Courts

Breaking the cycle of crime and incarceration
Midmorning talks about crime, punishment, and restorative justice with the head of a local organization that helps offenders transition from prison to community life.
Union official lashes out at Attorney General Swanson
Minnesota's largest state employee union continued the war of words between it and Attorney General Lori Swanson Friday. The two sides are at odds over whether Swanson pressured attorneys in her office against forming a union.
Justice Dept. had concerns about former U.S. attorney for Minn.
Senior Justice Department officials had raised concerns about Tom Heffelfinger, the former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, according to a source close to the agency. Heffelfinger, however, reiterates that he was not pressured to resign.
Swanson alleges union bullying with organizing effort afoot
The largest state employee union is trying to organize the attorneys in the Minnesota Attorney General's office, and the dispute is getting ugly.
Teen charged in fatal bus shooting in St. Paul
Jerome P. Cross, 17, of St. Paul, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder in the death of Earl Freeman, 16. The shooting occurred on a Metro Transit bus in downtown St. Paul early Sunday.
Non-compete clause at heart of Ridder lawsuit
The St. Paul Pioneer Press contends its former publisher, Par Ridder, violated a non-compete clause in his contract when he took a similar job at the rival Star Tribune newspaper. But the contract itself is nowhere to be found.
The state Board of Pardons has cleared former Minnesota Viking star Jim Marshall of a drug conviction. Marshall was convicted of second degree cocaine possession in 1991.
Resignations in U.S. attorney's office "troubling"
Minnesota's U.S. Attorney, Rachel Paulose, says she supports the resignations of her top three senior attorneys, who stepped down Thursday from their management positions. Observers called the situation troubling, and unusual.
Supreme Court rules PhotoCop unconstitutional
The court told the city of Minneapolis that it must stop its "Stop on Red" program, which photographed vehicles running red lights, because it violates state law. But supporters of the so-called PhotoCop program say it cut down on crashes in accident-prone intersections.