Courts

A 23-year-old Hutchinson man was sentenced last week to seven years in prison for attacking his ex-girlfriend and her companion early New Year’s Day.

A lawsuit alleging Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and 31 county election officials failed to comply with election laws has been dismissed.

Eric Lee Hindermann turns 23 today, but he’ll likely spend his birthday behind bars.

A conservative advocacy group has named Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and 31 county election officials in a suit alleging failure to comply with election laws.

A 79-year-old Hutchinson man received a 41-month sentence Wednesday for his role in a multi-vehicle accident that killed a Maple Grove woman last year.

A Hutchinson man pleaded not guilty to nine counts of criminal vehicular homicide or operation in Meeker County District Court Nov. 21.

A man who robbed a vegetable stand in Hutchinson last August was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday (Aug. 22).

James Dahlager, 27, of Prior Lake, appeared in McLeod County District Court for sentencing after pleading guilty June 10 to a felony count of first-degree aggravated robbery. He and his wife, Kelsey Jeanne Schmidt, 20, were charged in connection with a string of robberies in multiple counties last year.

Following a six-month pilot period, Karen Messner will remain the joint court administrator for both McLeod and Sibley counties.

The 34 judges of the First Judicial District voted unanimously Friday (Aug. 8) to permanently assign her responsibility of both county’s court systems, according to District Administrator Gerald J. Winter. The decision was based on positive responses to the pilot consolidation from Messner, court staff and judges.

Winter said since the 1990s, Minnesota courts have consolidated administration in neighboring counties whenever the opportunity arises.

Cuts to Minnesota’s court system could cost McLeod County as much as $42,500 next year.

To balance its own budget this year, the state Legislature reduced funding for the Minnesota Board of Public Defenders. The public defenders, in an effort to live within their newly reduced means, announced they would no longer represent children under age 10 or parents in child-protection cases.

Because everyone, under state statute, is entitled to legal representation, counties, including McLeod, will have to appoint attorneys to represent those who can’t afford their own legal help.

Not everyone who comes before the McLeod County Court hires a lawyer. Especially in civil cases, people often choose to represent themselves, and Court Administrator Karen Messner said, “That seems to be increasing all the time.”

To help these do-it-yourselfers, the court offers a self-service workstation for printing out forms and researching the judicial process, and a direct phone line to the Minnesota Court Self Help Center.