As you hear so often in the media about people convicted of heinous crimes: “We should lock ’em up and through away the key!”
However, in every state in both adult and juvenile courts, thousands of people work as probation officers. What do they do and why?
In the criminal justice process, both adult and juvenile, …
Here in Minnesota, there is a referendum set on the ballot for November that would amend the Minnesota Constitution to prohibit 
marriage between anyone except a man and a woman. It’s the so-called, Marriage Amendment.
I don’t want to get into the religious or moral issues as my blog focuses on legal issues instead. I have a few …
How do judges know when to set bail on an accused person? How much should be set? Are there any guidelines?
The setting of bail occurs when an accused person first appears in court to answer for alleged crimes. That’s done because of constitutional requirements. A judge has several choices at this point in a criminal …
My jazz group played for a judge’s retirement party here in Minnesota. Of course, we loved playing and it was a great party–if you like big groups of judges and lawyers!!
Many people don’t know that judges often retire with strategic purposes in mind, besides simply quitting their jobs.
To understand, it’s important to remember that, at the …
Here’s a quote from a recent issue of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans:
“Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of their people, per head…(such that) Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s.”
What’s going on? In my own state of Minnesota, we are building a “geriatric” prison nestled in the north woods. Louisiana has …
Okay, I’m sorry to post one more time about the Amy Senser trial. It’s over, but for months the media in Minnesota covered the case non-stop. Amy Senser was accused of two lower levels of homicide for striking a man on an exit ramp, killing him. She left the scene without stopping and failed to report it for …
If you live in Minnesota, other than the non-stop media coverage about the new Vikings’ stadium, the big news has been non-stop coverage of the Amy Senser homicide trial. She was charged with a lower level of homicide for hitting and killing a man while he put gas in his car on an exit ramp off the freeway …
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