News

Rising 3L Rachel Wydra, who has been living in her hometown of Downers Grove, Illinois, since classes at the Law School went remote last March, was motivated to take action when news came of the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Working with other residents of the village, a leafy, boutique-filled suburb of Chicago, she organized a grassroots campaign for greater transparency in local policing policies.

Professor Maria Ponomarenko is one of eight legal scholars who released a list of urgently-needed reforms to address enduring problems in American policing. 

When Professor Perry Moriearty put a call out for Minnesota Law students and recent graduates to help individuals arrested protesting the tragic killing of George Floyd, she had no idea that, only four hours later, she’d have 100-plus volunteers register for training.

“It was incredible,” said Moriearty, who had asked only a handful of students to get the word out.

Kurt BlueDog ’77, a major figure in American Indian advocacy, jurisprudence, and legislation for more than four decades, died May 12 of complications from cancer. He was 70.

BlueDog grew up in Waubay, South Dakota, attending Enemy Swim Day School and Waubay High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1972 and served as a signal officer with the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division before enrolling at Minnesota Law.

Minnesota Law will host a webinar on “Policing, Racism, and the Law” on Thursday, June 11 from noon to 1:00 p.m. (Central).

The hour-long panel discussion will explore current realities, policy, and legal solutions to racial violence and bias in policing. 

Panelists include:

The Law School's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) last week issued the following statement to the Minnesota Law community on the tragic death of George Floyd.

Dear Peers,

Dear Law School Community:

Simply put, this is a terrible moment for the Twin Cities, during a terrible time. George Floyd suffered a maddeningly horrendous and senseless death, and the ensuing unrest has rocked our community. And, what started locally has expanded and roiled our country in the last few days, demonstrating the shared pain felt by many.

For me, this past week has been hard: my emotions have ranged from shock to sorrow to anger to fear to pain to frustration.

Robert E. Bowen ’48, who served as a judge in both the Hennepin County and Minnesota District Court systems, passed away May 15 at the age of 96.

Minnesota Law, the magazine serving our Law School community, has launched an all-new digital edition with our spring 2020 issue.

This mobile-optimized platform creates a user-friendly way to experience our magazine content digitally. 

The spring 2020 edition of Minnesota Law includes features on:

Dear Law School Community: