That old saying is a little misleading. There is a good argument that knowledge is always good; the more one knows the better. The old saying comes up a lot in my line of work. I hear from people who have seen material online that tells them a little bit about how the legal system may work, but it is not helpful, or downright harmful to their case. The info they find online may be completely wrong or it may be true for a different state or a different type of legal situation than what they have. Doing your own research online can be a good supplement to the legal advice you are getti ..read more

This month is the 153rd anniversary of the passage of Section 1983. It is a federal law that most people have never heard of, but they usually have heard of famous cases involving police or government officials being sued under the law for misconduct or abuse of citizens. When Section 1983 was passed in 1871 it was intended to protect citizens in the south of the country, newly liberated from slavery from attacks by racist pro confederate local governments and police who often tried to prevent newly freed Black citizens from exercising their basic rights. Local officials and police in the sout ..read more

Many people think that appealing a decision means that you get a fresh start, a different judge to look at all of the evidence and make a different decision. That is not what happens in appeals. With very few exceptions, a higher court in Minnesota, the Court of Appeals, looks at the record and decides if the trial court made a significant legal error. This means that they look at what was said at trial, what documents and other materials were used as evidence, and decide if the trial court made a decision that was not supported by the evidence or made a legal mistake that impacted the result ..read more

When I started practicing law many years ago, my kids would say just about back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I had more faith in the criminal justice system and believed that it just about always worked. As I have gained experience, I have learned that, unfortunately, there are serious flaws with our legal system. While I believe that most prosecutors and police officers are honest, the willingness of some police officers and investigators to lie, the willingness of some prosecutors to go along with the lies, the lack of courage on the part of too many judges and prosecutors to stand ..read more

Of the changes in landlord tenant law that took effect this year, one of the biggest was a new notice requirement for evictions for unpaid rent. Before January 1 of this year there was no notice requirement imposed by state law, landlords could evict for unpaid rent without any notice at all. While most landlords gave some type of notice before filing, it was not required, and there were no rules as to the format of any notice given. Now, notice has to be provided 14 days before filing any eviction, the notice has to state the exact amount owing and include information about resources in the c ..read more

Attending DWI court can be a daunting experience, but knowing what to expect can help ease some of the uncertainty. This knowledge can help you build the best possible defense and plan for your future. Strong preparation starts with knowing exactly what you can anticipate if you find yourself facing a DWI charge. Arraignment and plea During your arraignment, you will formally hear the charges against you and enter a plea. This is your opportunity to plead guilty, not guilty or no contest. Pre-trial hearings Before your trial, there may be several pre-trial hearings where the prosecution and de ..read more

Today my office received great news! The charges against Mark John Kruse for felony Second Degree Assault in Marshall County, Minnesota, were dismissed by the prosecutor. Mark John was accused of swerving towards two parked vehicles, both of which were larger than the one he was driving, by the side of a gravel road. There was no crash, no attack against anyone. The dismissal occurred just after a hearing where I requested that the Court require the prosecutor and the sheriff to disclose evidence that had not been provided, which I believe was being deliberately withheld. This was a ..read more

Was a term my old martial arts instructor used to describe how to determine how to respond to potential danger. The degree of threat and the danger posed to you determines how you respond, ranging from ignoring, to responding with deadly force, and everything in between. This concept would be a good one to use in how we respond as a society to risks. Violent crime is higher in this country than in almost all other wealthy, stable countries, even though those places lock up a far smaller percent of their population in jails and prisons. Even with our higher violent crime rates, the way mos ..read more

It is one of the most frequent questions that people ask lawyers, when can the police stop my vehicle? For most of us, our primary interaction with law enforcement is on the road. There are literally hundreds of traffic laws, very few drivers follow them all of the time, which may be sometimes going a little over the speed limit, or, doing something that we do not even know is illegal, such as a dangling object hanging on the rear-view mirror. Believe it or not, the fuzzy dice, the pine tree air freshener, or anything else break the law when they dangle from the mirror. A police officer can pu ..read more

Today celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. While we know of him as a civil rights leader, he was more than that. Dr. King, and many others who worked with him to lead the transformation of this country towards a place where the words ‘and liberty and justice for all’ really did apply to everyone. Before the modern civil rights movement much of this country was rigidly segregated. The south was a virtual police state, its Black citizens were barred from access to schools, most good jobs, and almost never allowed to vote. This system was enforced by terror, at gunpoint, thousa ..read more