The New York Times has a new video series where they hire professional actors to act out depositions based on transcripts and video recordings of depositions. How is this journalism? I think it is journalism and excellent journalism. Here’s why….
Update (12/30/2015): Here, linked, is the solution to the mystery of how the Minnesota Supreme Court would rule on the admissibility of “Alford pleas” to criminal charges in later related civil cases. (I explain what an “Alford plea” is in the original post, below.) Key to the Court’s decision: “The [trial court judge] enjoys broad discretion to […]
Update (December 30, 2015): Minnesota Litigator strays from “news and commentary about Minnesota civil litigation” into nearby jurisdictions and, in this post update, we take short, dark detour into the criminal realm. William Francis Melchert-Dinkel’s conviction for assisting suicide has been upheld by a divided Court of Appeals this week but his conviction for attempting to assist […]
Under the Minnesota (and federal) rules of civil procedure, “A party may serve upon any other party a written request for the confession admission, for purposes of the pending action only, of the truth of any matters within the scope of [proper civil discovery] set forth in the request that relate to statements, opinions of fact, […]
This apercu originates in the Hebrew Bible, Book of Hosea, Chapter 8, Verse 7. Assuming the statement’s accurate, an open question remains: what happens when you reap the whirlwind? Can you get rich doing that? I am not a biblical scholar but I know that is not how the text is normally interpreted. Maybe the text needs to be […]
Many of us are aware of momentous scientific progress in recent years in growing human tissue in laboratories –livers, kidneys, anal sphincters, ears and so on. (At least you’ve heard about the livers and kidneys, right?) Very few of us, however, have stopped to think in depth about this process, or have thought about the […]
This week, some true believers (that is, believers in not believing (non-religious fanatics?)) sued the U.S. Congress for putting “In God We Trust” on our money. Good luck with that. (Towns can have nativity scenes on public property but our bucks’n’coins cannot have IGWT?) (Here linked is the voluminous complaint.) The complaint represents quite an effort […]
True war story: My client (“Plaintiff”), years ago, hired company to install $100,000+ machine in its factory. The machine was entirely useless and defective and had to be replaced at a cost of about another $100,000+. Plaintiff sued machine seller (“Defendant”) who denied machine was defective. I served discovery as to the financial health of Defendant. Defendant […]
The landscape of Minnesota Court of Appeals decisions is littered with the wreckage of pro se appeals for obvious reasons. Minnesota lawyers, the cohort in the best position to handle appeals, lose more than half the time. It is rare that an unrepresented party wins, especially against adversaries represented by experienced lawyers. So, congratulations to John Stratton […]
Update (December 9, 2015): For Minnesota civil litigators this holiday season, the Minnesota Court of Appeals giveth but it looks like the Minnesota Supreme Court might take away… As discussed in the original post, at issue in Whitney Bank v. O’Brien & Wolf (not the “official” case name, but the real parties in interest in the appeal), the […]