Minnesota Lawyer Blog

The Minnesota Supreme Court is currently considering whether to allow cameras in the courtroom, and some trial judges are concerned. Are they worried about Jimmy Olsen coming in and snapping a picture for the Daily Planet? Hardly. A Mike Wallace wannabe kicking in the courtroom door with TV lights blazing? Not even close. No, it's the pernicious blogger who has struck fear deep into the hearts of some of the state's judiciary.

One of the judges' concerns I have heard raised about cameras in the courtroom is the specter of the "unshaven blogger" coming in with cell phone camera at the ready. Apparently the judges are worried about being made to look sinister or downright ridiculous by a slip of the tongue or out-of-context snippet of dialogue winding up as a video posted on a blog or YouTube.

It is an interesting twist to an old conflict between the Fourth Estate and the third branch of government. It used to be the argument was that cameras in the courtroom were too intrusive. Now, with technology giving absolutely anybody the ability to take pictures and video unnoticed at the drop of a hat, the problem might be that they are not intrusive enough

Meanwhile, Court Communications Director John Kostouros last night at the New Media Ethics Forum in St. Paul that judges and court personnel are still trying to figure how to deal with online media access issues.

It's a whole new world.

Please note this is a corrected version. See comments for details.

Speaking of of the issue of judicial safety, we just got this statement in from the the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.

The IBAHRI condemns the murder of four Afghan judges. The bodies of the four judges, along with their driver, were found on the evening of July 31. They had all been abducted on July 24 and were later executed.

The four judges were from Paktika Province in eastern Afghanistan and were on their way to Kabul. According to the Governor’s office, no demand was reported for the release of the judges and the killings were carried out by insurgents who specifically targeted government authorities.

As the Minnesota courts scrounge for the money to install metal detectors to protect our appellate court judges, some Michigan lawmakers want to go one step further and let judges to take their security into their own hands.

Rep. Kenneth B. Horn, R-Frankenmuth, and Sen. Roger Kahn, M.D., R-Saginaw, have introduced identical bills proposing to amend the Concealed Weapons Act to allow "state court judges" to carry concealed weapons in what are otherwise known as "no-carry" zones, according to Minnesota Lawyer's sister publication, Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Judges and their families "are being threatened by" people whom they've sent to prison, Kahn said. Some of those making threats are felons who will be released after serving their sentences, while others are "mentally unstable," and others, still, have histories of "extreme violence," he added.

Judge Fred L. Borchard, Chief Judge Pro Tempore of the 10th Circuit Court, had his life threatened twice by litigants who have appeared before him.

Borchard said that, in his experience, there are three types of cases that really bring out the emotional and, occasionally, the menacing side of people:

-- Criminal;
-- Civil commitments involving mental health issues; and
-- Family law (ranging from divorce to custody to termination of parental rights).

"All of these matters place members of the judiciary at a greater risk of harm," Borchard said.

Judges with guns? An interesting concept. I suppose proponents might say that it's worth a shot.

Several blogs have reported an order recently issued by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Sparks in Texas. Apparently worn down by the lawyers' conduct in a discovery dispute, Sparks issued the following order in rhyming verse:

The lesson: Don't mess with a baby boomer judge when it comes to Beatles trivia.

Before his sentencing on a felony burglary conviction, Montana resident Andrew McCormack filled out a form which asked for a "recommendation as to what you think the Court should do in this case." McCormick, 20, wrote, "Like the Beetles [sic] say, 'Let It Be.'"

Gregory Todd, the 56-year-old District Court judge came back with a sentencing memorandum that began by correcting McCormack's misspelling, then sentenced McCormack to three years probation, a fine and community service. The best part is that Todd found a way to squeeze no fewer than 41 allusions to Beatles songs and albums into the six-paragraph memorandum. McCormack could have been excused for wanting to cry, "Help!"

A recent article in the Star Tribune focused on the spate of ethics complaints against Dakota County judges, but there was no comment from the Board on Judicial Standards or its chair, 10th Judicial District Judge James Dehn.

Dehn recently pointed out to Minnesota Lawyer that the board’s most recent report shows that about one in every 1,200 cases handled by a judge generates any contact with the board. Furthermore, the board received 127 written complaints last year compared to the approximately 2.06 million cases handled by judges. Thirty-five judges were asked to respond in writing regarding alleged misconduct, and no public reprimands were issued.

However, Dehn issued a slight disclaimer about his statistics: “There are three types of judges out there. Those who can add and those who cannot.” (Same for lawyers and journalists, I might add ... er say.)

Cases involving the alleged fixing of tickets by two Dakota County judges are under advisement and a public reprimand was issued against a third judge in the county, William Thuet, who agreed to it. Thuet was charged with inappropriately accepting a guilty plea to a DWI involving a former neighbor and procuring the same woman’s release from custody on another occasion.