John Gilmore sues Mpls for "baseless" arrest making him seem "prejudiced toward Muslims"

Categories: Law, Minneapolis
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Gilmore's mugshot following his June 16, 2011 arrest.
Conservative activist, blogger, and lawyer John Gilmore has sued the city of Minneapolis for $10 million over a "baseless" June 2011 arrest that made him seem "bigoted, intolerant and prejudiced toward Muslims... Muslim women in particular," the Downtown Journal, citing court filings, reports.

THE BACKSTORY: John Hugh Gilmore, Minnesota Conservatives blogger, arrested for harassing Muslim women [VIDEO]

On that June evening, Gilmore was in downtown Minneapolis for a conservative conference headlined by Andrew Breitbart when he allegedly started harassing two women wearing Muslim headscarves. Witnesses and cops said Gilmore took photos of the women, demanded to know why they were in the U.S., and said things like, "This is America, welcome to America, this is the western world."

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Michele Bachmann is pissed Obama didn't declare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev an enemy combatant

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Bachmann believes the government should be able to classify American citizens arrested on American soil as enemy combatants. Slippery slope much?
Michele Bachmann and John Kriesel have something in common -- they're both upset federal agents didn't altogether disregard whatever constitutional rights Boston bombing suspect and American citizen Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has.

SEE ALSO: Star Tribune places pressure cooker ad below story about Boston bombs [IMAGE]

During a recent appearance on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show, Bachmann said the Obama administration's decision not to classify Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant is a "miscarriage of justice." That classification would've allowed officials to question Tsarnaev indefinitely before any charges were pressed.

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Dorothy Dunning rallies national advocates to protest adoption law

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Dunning, at center, flanked by supporters on Monday.
On Monday afternoon, about 25 of Dorothy Dunning's supporters gathered in the atrium of the Hennepin County Government Center. At one point, the crowd launched into a modified version of the spiritual, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around."

"I'm not going to let foster care turn me around," they sang. "I'm not going to let child protection turn me around... Keep marching up to freedom land."

On March 27, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that two young girls should be adopted by the foster parents they have lived with all their life, and not by Dunning, their biological grandmother. But despite the verdict against her -- and her dwindling options -- Dunning continues to fight for full custody of the girls, now ages two-and-a-half and three-and-a-half.

See Also:
- Cover: Split the baby: The fight over two baby girls could change how Minnesota considers relatives and race in adoption cases
- MN Supreme Court issues close decision in Dunning-Grosser adoption case


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John Kriesel says Boston bombing suspect "shouldn't have constitutional rights"

Categories: Law
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Kriesel: "There needs to be special laws for punishment of sonofabitches like these two guys."
Former state representative and decorated war hero John Kriesel is known for being an outspoken gay rights advocate, but he's no liberal when it comes to national security.

SEE ALSO: Bob Koss, MNGOP Senate staffer, calls John Kriesel a "piece of shit" -- and gets fired

On Friday night, Kriesel got into a heated debate with some of his Twitter followers after he said captured Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "shouldn't have constitutional rights" and doesn't "deserve due process."

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Thousands of Minnesota DWI cases could be affected by Supreme Court ruling

Categories: Booze, Law
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One veteran defense attorney told KARE, "This is by far and away the most fundamental ruling in DWI law since I've been practicing,"
Some defense attorneys think a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday could affect thousands of pending DWI cases here in Minnesota.

SEE ALSO: Minnesota Supreme Court rules you can legally drunk-drive Segways

The 8-1 ruling held that in most situations, law enforcement officers cannot force a drunk-driving suspect to submit to a blood alcohol test without obtaining a search warrant first. Currently, in Minnesota, it's illegal for suspects to refuse to submit to a blood test, warrant or no.

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Aaron Schaffhausen was sane when he murdered his three daughters, jury rules

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Schaffhausen and his daughters -- Amara, Cecilia, and Sophie.
Last month, Aaron Schaffhausen pleaded guilty to killing his three girls, but maintained he was insane when he carried out that unspeakable deed last July. But yesterday, a Wisconsin jury rejected Schaffhausen's insanity claim, meaning he'll have to serve his three life sentences in prison.

SEE ALSO: Edina Realty won't sell house where Aaron Schaffhausen allegedly killed his three girls

Schaffhausen's attorney, John Kucinski, argued his client was driven mad after his wife and the mother of his children, Jessica, left him and refused to come back. "This crime is deeply rooted in Aaron's dependency," Kucinski said during closing statements. "That's where all this comes from."

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Brooke Bass, ex-police union lawyer, might seek up to $7 million for private data breaches

Categories: Law
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Photo of Brooke Bass from brunolaw.com
Bass's attorney claims her private data was accessed more than 700 times, mostly by law enforcement agencies.
If Brooke Bass's lawyer follows through on his threat to sue agencies for $10,000 for each time they accessed his client's private driver's license data, her case could end up making Anne Marie Rasmusson's look like child's play.

SEE ALSO: Anne Marie Rasmusson's settlement haul now over $1 million

That's because her attorney, Kenn Fukuda, claims Bass's private data was accessed more than 700 times by more than 100 agencies over the past eight years. As the Pioneer Press reports, if that's true, it would represent the largest private data breach case in Minnesota history.

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Minneapolis cops can ticket you for having car stereo turned up too loud, appeals court rules

Categories: Law
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Don't want a ticket? Be sure to turn the bass down on that Tupac track before cops picture you rolling down Lake Street.
It's not just annoying -- it's criminal.

SEE ALSO: Minnesota Supreme Court rules you can legally drunk-drive Segways

Yesterday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that Minneapolis police can indeed ticket you for blasting your car stereo too loudly.

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County Attorney Scannell could face criminal charges for relationship with 17-year-old girl

Categories: Crime, Law, Sex
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Despite a BCA investigation, Scannell continues to serve as county attorney.
Four months after he was hit was a court order to stop communicating with a 17-year-old girl with whom he was romantically involved, Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell is under investigation for possible criminal charges.

SEE ALSO: Matthew Ellsworth gets probation for having sex with student

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recently appointed former U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger to review their case against Scannell and make a call as to whether charges should be filed.

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Prosecutors: "Not enough evidence" to charge driver of car that hit Elyse Stern with homicide

Categories: Crime, Law
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Prosecutors made the curious decision to go easy on Hernandez-Campoceco.
Hennepin County prosectors say they don't have enough evidence press murder charges against the driver of the car that hit and killed killed 28-year-old Elyse Stern while she biked through the intersection of East Lake Street and Cedar Avenue South early Saturday morning.

THE BACKSTORY: Elyse Stern, 28, killed in Saturday morning bike accident at Lake Street and Cedar Avenue

The driver, 27-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernandez-Campoceco, was charged today with less severe counts of felony hit-and-run and DWI.

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