T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan www.mplsobserver.com Vol. 2, No. 28 February 24, 2003
This is a preview edition of The Observer. Check out a sample copy at www.mplsobserver.com and if you're interested in subscribing ($12/yr.), just hit 'reply' and we'll set you up. Thanks. ********************************************************** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * DNA Controversy Stifles Hennepin County Courts * Lake Street Redevelopment Group Forming * St. Thomas Developer Fined for Permit Violations * Neighborhood CleanSweep Will Be Refocused * Council Member Seeks to Protect the Bill of Rights Plus: Norm gets multicultural, the homeless consider storming the governor's mansion, a sweetheart deal for a local cop, and an exercise in cheap sloganeering. ********************************************************** DNA CONTROVERSY STIFLES HENNEPIN COUNTY COURTS As many as 60 people accused of serious offenses have had their court dates postponed indefinitely as a result of a new state-imposed DNA test. The suspects, accused of murder, rape, and other violent crimes, are awaiting the resolution of a three-year-old dispute involving the trustworthiness of the DNA test, a dispute that now sits in the hands of the state Supreme Court. "Every week a trial is set and then delayed," Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar tells Leyla Kokmen in City Pages (http://www.citypages.com). "What's different with this is that it is so broad. It [affects] cases statewide, not just Hennepin County." The state began using the new DNA test, which requires only very small DNA samples, in 1999, but defense attorneys have challenged the accuracy of the test and the manufacturer has refused to release the test's underlying chemistry. As a result, no one has been able to independently verify the test results. "Basically what the state wants to do here is say, 'Trust us,'" said assistant state public defender Steve Russett, who is appealing the 2001 murder conviction of Tony Allen Roman Nose in which DNA evidence played a vital role. While prosecutors argue that the test has been proven reliable, the courts have thus far agreed with its critics. Still, nobody knows when the Supreme Court will issue a ruling. Meanwhile the courts are getting clogged. "There will be a glut of trials for the six months following the issuance of a decision," Klobuchar said. And that could seriously affect a court system already stretched thin by budget cuts. Those violent crimes will eventually go to trial, said Hennepin County District Court chief judge Kevin Burke, but lower-level cases will likely be stacking up. "Something's going to have to give," he said. LAKE STREET REDEVELOPMENT GROUP FORMING Hennepin County has created a citizens task force to guide it through the planned reconstruction of Lake Street from Lyndale Avenue to the river beginning in 2005. ST. THOMAS DEVELOPER WILL PAY FINE FOR ENCROACHMENT Opus Corporation, which is developing the University of St. Thomas' downtown expansion, has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine after it neglected to apply for the appropriate permits. NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN SWEEP WILL BE REFOCUSED The popular CleanSweep events held annually in many neighborhoods will be refocused, according to a measure passed Tuesday by the Transportation and Public Works Committee. ********************************************************** The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2003 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription. Editor: Craig Cox Deputy Assistant Senior Executive Editor: Sharon Parker Contributing writers: Chris Dodge, Leo Mezzrow Equine consultant and coffee shop correspondent: Nora Cox Perspective: Martin Cox ******************************************************* Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper! ******************************************************* TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
