008In an interesting juxtaposition, even for the Federal City, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, and former FBI Special Agent and Minneapolis Chief Division Counsel, Coleen Rowley, were each addressing Washington audiences, at nearly the same time, on the same subject: The recent record of maintaining personal privacy and civil liberties during the War on Terror...
IPAD Sets Conference on Security Information
Posted on June 30, 2008The Minnesota Department of Administration's Information Policy Analysis Division ? IPAD ? announced today that it will be hosting a meeting of data practices stakeholders on protecting "security information" held by government agencies.The conference will be held on Monday, July 21, 2008 from 9:00 a...
Our Field of Dreams ? May Government Do the Leveling?
Posted on June 29, 2008In an interesting term-ending opinion issued on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act. The Court set aside the so-called "Millionaire?s Amendment;" a provision that adjusted both contribution and coordinated party expenditure limits in those federal races in which a candidate contributes more than $350,000 of personal funds to his or her own campaign...
On 44
Posted on June 27, 2008Appearing more like a finely-tuned interrogatory, than the whisper of one?s heart, this year my birthday wish came in four parts. I wanted some time here; a glass or two of this; a slice of this to steady my wishing candle; and a few quiet moments to read what Justice Alito wrote yesterday here...
The Best Intersection in Town: The Annual Meeting of the MSBA Ad Law Section
Posted on June 25, 2008This morning I had the great pleasure and honor to serve as the program emcee at the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota State Bar Association?s Administrative Law Section.This morning?s program, which focused upon the intersections between state and federal administrative law, featured a series of very lively and interesting presentations...
Panel to Friends of the Riverfront: A Writing is Guaranteed, Not a Hearing
Posted on June 25, 2008In an interesting published opinion issued yesterday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals turned away a challenge to the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness by the Minneapolis City Council. A local advocacy group, Friends of the Riverfront, and others, challenged the Council?s issuance of the Certificate ? which is a key step in DeLaSalle High School?s plans to construct an athletic facility next to the school?s campus on Nicollet Island...
Among the Chairman's Maxims, Credibility is Key
Posted on June 22, 2008The Chairman of Minnesota?s Judicial Selection Commission, Ronald J. Schutz, was featured in Monday's issue of the National Law Journal. In this issue, Schutz, who also heads the intellectual property litigation group at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciersi, shares some of his strategies for persuading juries...
Ear Candy
Posted on June 21, 2008Because I am juggling a list of household chores with the some writing for work this weekend, I thought that I would leave readers with links to some my recently-acquired iPod favorites. Among the clips that you might also want to check out are:n An unbelievably interesting and thought-provoking lecture from University of Chicago Law professor Richard Epstien entitled "Is the Administrative State Consistent with the Rule of Law?" Originally presented as part of Chicago's Best Ideas sessions, this audio clip is a wonderfully brisk and challenging aerobic workout for your synapses; accessible here...
Harry Blackmun Was No Bigot, Says George Mason Professor
Posted on June 20, 2008In an interesting article posted to the Social Science Research Network today, Ross E. Davies, Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law and Editor-in-Chief of The Green Bag, critically analyzes a yarn told about Justice Harry Blackman in Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong's legendary book The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court...
A Hum-Dinger
Posted on June 20, 2008When I am not at my day job in the State Capitol Complex, I have the good fortune and genuine honor to serve on the Board of Directors of the recently-merged social service agency Tubman Family Alliance ? Chrysalis Center for Women. The combined agency is our state?s largest battered women?s shelter and a premier provider of outpatient mental health services to families in need...
Parallel Habeas Petitions and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
Posted on June 17, 2008In an interesting unpublished opinion issued today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals turned away the challenge of a prison inmate who was disciplined for refusing to participate in sex offender treatment.At issue in the case are the limits of the Commissioner of Corrections? authority to outwardly adjust the date on which an inmate will be released from prison, as a punishment for the inmate?s earlier refusal to participate in sex offender treatment...
My Father's Day Celebration with Luke's Father
Posted on June 15, 2008Commemorating the arrival of the Star Wars memorabilia collection to the Minnesota Science Museum, the children and I had the occasion to visit with Darth Vader, Sith Lord and aide-de-camp to Emperor Palpetine.As we are both government officials, our conversation began convivially enough...
University of the Automobile
Posted on June 11, 2008A mentor of mine makes the observation that if American workers were simply to use the time that they spend in their cars commuting to and from work, listening to worthwhile broadcasts, they could ?change their cars into universities.?For those of us in the Twin Cities, where the average round-trip commute runs just shy of 45 minutes per day, a year?s worth of commuter study would amount to nearly 200 hours of mobile class time...
False Claims Act Not an ?All-Purpose Anti-Fraud Statute?
Posted on June 10, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling as to the proof that qui tam relators must assemble in order to recover damages under the False Claims Act.At issue in the case was whether former employees of a second-tier subcontractor for the U...
District Court: Per Diem Suit Would Intrude on Management of Legislature
Posted on June 03, 2008In a Memorandum Opinion and Order issued last Friday, Judge Kathleen R. Gearin of the Ramsey County District Court dismissed an action challenging recent increases to the amounts that legislators receive for daily expenses.Last winter, a local advocacy group, two state representatives and four citizen-taxpayers challenged the approvals of a rise in per diem payments for State Senators from $66 to $96 per day and for State Representatives from $66 to $77 per day...
Power to the Paralegals! Just Be Sure to Keep Track of Your Time?.
Posted on June 02, 2008In an interesting opinion issued this morning, the United States Supreme Court reversed a lower court's ruling that paralegal costs were not recoverable as ?expenses? under the Equal Access to Justice Act.In 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation?s Board of Contract Appeals denied in part the fee petition of Richlin Security Service Company, a government contractor that had earlier prevailed in litigation against the agency under the Service Contract Act...
Big Enough to Cover, Too Small to Let Out
Posted on June 02, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Friday, a special three-judge panel turned aside the challenges of the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District to the ?preclearance? requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Utility District sought a declaratory judgment exempting it from the requirement to submit changes in voting procedures for review...
Yowsa! Chapter 295 is Packed with Changes
Posted on May 30, 2008Years ago, in a very different life, I used to represent candidates and political committees as an election lawyer. And while I am no longer helping clients to stay on the straight and narrow (or completing filings for my own beleaguered campaign committee), I still enjoy watching the developments in this area of the law from the proverbial ?peanut gallery...
Interagency Rules Committee to Meet Thursday
Posted on May 27, 2008The Interagency Rules Committee ? an all-volunteer group of state rule writers ? will gather on Thursday afternoon to confer about recently-issued rulemaking reports and to continue planning for the (13th) annual rulemaking seminar later this year.The meeting will be held in Room 6146 of the Minnesota Department of Human Services? Lafayette Building, from 3:00 p...
Change on Disqualifications Does Not Violate Ex Post Facto Clause
Posted on May 27, 2008In a very scholarly opinion issued today, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals turned away the challenge of a local nurse who sought to overturn her disqualification from providing direct contact services to patients.In 1992, Tonia Williams shot and killed a burglar who broke into her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
Minnesota?s Signature Trait, Then and Now: The Very First to Volunteer
Posted on May 25, 2008On this Memorial Day Weekend, I have spent a lot of time thinking about Minnesota?s men and women in uniform ? those who are serving in a deadly conflict today and those who literally rushed into harms way a century and a half ago.My thoughts ran to a bitterly divided country, armies mustering for war and a President?s urgent call for selfless volunteers ? in 1861...
Some Administrative Law Notes on the 2008 Legislative Session
Posted on May 21, 2008Among the things that happened before the Minnesota Legislature adjourned on Monday were:Chapter 196, a measure that reforms the municipal boundary adjustment process.Chapter 215, a measure that increases the ceilings on the amount of civil penalties that may be imposed by Administrative Law Judges in matters arising under the Minnesota Human Rights Act...
Hi and Goodbye
Posted on May 19, 2008On the next two Wednesdays, staff of the Minnesota Judicial Center will be hosting two celebrations ? one to welcome an appellate judge and another to wish a panelist a fond farewell.This Wednesday, the State Law Library is hosting a session of ?Meet Your Judges? ? with Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Matthew E...
Power to Assess Big Fines, or File Liens, Does Not State Action Make
Posted on May 18, 2008On Tuesday of this past week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota dismissed the civil rights claim of certain life estate holders and remaindermen ? the Lennon Family ? against their condominium association.Complaining that the association?s assessment of $49,421...
The Sesquicentennial Gift for Lawyers and Law Clerks
Posted on May 17, 2008In time for the 150th anniversary of Minnesota's admission to the Union, the Revisor of Statutes' office has made all of Minnesota's "Session Laws," from the Territorial days to the present, accessible through the internet. For anyone who is interested in the series of additions to, and substractions from, Minnesota law over time, this is important news...
Noteworthy Introductions
Posted on May 17, 2008House File 4253: Representative Mark Olson (IR-Big Lake), introduced a measure today, proposing a prohibition upon state court judges from accepting ?a gift from a party who has appeared, or who is scheduled or is likely to appear before the judge in a judicial proceeding...
Inherently Difficult: Inherent Authority of the Courts and the Separation of Powers
Posted on May 17, 2008An interesting Memorandum Opinion and Order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota earlier this month has had me thinking.At issue in the case was whether a local federal Magistrate could direct a senior official from the U.S...
Gallo, Edblad Saluted by the Minnesota Bar
Posted on May 16, 2008I had the great privilege today to participate in the Public Law Section?s annual award ceremony honoring distinguished lawyers in the public sector. I was asked by the Section to present the William E. McGee Public Defender Excellence Award, to this year?s honoree, F...
How Broad is the Longoria Rule: Enough to Change Failure-to-Register Practice?
Posted on May 13, 2008In an interesting published opinion issued today, a unanimous panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the imposition of a 10-year period of conditional release for an offender whose failure to register as predatory offender began before the effective date of the statute authorizing this penalty, but continued after the date on which the new penalty became effective...
When More is More: The Joy of Wide Open Spaces
Posted on May 12, 2008As a very early Father?s Day-Statehood Day-Summer Solstice-Birthday-Fourth of July present, I recently received an 8 Gigabyte iPod Nano.Between a somewhat modest cache of the music that I enjoy and a not-modest-at-all collection of podcasts that I am interested in, I had badly outgrown my much slimmer 2 Gigabyte model...
Past and Prologue: The Importance of Agency Precedent
Posted on May 11, 2008In an interesting published opinion issued on Tuesday of this week, a unanimous panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a determination of the Public Utilities Commission denying certain cost recoveries to CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas...
District Court: Landlords Have No Standing to Challenge Inspection Ordinance
Posted on May 04, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota turned away the challenge of landlords in Red Wing, Minnesota to a City ordinance that regulated rental housing. (An earlier photograph of a few of the plaintiff-landlords is accessible here...
First Ever Rule Veto, Stirs Memories and Old Debate
Posted on May 03, 2008On Friday, Governor Tim Pawlenty exercised the powers the granted to him under Minnesota Statutes § 14.05 to ?veto all or a severable portion of a rule.? The Governor?s veto bars certain proposed revisions to the state?s voter registration rules from going into effect...
Representative Hansen Seeks Greater Disclosure from State Court Judges, County Commissioners
Posted on May 03, 2008While the Legislative Session is winding into its final weeks, there are still introductions of new bills ? whether for position-taking by Members, or as a ?vehicles? for other collections of legislative proposals or as previews of the work that Members hope to do in upcoming legislative sessions...
The Indiana Photo ID Case: Would that be 6 to 3 or 3 to 6?
Posted on April 28, 2008As you have no doubt already heard, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 6 to 3, upheld an Indiana law that requires presentment of a government-issued photo identification for in-person voting. Six Justices agreed with Indiana that even if there was evidence that the regulation impacted some voters more than others, the photo-ID requirement did not amount ?invidious discrimination...
Further Previews of "Making Your Case"
Posted on April 28, 2008For those who were intrigued by their appearence on 60 Minutes last evening, the May 2008 issue of the ABA Journal includes excerpts of the just-released book from Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Antonin Scalia and the Editor-in-Chief of Black's Law Dictionary, Bryan A...
How to Clean Out the Shed
Posted on April 27, 2008This Thursday, of course, is May 1st.While in many parts of the country this date is denominated as ?Law Day,? in Minnesota it is perhaps better known as the last day of winter?.So, today, I conflated my celebrations for each occasion by withdrawing our picnic table and Adirondack chairs from the garden shed, packing in the snow-blower, sled and hockey sticks in their place, all while listening to some tremendous podcasts...
What Did He Know, When Did He Know It, and Frankly, How Can One Tell?
Posted on April 25, 2008On Tuesday, a divided panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a decision that has had me ruminating throughout the week.At issue in the case are the circumstances under which a Minnesota offender, who later relocates to another state, may be prosecuted for failing to update his Predatory Offender Registration...
Not Just Twirling in the Wind: Turbine Decision is a Useful Tale for Litigators
Posted on April 19, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit sustained the challenge of Clark County, Nevada to a series of Federal Aviation Administration orders.County officials challenged the agency?s determinations that a plan to place 83 wind turbines atop Table Mountain would not interfere with the county?s parallel development of an airport, in the valley below, some ten miles away...
Minnesota Supreme Court Grants Review of ?Filed Rate? Case
Posted on April 17, 2008The Minnesota Supreme Court today granted further review of a January decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on the reach of the "filed-rate doctrine." Earlier this year, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the doctrine barred court actions against electric utilities which challenge the adequacy of services provided, at certain approved rates, under tariffs that had been earlier-approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission...
The Registry Door Swings Both Ways
Posted on April 17, 2008In a testament to the fact that Minnesota?s Predatory Offender Registration law is a flexible ?regulatory? statute, on Tuesday, a panel of the state?s Court of Appeals held that later-enacted amendments which narrowed the reach of the statute could be applied retroactively to relieve an offender of the requirements to register as a predatory offender...
Federalism and the Canada Lynx: Traps for the Unwary?
Posted on April 16, 2008In an interesting opinion issued late last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota entered an injunction against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The injunction directed the Department to apply for certain permits under the Endangered Species Act and to provide a ?proposal, to be submitted to the Court on or before April 30, 2008, to restrict, modify or eliminate the use the incidental taking of Canada Lynx through trapping activities in the core Canada Lynx ranges...
Way Cool Audio - Part One: Be Not Afraid
Posted on April 13, 2008I had the occasion to do a little state travel earlier this week. I took with me some podcasts from the American Radioworks series on Great Speeches by African-Americans. Included in the collection are speeches by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas...
Way Cool Audio - Part Two: The Law and Health, Work, Secrets and Death
Posted on April 13, 2008As noted in the post above, I have been listening to some thought-provoking podcasts this past week. Below, are some selections that I thought might be of interest to the readers of these pages:n Denis Cortese, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mayo Clinic, made remarks to the National Press Club earlier this month...
He?s a Real Nowhere Man
Posted on April 12, 2008In an interesting unpublished opinion issued on Tuesday of this week, a unanimous panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed a lower court?s dismissal of the habeas petition of one Jeffrey Alan Truelson and remanded his case for further proceedings...
The Changes in Contract Rights that Trigger a Hearing
Posted on April 12, 2008Likewise among the unpublished opinions issued on Tuesday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a local housing authority was not required to hold a hearing if the agency decided not to use the services of a particular housing vendor in the future...
Blowing Through the Backlog
Posted on April 08, 2008Showing the strength of the Minnesota Court of Appeals' compliment of new Judges, as well the vigor of some very able retired judges sitting now by designation, the Court today issued six published opinions, thirty-seven unpublished opinions and three order opinions...
We Were On a Break?.
Posted on April 07, 2008Mindful that I have not posted case summaries here in nearly two weeks, I was reminded of one of the most divisive controversies of our age ? specifically, whether Ross and Rachel were completely broken up during Season 3 of Friends or merely ?on a break?...
Eighth Circuit: Ordinarily, State Highway Means State Regulatory Controls
Posted on April 07, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Friday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the Tribal Court of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians "lacked jurisdiction over a suit against a non-Indian, nonmember of the Tribe arising from an automobile accident on a state highway within the reservation...
Habeas for the Rest of Us
Posted on March 26, 2008Because habeas cases are generally only of interest to a small natural constituency ? most typically, inmates, jailers and lawyers with a genuine civil libertarian bent ? I cautiously include some description of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Medellin v...
In Today?s Introductions
Posted on March 18, 2008Senator Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing) today introduced a measure that would transfer the functions of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to the Legislative Auditor.The bill, S.F. 3783, has been referred to the Committee on State and Local Government Operations and Oversight, and is accessible here.
Eighth Circuit: Incontrovertible Proof Must Underlie Video Game Restriction
Posted on March 17, 2008In an interesting opinion issued today, a unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court?s entry of an injunction barring the enforcement of Minnesota?s Restricted Video Games Act. Under the Act, a person under the age of 17 may not knowingly rent or purchase a video game that has been rated either ?AO? (Adults Only) or ?M? (Mature) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board...
Hail to the (New) Chiefs
Posted on March 17, 2008In a press conference this morning, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that he has appointed Eric J. Magnuson, Chairman of the Commission on Judicial Selection, as the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Chairman Magnuson will succeed the Honorable Russell A...
Easy Listening ? The Week of March 10
Posted on March 14, 2008Not having any decisions that I wanted to summarize for you, I thought that I would highlight a few of the podcasts that I am enjoying these days:n National Public Radio?s ?Justice Talking? Examines Election Law: The NPR Series ?Justice Talking? takes a look at the current debates over photo identification requirements for in-person voting and the reliability of electronic voting machines...
Right from the Top: Justices Speak About Quality Writing ? And Why it Matters
Posted on March 12, 2008Bryan Garner, of LawProse, Inc., has released an unbelievably useful series of interviews with Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court on legal writing. (Eight of the nine sitting Justices are interviewed on the topic, with, apparently, Justice David Souter declining an invitation to be a part of this series...
Reading Table: 3 Worthwhile Additions
Posted on March 09, 2008Among the Administrative Law articles posted to the Social Science Research Network this week are a trio of interesting items, any one of which would be worth some space on your reading table. The articles include:n Admin Law's Federalism: Preemption, Delegation, and Agencies at the Edge of Federal Power, from Professors Brian D...
Slim Fast for Fiscal Years '09, '10 and '11
Posted on March 08, 2008Yesterday, Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled his plan to address the state's projected $935 million deficit and to re-allign various budget categories. The plan addresses line items in the current 2008-2009 biennium and the "fiscal tails" for the "out years" of the next biennium...
Our Comma Delimited Social Compact
Posted on March 07, 2008Ross E. Davies, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, posted to the Social Science Research Network on Wednesday a fascinating article on the various versions of the Second Amendment that are in circulation ? notably historical versions of Second Amendment that contain no commas, one comma, two commas and three commas sub-dividing the constitutional text...
Ohio's Hourly Wage Requirement for Petition Circulators Struck Down
Posted on March 06, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down an Ohio statute which provided that professional petition circulators could only be paid on an hourly basis.Because the appellant, Citizens for Tax Reform, was able to establish that the hourly wage requirement made it far more costly to produce the number of signatures needed to qualify a proposed constitutional amendment, when compared to paying petition circulators on either a per-signature or per-volume basis, the appellate panel held that the Ohio law unconstitutionally burdened political activity protected by the First Amendment...
Passing of the Mentor-in-Chief: William F. Buckley, Jr.
Posted on March 03, 2008In the days that have followed his death last Wednesday, I have been taking in the tributes and eulogies that have been offered for the author and publisher William F. Buckley, Jr. Those remarking upon the passing of the Great Man have sung his praises and credited him with every conceivable honor ? including the election of Ronald Reagan and America?s winning of the Cold War...
The New Guy: Honorable Manuel J. Cervantes
Posted on February 28, 2008Chief Administrative Law Judge Raymond R. Krause announced this morning that Manuel J. Cervantes has accepted a position as the new Administrative Law Judge with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings.Cervantes, who now serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Charities Division of the Attorney General's Office, has a wide background in government ? having formerly served as the St...
Senator?s Call for Common-Sense ? At First Amusing, But Quite Important
Posted on February 27, 2008Who says that you can?t legislate common sense? Senator Don Betzold (DFL-Fridley) knows otherwise.In a bill (that will be among the introductions of Senate Files tomorrow) Senate File 3206, Senator Betzold proposes to modify the list of qualities that the Commission on Judicial Selection will search for when interviewing candidates to fill judicial vacancies...
New Form for Better Cost Estimates
Posted on February 27, 2008The Inter-Agency Rules Committee ? the consortium (and support group) for state rule writers ? has just posted to the internet a new "Estimated Costs for Rulemaking Form." The form is handy checklist that permits agency personnel to guesstimate the amount of resources that it will require in order to complete various planned rulemaking projects...
Keeping Up with the High Court: Audio for Weekend Feather-Dusters
Posted on February 23, 2008As Mrs. WTS has a lengthy to-do list of chores for me this weekend, I thought that the best thing was to load up my iPod with some handy audio on pending U.S. Supreme Court cases. And that earful is certain to keep me on task moving through the list ? and from receiving an earful of a very different sort...
Just the Help that ?Responsible Authorities? Need
Posted on February 22, 2008The Information Policy Analysis Division of the Minnesota Department of Administration today released a updated (and very handy) set of checklists. The lists were designed to guide records management officials through all of the steps that are needed to build an effective data practices program...
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: The State Courts will be in Sharp Focus at the Capitol
Posted on February 22, 2008On Monday of this coming week, Senator Moua (DFL-St. Paul) will introduce legislation proposing to expand the jurisdiction of the Commission on Judicial Selection to include the duty of making recommendations for filling appellate court vacancies. As it will be introduced, a copy of Senate File 3129 is accessible here...
I?m Rubber, You?re Glue: Preemption Cases Pivot on the Court, Congress Both Reading Case Law (and Reading it the Same Way....)
Posted on February 20, 2008Issuing parallel opinions today, the U.S. Supreme Court sustained two challenges to state law requirements on the grounds that those requirements interfered with Congressional statutes regulating commercial activities.Among the interesting features of these two cases is the Justices? observation that the Congressional enactments at issue were best and most meaningfully understood against the backdrop of the Court?s earlier construction of similar terms, in other cases...
Senator Betzold Introduces a Measure to Address the Holding in Giem
Posted on February 19, 2008As readers of these pages will recall, in December the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an opinion clarifying the meaning of the statutory deadlines for court proceedings under Minnesota?s Sexually Dangerous Person and Sexual Psychopathic Personality statutes...
On Originalism and Pragmatism: Daydreams for Presidents Day
Posted on February 18, 2008Among the odd juxtapositions that occurs on this holiday honoring the Nation?s Presidents, is that today is likewise the 20th anniversary of the seating of Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, therefore, we are reminded that as powerful as Presidents are, their broader legacies are something that will, in part, be set by other men and women...
Autumn Playbook: William Mitchell Law Review Examines Election Administration
Posted on February 17, 2008The latest issue of the William Mitchell Law Review, which is now available, explores a series of election administration issues in Minnesota and the broader nation. Beginning with a foreword from former Minnesota Congressman and Gubernatorial candidate, Tim Penny, this issue asserts that the improvements we have made to election administration during our history "are not inevitable...
Better than the Sunday Times: A Quiet Moment to Think about Delegations and Preemption by Congress
Posted on February 17, 2008Among the items that have been posted recently to the Social Science Research Network are three articles that may be of interest to practitioners of Administrative Law. These articles, which provide a great opportunity to think about some of the broader landscape of our law, are:n Deadlines in Administrative Law, by Professors Jacob E...
Receipt of Agriculture Subsidies Prompts Public Disclosure of Farm Data
Posted on February 16, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a lower court ruling which shielded from public disclosure detailed information on the agricultural practices, acreage, soil, crops, livestock, and geographical location of farms owned by persons receiving agricultural subsidies from the Farm Service Agency (?FSA?)...
Minnesota Supreme Court Splits on Custody Credits
Posted on February 14, 2008In an interesting opinion issued today, the Minnesota Supreme Court split 6 to 1 on the question of whether patients who are indefinitely committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, and who later commit crimes, are entitled to ?custody credits? for the days spent in confinement under the earlier civil commitment petition...
Today?s Bill Introductions Highlight Inquiries and Debates at the Legislature
Posted on February 14, 2008Among the bills that were introduced today in the Minnesota House of Representatives were:H. F. 2911 (Atkins), A bill for an act relating to crime; establishing offenses involving the sale and purchase of event tickets.H. F. 2934 (Winkler), A bill for an act relating to courts; providing for a deferral from jury service for certain nursing mothers...
The Reach That is Needed for a Meaningful Remedy
Posted on February 12, 2008In an important published decision issued today, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the District Courts have the authority to direct the expungement of judicially-created records ? even if those records have been transferred to, and are held by, agencies in the Executive Branch...
Big Start Tomorrow for the Minnesota Legislature
Posted on February 11, 2008Legislators will lose no time whatsoever starting on the big issues of the day, when they reconvene in Saint Paul tomorrow. And topping the agenda will be measures relating to the state court system. Among the bills that will be introduced on the first day of the 2008 regular session will be:S...
Running One?s Mouth is One Thing; Running with the Land Another
Posted on February 09, 2008In an interesting unpublished opinion handed down on Tuesday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that request for approval of an amendment to an existing Conditional Use Permit did not provide the occasion for local zoning authorities to revisit and narrow the approved uses under the original permit...
Shot With Its Own Gun: Lessons from the Personal Protection Act
Posted on February 07, 2008As widely reported in the media, on Tuesday of this week, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed-in-part a lower court?s injunction which barred the enforcement of certain provisions of Minnesota?s Personal Protection Act against two metro-area churches...
Update on Judicial Selection and Retention Hearing
Posted on February 06, 2008The audio and video from a State Senate hearing on judicial selection and retention reform, held this past Monday, is now available on-line.The testimony included remarks from a celebrity cast of witnesses ? including former Vice President Walter Mondale; former Minnesota Governors Al Quie and Arne Carlson; former Speaker of the Minnesota House Phil Carruthers; Chief Justice Russell Anderson; Associate Justice Alan Page; and President of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Brian Melendez...
Commissioner Fabian Files a Petition for Review of Decision in Rud
Posted on February 03, 2008As readers of these pages will recall, on the last day of 2007 a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that, James John Rud, an inmate who was sentenced to state prison in 1985, could not be disciplined for his refusal to participate in prison-based sex offender treatment...
Lots and Lots of Provocative Audio
Posted on February 02, 2008During the month of January, the Federalist Society ? both as a national organization and as a local, Minnesota Chapter ? hosted a series of thought-provoking events, with audio recordings that are now on-line.Among the dynamite megabytes for your mp3 player are:n A discussion on the Judicial Confirmation process with Senator Arlen Specter (Ranking Minority Member of the U...
Celebrating 10 Wonderful and Exciting Years
Posted on January 31, 2008As part of the wider set of celebrations during Employee Recognition Week, our Office today honored some long-term state employees with applause and tokens of affection for their years of state service.I was among the honorees because, when one knits together all of the various tours of duty I have had in state government, on or around Valentine?s Day this year, the work weeks will total ten years of service...
4-You-Foods: A Licensing Case with Many Issues, Many Nuggets on Due Process
Posted on January 30, 2008Not since law school has there been as many issues and sub-issues in the fact pattern of a licensing case, as were in an unpublished opinion issued yesterday by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. And, with the determined precision of a student who has earned top marks, Judge Doris Huspeni, sitting on the panel by designation, opens and unpacks a series of challenges from the Minneapolis grocer 4-You-Foods...
State Senate Committees Jointly Turn to Judicial Selection
Posted on January 28, 2008The Minnesota Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on State and Local Government Operations and Oversight, and the Judiciary Budget Division, jointly announced this afternoon that it will host a combined hearing on judicial selection and retention in Minnesota...
A $28,000 Grant that Could Pay Real Dividends
Posted on January 27, 2008The Billings Gazette reported today that, flush with a $28,000 grant, the Supreme Court of Montana will consider developing a new set of metrics to measure Court performance.The grant was generously awarded by the State Justice Institute ? a nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Virginia that underwrites projects to improve the state court system...
3rd Circuit: Disparate Process for Emigrating Sex Offenders Violates Equal Protection Guaranty
Posted on January 26, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Wednesday of this week, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a Pennsylvania law which subjected all sex offenders who emigrated to that state to community notification processes, while exempting many Pennsylvania sex offenders from these same processes, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment...
Legislative Judgment on Post-Divorce Beneficiaries Can Violate Contracts Clause
Posted on January 26, 2008In a Memorandum Opinion and Order issued on Tuesday of this week, U.S. Court District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle held that a 2002 Minnesota law which automatically revokes the designation of a spouse as the intended beneficiary of a life insurance contract, when the couple divorces, can violate the Contracts Clause of the U...
35 Years Hence, Our Contemporary Fault Line on Abortion
Posted on January 24, 2008If art is a hammer, then perhaps case law is our mirror. It reflects back a snapshot of our present circumstances, framing in full color our successes in presenting ourselves and the areas in which we still struggle.Tuesday, having been 35 years to the day that the U...
Court of Appeals Accepts Broad View of the Filed Rate Doctrine as a Bar to Claims
Posted on January 23, 2008In an answer to a certified question that was rendered yesterday, a panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the ?filed-rate doctrine? barred court actions against electric utilities which challenge the adequacy of services provided, at certain approved rates, under tariffs that had been earlier-approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission...
Not Just Another Vacation Day
Posted on January 21, 2008As I have done before on this particular court holiday, today I am taking some time out to revisit the writings Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Among the catalogue of items that are now online, the letters between King and a set of religious leaders in Birmingham, Alabama, are perhaps the items that I return to most often...
When the 30-Second Ad Becomes a Pay Per View Feature
Posted on January 20, 2008On Tuesday of this past week, a special panel of federal judges denied a challenge to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act ? more colloquially known as the McCain-Feingold law. The plaintiffs in the suit were the producers of a film entitled ?Hillary: The Movie...
The Road Back from Gully
Posted on January 18, 2008Yesterday, I had the occasion to preside over a hearing in Gully, Minnesota (Population 106) (Latitude 47.769, Longitude -95.623). And, as one local leader observed during a break in the proceedings, he had not seen as many folks wearing suits and ties in town since the Congressman had last visited there?...
Lopez-Torres: Court Rules 9 to Ø on the Merits; Splits 5 to 4 on Whether to Rebuke New York
Posted on January 17, 2008Yesterday?s U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Board of Elections v. Lopez-Torres is a fascinating opinion. It is quite a read for anyone who is remotely interested in either election law or the process of judicial selection.At issue in the case was whether Kings County Civil Court Judge Margarita Lopez Torres had rights, grounded in the U...
My (Not So) Funny Valentine
Posted on January 13, 2008At the close of last year, the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Russell A. Anderson, signed an Order requesting public comment on some recently proposed amendments to the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct.The proposals are the work of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the Code...
In Through the Out Door: Circuit Panel Splits on Whether Outside Consultants Can Make Inter-Agency Memos
Posted on January 13, 2008In an interesting opinion issued on Friday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit split on the question of whether a set of faxes and e-mails written by former government officials, who were acting as unpaid volunteers, may be considered ?intra-agency memoranda? for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act...
Post-Hoc Legislative History Arrives Too Late for Mine Owners
Posted on January 12, 2008Among the interesting issues in an opinion issued on Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was whether legislative history in a Senate Committee Report could be considered during a challenge to rulemaking, in a case where the Senate Report was published after the rulemaking was concluded...
Cindy Sheehan Wins a New Trial on Demonstrating Without a Permit Charge
Posted on January 12, 2008On Friday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the conviction of Cindy Sheehan, a renowned opponent of the Iraq War and a candidate for the U.S. Congress from the Eighth Congressional District of California...
Letters of Recommendation are One Thing; Commutations Another
Posted on January 12, 2008In an interesting opinion handed down yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit turned away the challenge of an Iowa prisoner to a statute that regulates the activities of the Iowa Board of Parole. The statute reduced the frequency with which the Board undertakes the review of sentences of convicted murderers...
Transcripts are Now Available in Photo ID Case
Posted on January 10, 2008The transcripts from yesterday's oral arguments in the consolidated appeals of Crawford v. Marion City Election Board, and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita have been posted to the U.S. Supreme Court's website, and are accessible here.As noted earlier, at issue in these cases is whether ?an Indiana statute mandating that those seeking to vote in person, produce a government-issued photo identification, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution...
A Few Short Notes on Tuesday's Big Cases
Posted on January 09, 2008As if to herald that the holiday season really is over, yesterday was a big day in courts close to home and around the country. Here are a few short notes:In Advantage Media, LLC v. City of Hopkins, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit turned away the attorney fee petition of a local billboard company that had earlier won a preliminary injunction against the City of Hopkins' sign ordinance...
Benson to Become CEO of Minnesota Sex Offender Program
Posted on January 08, 2008The Commissioner of Corrections announced this morning that her Deputy Commissioner for the Facilities Division, Dennis L. Benson, will be leaving the agency after 33 years of service to take a new assignment in the Department of Human Services. On March 5, Benson will become the Chief Executive Officer of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP)...
Eighth Circuit: Don?t Save Claims of Physician-Examiner Bias for Trial
Posted on January 08, 2008In an interesting opinion issued yesterday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied the appeal of the widow of one Cloyd Hepp, from the earlier denial of Social Security disability benefits to Mr. Hepp. Mrs. Hepp sought to set aside the decision of the Social Security Administration, in part, because at the hearing below, the Administrative Law Judge refused to permit cross-examination of the agency?s physician examiner as to other cases in which the physician had rendered an opinion that was unfavorable to the claimant...
Fifth Circuit: Remedy for Abuse of Administrative Warrants is a Bivens Action
Posted on January 06, 2008In an interesting opinion issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit before the close of 2007, the appellate panel held that manufacturers do not have a constitutional right to pre-execution hearings on the sufficiency of administrative warrants issued by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration; and that OSHA officials may execute such warrants through force, if necessary, by enlisting the aid of the U...
Chevron Reformulated
Posted on January 05, 2008The most recent issue of the Administrative Law Review (which is a quarterly project of American University?s Washington College of Law and the American Bar Association's Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice) examines the changes and continued viability of the U...
Eighth Circuit Renders a ?Must Read? Special Ed Decision
Posted on January 04, 2008A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today handed down a decision that is certain to be studied, discussed and debated among our state?s Special Education Bar.Reversing a lower court?s decision that a disabled Minneapolis teenager, M...
Happy Birthday, Mr. Vice President
Posted on January 04, 2008Former Vice President, Ambassador and U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Walter Mondale, will turn 80 tomorrow.A still vigorous Mondale will apparently mark the occasion by delivering remarks to a State Senate Committee next Friday, January 11. Alongside former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, Vice President Mondale will urge state legislators to create a bipartisan commission on legislative redistricting...
Legislators are from Mars, Judges are from Venus
Posted on January 03, 2008As noted in the posting immediately below, the Chief Justice of the United States issued his 2007 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary earlier this week. In the Report, Chief Justice Roberts declares that his first initiative in the New Year will be to ?carry on the efforts to improve communications with the Executive and Legislative Branches of government...
And Now, a Word from the Chief Justice of the United States ?.
Posted on January 03, 2008In his 2007 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr., requests a moment of our time:[A]s we begin the New Year, I ask a moment?s reflection on how our country might look in the absence of a skilled and independent Judiciary...
A Rough Day for Commissioner Fabian
Posted on January 02, 2008On Monday, the same panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals rendered defeats to the Commissioner of Corrections, Joan Fabian, in two separate appeals.In the first of the two appeals, the panel reversed a lower court dismissal of a suit for injunctive relief and money damages following the Commissioner?s denial of parole to one Lillian Simmons...
Prominent Minnesotans Are Among Amici in Photo I.D. Case
Posted on December 31, 2007On January 9, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in the consolidated appeals of Crawford v. Marion City Election Board, and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita. At issue in these cases is whether ?an Indiana statute mandating that those seeking to vote in person, produce a government-issued photo identification, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution...
The Very Long Arm of the Patent and Trademark Office
Posted on December 27, 2007Rosenruist-Gestao E Servicos LDA ("Rosenruist") is a Portuguese company that, in 2002, filed a trademark registration with a branch of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Virgin Enterprises Ltd., a British company that owns numerous United States registrations, opposed the registration of Rosenruist?s mark and commenced an administrative proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to prevent the registration...
Appellate Panel: Corrective Action of Special Education Laws Must Remediate Violation
Posted on December 26, 2007In an interesting published opinion issued by the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued on Monday, an appellate panel reversed an earlier remediation order of the Minnesota Department of Education. The order directed Independent School District No. 192 to reimburse the parent of a disabled child one-half of the amounts that the parent had spent on hiring a private tutor for the child...
General Walker Highlights My $455,000 Second Mortgage
Posted on December 26, 2007C-SPAN's "Podcast of the Week," is a provocative appearance by the Comptroller General of the United States, David Walker, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.Building upon his earlier "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour," General Walker argues that rising health care spending in the United States could potentially "sink the ship of state," as the Baby Boom Generation retires from the workforce...
A Quiet Christmas with Mr. Adams
Posted on December 25, 2007With the courts adjourned for Christmas Day, I have curled alongside a roaring fire with my very favorite book ? The Portable John Adams ? which, as it turns out, was a loving holiday gift from Mrs. Within the Scope last year.A regulatory repealer that a young Mr...
Reading List for the Night Before Christmas
Posted on December 24, 2007In the hopes that sometime this evening, all through my house, not a creature will be stirring, not even a mouse ? a truly rare event indeed in my home ? I have downloaded a few items that have been posted recently to the Social Science Research Network...
D.C. Circuit: Sure, This Delegation is Tricky ? But We?ve Seen Worse
Posted on December 20, 2007Last Friday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a lower court?s earlier dismissal of claims against the Armed Forces Retirement Home of Washington, D.C. In that case, the plaintiffs asserted that federal law entitled them to a court order enjoining the administrators of the Home to ?provide high quality health care? to the Home?s elderly residents...
Two Really Interesting Podcasts from AEI
Posted on December 19, 2007The American Enterprise Institute has recently hosted two seminars that might be interest to readers of Within the Scope.The first, undertaken just last night, was the first Distinguished Lecture to AEI?s new Center for Regulatory and Market Studies. The lecture, entitled ?Extremism,? was delivered by Professor Cass R...
Illegality or Waste is Essential to Taxpayer Standing Analysis
Posted on December 18, 2007A panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals held today that absent evidence of an actual injury-in-fact, a taxpayer does not have standing (based upon his status as taxpayer) to challenge the constitutionality of an economic-development program which provides tax exemptions to other, specially-favored taxpayers...
Related Law Questions
Objectives of audit?
1. An unbiased examination and evaluation of the financial statements of an orga...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-28 at 21:13PM
Ten months later, Fed must reveal names of emergency lending recipients #FOIA
On 08-25 at 19:02PM
Squeaky Fromme, would-be Ford assassin and Manson devotee, released from prison
On 08-14 at 15:19PM
Likely unintended consequence of cash-for-clunkers stimulus is dampening of 2010 spending
On 08-14 at 14:34PM
Palm seeks to halt Palm Pre Android theme on copyright and trademark ground
On 08-12 at 17:30PM
Congressional investigation demonstrates Karl Rove lied about his active role in US attorney's firing
On 08-12 at 16:20PM
Family of New York City swine flu victim to sue city for failure to secure school #nyc #swineflu
On 08-12 at 12:59PM
Real Network's DVD copying software deemed to break DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
On 08-12 at 12:57PM
Prepaid funeral operators indicted for $100 Million fraud
On 08-12 at 12:53PM
NY Jets join Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston & Seattle #NFL teams offering branded state lottery games
On 08-12 at 12:43PM
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.
Objectives of audit?
1. An unbiased examination and evaluation of the financial statements of an orga...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material © 1999-2009 by USLaw.com. |