After working for over 30 years in the criminal courts in Minnesota as both a prosecutor and Public Defender, I have some stories . . .
Those of us in the trenches often say, “you can’t make a reality TV show about this stuff–it’s too real. No one would believe it!” I’ve had several requests to tell the …
Here in the Twin Cities, the local U.S. Attorney, B. Todd Jones, has announced that his office will decrease its prosecution of drug offenses and, instead, focus on more complex, white-collar crime. Does this mean an end to the War on Drugs? See the article at: http://www.startribune.com/local/185235672.html
Started in the 1970’s, the War on Drugs spawned a huge …
Of course, with the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy there are many people who have opinions about the event and how to prevent something like this in the future. I don’t claim to have the answers, but I want to trace some of the legal history about the 2nd Amendment and other amendments to add my own ideas.
Opponents to …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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