About Colin Nelson

Colin T. Nelson worked for 40 years as a prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer in Minneapolis. He tried everything from speeding tickets to first degree murder. His writing about the courtroom and the legal system give the reader a "back door" view of what goes on, what's funny, and what's a good story. He has also traveled extensively and includes those locations in his mysteries. Some are set in Southeast Asia, Ecuador,Peru, and South Africa. Readers get a suspenseful tale while learning about new places on the planet. Colin is married, has two adult children, and plays the saxophone in various bands.

Judges Acting Badly

What a difference 30 years makes in our criminal justice system!!

When I first started practicing criminal law in the late 70’s, I worked as both a prosecutor and a Public Defender.  I appeared before at least 60 different judges in the adult and juvenile courts.  The things I used to see…

Today, in the county where I …

Washed-up on the Beach in California

Off the coast of California smugglers used their 30 foot boat to ram a Coast Guard boat, killing Chief Petty Officer, Terrell Horne.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/us/smuggling-is-on-the-rise-off-southern-california-coast.html?scp=1&sq=coast+guard+officer+dies&st=nyt&_r=0  Could this tragedy be a hint of a serious threat to the United States?

With the increased vigilance across the land borders of our country, more smuggling has gone to sea.  Of  course, …

Prosecutors Gone Wild

Two recent cases in Minnesota demonstrate the power or prosecutors and what happens to accused people who may be innocent.

The first case involved a football coach at Mankato State University who had three short videos on his phone of his young children playing in the nude.  The local prosecutor charged the coach with the felony of child …

Lincoln–Beginning of Too Many Lawyers?

You’ve probably seen or heard of the new film, Lincoln.  If not, go.  It’s a great movie with wonderful attention to detail and, like all Spielberg films, a great plot.  As you probably know, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer, mostly self-taught.  However, he had the good luck to become a lawyer at a time in our country when …

Terrorist Guilty in Minneapolis

Imagine–a janitor who works quietly by day so that no one suspects him of any criminal activity.  By night, he masterminds a global network of money transfers, smuggling, recruiting of young men to fight overseas, and warfare in Somalia.

In federal court in Minneapolis a jury found Mahamud Said Omar guilty of recruiting as many as 20 young

Extradition of Terrorists to U.S.

The BBC reported that after fourteen years, five suspected terrorists including Abu Hamza al-Masri, will finally be extradited to the United States.  uk-19852506. The five are accused of plotting the bombing of a U.S. embassy in East Africa in 1998.  Why did it take so long to get the courts to return him to U.S. jurisdiction?  What …