News Cut: August 23, 2010 Archive

Is Minnesota becoming a judicial basket case?

Posted at 12:06 PM on August 23, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

It didn't take long for Pawlenty-appointee Lorie Gildea, the new chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, to pick up on her predecessor's theme -- funding cuts are killing Minnesota's justice system.

According to the MinnLawyer blog:

Gildea called on the criminal law bar to join in grassroots effort to educate the public on the situation. "We must take our case to the people," she said.

In a panel discussion on the funding crisis following Gildea's remarks, State public Defender John Stuart outlined the dire situation faced by resource-starved public defenders. More funding cuts would likely mean defenders would no longer be able to handle cases involving out-of-custody defendants or to cover first appearances.

Gildea's predecessor, Eric Magnuson, a former law partner of Pawlenty's, spent much of his term railing against the lack of adequate funding for Minnesota courts.

"As delays in criminal case processing grow, so do the threats of having cases dismissed or convictions overturned because the state failed to provide a constitutionally guaranteed speedy trial. It happened twice last year on appeal in significant felony cases, because the courts were compelled to follow the provisions of the state Constitution," Magnuson wrote in an MPR commentary earlier this year.

The issue has yet to come up in this year's gubernatorial campaign.

(Justice Gildea will be on MPR's Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer on Tuesday)

(Update 10:11 a.m. 8/24) - I asked Stuart what sort of crimes should be "decriminalized." He e-mailed a starting list:

Sure: I think we should use the "petty misdemeanor" treatment (like a speeding ticket) for most cases involving:

--theft under $100
--disorderly conduct
--fishing law violations
--trespassing
--loitering
--driving with a suspended license (currently this is a "payable misdemeanor")
--NSF check under $100

I'm sure there are a few more, this is for example.

Minnesota medical resident case heading to Supreme Court

Posted at 12:49 PM on August 23, 2010 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a Minnesota case for its fall term.

The question: Are medical residents students who don't have to pay Social Security taxes, or are they working professionals?

The Mayo Foundation and the University of Minnesota claim resident researchers are students, and are exempt from Social Security and IRS taxes. The IRS says if they work more than 40 hours a week, they're not different than any other working stiff.

"Mayo and the University permit their residents to care for patients purely for educational purposes," lawyers for the two argued in a brief filed with the High Court. "The educational program of a medical resident is indistinguishable in nearly all respects from the educational program of third- and fourth-year medical students."

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that third- and fourth-year medical students are students.

Mayo and the U will start with one strike against them. "The word 'student' is most commonly used to refer to a pupil receiving formal instruction in an academic setting, not a full-time employee who learns by doing," the government said in its brief.

That was written by Elena Kagan, the former U.S. solicitor general. She sits on the Supreme Court now.

The Court today scheduled oral arguments for Monday November 8th.