News

Governor Mark Dayton has appointed John Tuma (’88) to a six-year term on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), effective today. The five-member PUC regulates the state's electricity, natural gas, and telecommunications industries.

The Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) has announced the winners of its Legal Essay Contest 2014. Third-year Law School student Daniel Schueppert (’15) was named a silver award winner for his essay "Climate Change, the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification and Multi-Level Governance." His essay, along with those of the four other winning law students, will be published by the CISDL in a special working paper series later this year.

Student attorneys in the Law School's Detainee Rights Clinic recently won rulings on appeal for two clients with mental disorders who were not screened for competency during the merits phase of their proceedings before the immigration court.

The Law School's Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, part of the Center for New Americans (CNA), has recently seen its efforts lead to positive outcomes in three asylum-related cases.

Capping years of collaborative litigation that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, Center for New Americans’ (CNA) client Pe Paul Goromou was granted asylum on January 8 by an immigration judge.

Nicole Starr, a 2003 honors graduate of the Law School, has been appointed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to serve as a judge in the state's Second Judicial District. Her appointment fills one of two vacancies on the bench created when Judges Paulette Flynn and Gregg Johnson retired earlier this year. The Second Judicial District, with 29 judges, 4 referees, and 2 magistrates, encompasses all of Ramsey County and includes the capital city of St. Paul.

Janine Kern (’85) has been appointed a justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, replacing retiring justice John K. Konenkamp. She had previously served for 18 years as a judge in the state's 7th Judicial Circuit. In announcing Kern's appointment to the five-justice panel, Gov. Dennis Daugaard praised her "rigorous legal mind, her conscientious work ethic, and her commitment to fairness and equal justice under the law." Kern will be the 49th justice in the history of South Dakota's high court, and the third female justice.

Steve Simon (’96) was elected Minnesota Secretary of State earlier this month, winning a close race by a margin of 22,000 out of 1.9 million votes cast. He will take office in January.

Student attorneys in the University of Minnesota Law School's Detainee Rights Clinic have secured a remand from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) for a client who had been detained in the state of Nevada.