Minnesota Independent

ACLU weighs public’s, press’ right to record government meetings

By Chris Steller | 03.12.09 | 3:26 pm

The courts’ lag in keeping up with technological advances in American society could slow efforts to open government meetings to broader media access. That’s the word from Teresa Nelson, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, who is watching the current battle over limits on media access at the state House of Representatives with an eye to take possible action.

New media quandary: Should online-only journalists be granted access to the state House floor?

By Chris Steller | 03.06.09 | 6:32 pm

Should journalists who do their reporting online have the same access at the State Capitol that broadcast and print media enjoy? It’s an intriguing issue for people interested in media and government. “It is a beaut,” says Minneapolis media attorney Mark Anfinson.

ACLU files suit against Muslim-affiliated school, state education department

By Andy Birkey | 01.22.09 | 7:44 am

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed suit Wednesday against Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy and the Minnesota Department of Education alleging a violation of the separation between church and state. TIZA was at the center of a media storm last year after the Star Tribune’s Katherine Kersten wrote an inflammatory commentary alleging religious instruction at the taxpayer-funded school. ACLU-MN investigated the allegations and in court documents filed in U.S. District Court said the Muslim organizations from which TIZA leases its space are illegally benefiting from the leasing arrangement.

Court rules Sen. Larry Craig can’t drop guilty plea; ACLU says, ‘They’re wrong’

By Chris Steller | 12.09.08 | 1:34 pm

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) cannot withdraw his guilty plea in the infamous 2007 Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bathroom sex case, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled today in an unpublished opinion. That means Craig is stuck with having copped in District Court to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly signaling an interest in engaging in sex via foot taps from one restroom stall to another in which a undercover police officer was staked out. The decision’s “unpublished” status means the court doesn’t want their ruling used as precedent in future cases — interesting, in view of charges that Craig sought special treatment or was being singled out for preferential or especially harsh treatment because of his status as a U.S. Senator.

Public funds, private mall: Expansion, RNC’s approach may re-open free speech question at MOA

By Chris Steller | 05.20.08 | 12:05 pm

In the 1990s, Bloomington successfully waded into the murky constitutional waters that swirl around questions of free speech in privately owned places that receive public funds. In the 1999 landmark ruling State v. Wicklund, the Minnesota…