Eliminating Your right to Vote4Judges MN_SF70_NancyLazaryan_Greg Wersal

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Lazaryan
To: nancy lazaryan
Sent: Fri, Apr 16, 2010 11:18 am
Subject: ELIMINATING your right to VOTE being considered by MN Legislature

ELIMINATING your right to VOTE being considered by MN Legislature St. Paul, Minnesota April 16, 2010 Amidst all the flurry and noise about national health-care and the state budget crisis, an insidious bill has quietly worked its way through several committees in the MN state legislature. Eliminating your right to vote for your judges. Have you noticed on the election ballot the vast majority of judges run unchallenged? The reason for this is because the MN Supreme Court, without authority to do so, created "rules" as to who can run for office, and what they can say in a campaign. Almost a decade ago, one candidate for the MN Supreme Court, Greg Wersal, challenged these rules. It took him eight years of battling in court, and finally, the United States Supreme Court determined the MN Supreme Court's rules were unconstitutional. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision, the MN Supreme Court rallied their friends and have been pushing for a bill that would ELIMINATE open elections for the judges. They have used fancy language, saying, "we will still have elections, RETENTION elections". The governor will appoint all the judges, and if, after years deciding issues concerning the lives of people, the people would then decide whether to "keep" the judge. A "committee" will evaluate the judge and "recommend" to the people if they should vote to "retain" the judge. The committee will NOT evaluate if the judge followed the law and the constitutions, but only issues such as the judge was "nice" or "on time". IF THIS PASSES in the Legislature, there will be a question put on the ballot this fall. The question will be if YOU want to CHANGE the Minnesota constitution. BUT...they will NOT tell you the truth. The "question" on the ballot will be: "Do you want to change the constitution "to reaffirm the impartiality of the judiciary?" The TRUTH is that if you vote YES... we will be giving up our RIGHT to VOTE for our judges. The governor will appoint his cronies. The committee will never tell us if a judge violated the law. And we will lose our ability to decide WHO will be our judges. Below is an email I received from Greg Wersal, who testified at a MN Senate committee hearing yesterday. He is running for the MN Supreme Court. He asks the YOU contact the members on the committee and tell them to STOP the bill. If you think the RIGHT to VOTE is important, please pick up the phone and call. Tell others. Post on blogs. Nancy Lazaryan --- On Fri, 4/16/10, Greg Wersal <gregwersal@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Greg Wersal <gregwersal@hotmail.com> To: "Nancy Lazaryan" <nancylazaryan@yahoo.com> Date: Friday, April 16, 2010, 8:01 AM Yesterday I attended the hearing on SF70 before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. The Chair, Sen. Larry Pogemiller, Sen. Gen Olson, were “concerned” by the testimony they heard -- concerned enough that instead of acting on the bill they set it over for a week to give the members time to think about it. Here is what they are concerned about: 1. How judges are selected: Jd. Susan Miles of the District Judges Association attacked the bill because it does not contain mandatory merit selection. She argued that the Governor will fill the judicial positions with his friends, not qualified people, let alone highly qualified people. She also noted that once the Gov appoints the appointee does not stand for a retention election for 3+ years in which she said, “they can do a lot of damage.” I followed up her statements with my own saying the there is no check and balance on the Gov’s ability to appoint and that if the Gov had a weird political belief that would be reflected in the judges he chose and we need some kind of check and balance. I said that mandatory merit selection would function as a check and balance. 2. The lack of accountability for decisions: I again argued that lines 8.28 - 8.30 of the bill which state that the judicial performance commission may not evaluate judicial performance “based on substantive legal issues or opinions subject to standard appellate processes” was dangerous and needed to be removed from the bill. I focussed mostly on the fact that sentencing in a criminal case is subject to appeal. I said that we have judges right now who routinely do not follow the state sentencing guidelines and were putting people on probation and back out onto the street that should go to jail according to the guidelines. I also note that an appeal by a prosecutor is not a solution because it can take months and in the mean time the criminal is out on the streets. Pogemiller was concerned enough to ask the others if I was right in my interpretation of the language of the bill. I was given a second chance to speak and I pointed out that we could have a judge who repeatedly has his decisions overturned on appeal and that the commission on judicial performance could not take it into account. That is when Se. Gen Olson said she had problems with the bill. I said they should eliminate lines 8.28- 8.30 from the bill and let the commission actually look at a judges decisions to determine the judge’s performance. The committee might do that. 3. The langauege that will appear on the ballot: I was arguing against the language which will appear on the ballot -- specifically the word that say the bill is “to reaffirm the impartiality of the judiciary”. Pogemiller stopped me and asked “you mean the language is too presumptuous?’” (line 2.8 - 2.9 of the bill) He thought it was as well. The language will steer the voter to vote for the amendment because who doesn’t want an impartial judiciary. Gen Olson was also concerned that the language of a proposed constitutional amendment can tip the voters on way or another. The problem I pointed out is that if all judges are appointed by the Gov and there is no mandatory merit selection, them we will not get an impartial judiciary at all -- at least not a judiciary that is impartial towards the Gov and his concerns. The members of the committee are as follows: Chair: Lawrence J. Pogemiller 651-296-7809 Vice Chair: Tarryl L. Clark 651-296-6455 Ranking Minority Member: David H. Senjem 651-296-3903 sen.david.senjem@senate.mn Member: Thomas M. Bakk 651-296-8881 Linda Berglin 651-296-4261 Richard J. Cohen 651-296-5931 Dennis R. Frederickson 651-296-8138 sen.dennis.frederickson@senate.mn Keith Langseth 651-296-3205 James P. Metzen 651-296-4370 sen.jim.metzen@senate.mn Gen Olson 651-296-1282 sen.gen.olson@senate.mn WE need to make a concerted effort to contact these people and talk to them about the problems. I think we can change some minds. I also believe that if we get the committee to eliminate lines 8.28 - 8.30, the judges will turn against the bill. They do not need to hear from me. Many people think I am against this bill simply because I want to be elected. They have to be told that this bill as drafted is bad for Minnesota. And they need to hear from as many people as possible. Please sent this e-mail to others you know and encourage then to contact these Senators. Greg Wersal

Nancy Lazaryan denied due process by Judge John VandeNorth,Justice Eric Magnuson,Edward Toussaint

Click here: http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=672539489

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Register of Actions

Case No. 62-T5-07-024818

The State of Minnesota vs. NANCY CAROL LAZARYAN, [112807]

§ § § § § §

Case Type: 5th Degree Assault Date Filed: 11/29/2007 Location: Ramsey Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.

Party Information

				Lead Attorneys
Defendant	LAZARYAN, NANCY CAROL RICE, MN 56367		Female 12/18/1958	TSAI, EVAN CURTIS Public Defender
Jurisdiction	State of Minnesota			JOHNSTON, HEIDI LYNN

Charge Information

Charges: LAZARYAN, NANCY CAROL			Statute	Level	Date
1.	Assault-5th Degree-Misdemeanor		609.224.1	Misdemeanor	11/28/2007
2.	Disorderly Conduct		609.72.1	Misdemeanor	11/28/2007
3.	Trespass-Premises of Another-Refuse to Depart		609.605.1(b)(3)	Misdemeanor	11/28/2007

Events & Orders of the Court

			DISPOSITIONS
11/29/2007			Plea (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding) 1. Assault-5th Degree-Misdemeanor Not guilty
11/29/2007			Plea (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding) 2. Disorderly Conduct Not guilty
11/29/2007			Plea (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding) 3. Trespass-Premises of Another-Refuse to Depart Not guilty
05/02/2008			Disposition (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) 1. Assault-5th Degree-Misdemeanor Dismissed 2. Disorderly Conduct Convicted 3. Trespass-Premises of Another-Refuse to Depart Convicted
05/02/2008			Sentenced (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) 2. Disorderly Conduct 11/28/2007 (MSD) 609.72.1 (609721) 3. Trespass-Premises of Another-Refuse to Depart 11/28/2007 (MSD) 609.605.1(b)(3) (6096051b3) Local Confinement: Agency: Ramsey County Correctional Facility Term: 90 Days Time To Serve: 90 Days Stay 0 Yr 0 Mo 0 Days For 1 Yr Status: Active 05/02/2008 Probation - Adult: Type: Supervised probation Agency: Ramsey County Probation Term of 1 Yr 05/02/2008 - 05/02/2009 Status: Active 05/02/2008 Fees - Adult: (Grand Total: $206.00) Due 05/02/2008 Fine: $1,000.00 Fees: (Fees Total: $156.00) Criminal Surcharge: $146.00 Law Library: $10.00 Stay of $950.00 Condition - Adult: 1. No same or similar, 05/02/2008, Active 05/02/2008 2. Remain law-abiding, 05/02/2008, Active 05/02/2008 3. No contact with victim(s), 05/02/2008, Active 05/02/2008 Comment: General Sentence Service - Adult: Type: Community work service 60 Hours For Indeterminate Start: 05/02/2008 Status: Active 05/02/2008
			OTHER EVENTS AND HEARINGS
11/29/2007			FLD-Case Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
11/29/2007			ORD-Order (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
11/29/2007			ORD-Order (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
11/29/2007			ORD-Order (Judicial Officer: Administrative, Calendar )
11/29/2007			Arraignment (8:30 AM) (Judicial Officer Dorn, Marybeth) Result: Converted Activity Status Flag Occurred
11/29/2007			Interim Condition for LAZARYAN, NANCY CAROL - No contact with victim(s)
12/13/2007			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
01/03/2008			Pre-trial (1:30 PM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Converted Activity Status Flag Occurred
02/07/2008			MTN-Motion Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/08/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/14/2008			CRS-Correspondence (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/14/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/20/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/20/2008			MTN-Motion Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/20/2008			Motion Hearing (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Converted Activity Status Flag Occurred
02/21/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/21/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/21/2008			Other Document
02/25/2008			DOC-Document Filed (Judicial Officer: Judge, Presiding )
02/25/2008			Hearing (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Converted Activity Status Flag Occurred
02/25/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
03/10/2008			Hearing (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Converted Activity Status Flag Occurred
03/10/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
03/10/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (1:30 PM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
03/12/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
03/13/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
04/14/2008			Hearing (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) 04/14/2008 Reset by Court to 04/14/2008 Result: Held
04/14/2008			Memorandum
04/14/2008			Notice of Motion and Motion
04/14/2008			Affidavit-Other
04/16/2008			Hearing (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) 04/15/2008 Reset by Court to 04/16/2008 Result: Held
04/21/2008			Other Document
04/21/2008			Affidavit of Service
04/22/2008			CANCELED Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Other
04/22/2008			Correspondence
04/22/2008			Transcript
04/22/2008			Transcript (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
04/23/2008			Motion Hearing (1:30 PM) (Judicial Officer Johnson, Gregg E.) Result: Held
04/23/2008			Motion (Judicial Officer: Johnson, Gregg E. )
04/24/2008			Other Document
04/24/2008			Affidavit of Service
04/28/2008			Hearing (1:30 PM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) 04/28/2008 Reset by Court to 04/28/2008 Result: Held
04/28/2008			Notice of Motion and Motion (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
04/28/2008			Other Document (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
04/29/2008			Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Held
04/30/2008			Jury Trial (10:15 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Held
05/01/2008			Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Held
05/02/2008			Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer VanDeNorth, John B., Jr.) Result: Held
05/02/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Johnson, Gregg E. )
05/02/2008			Criminal Judgment and Warrant of Commitment (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/02/2008			Notice-Pay or Appear (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/02/2008			Jury Instructions Document (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/02/2008			Verdict (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/02/2008			Verdict (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/02/2008			No Contact Order (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/05/2008			Criminal History Disposition has been processed
05/06/2008			Notice of Appeal
05/06/2008			Affidavit for Proceeding In Forma Pauperis
05/09/2008			Notice-Other
05/13/2008			Notice of Motion and Motion
05/14/2008			Order for Proceeding In Forma Pauperis (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
05/19/2008			Correspondence
06/02/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Toussaint, Edward, Jr. )
06/05/2008			Transcript
06/12/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
06/16/2008			Other Document
06/25/2008			Correspondence
07/08/2008			Correspondence
07/14/2008			Other Document
07/14/2008			Other Document
07/18/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Johnson, Matthew Edwin )
07/29/2008			Transcript
07/29/2008			Transcript
07/29/2008			Transcript
07/29/2008			Transcript
08/04/2008			Sent to Collections
08/04/2008			Sent to Collections
08/05/2008			Update sent to Collections
08/05/2008			Update sent to Collections
09/23/2008			Other Document
09/23/2008			Affidavit of Service
10/08/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Toussaint, Edward, Jr. )
11/18/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Toussaint, Edward, Jr. )
12/04/2008			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Toussaint, Edward, Jr. )
12/24/2008			Transcript
12/24/2008			Transcript
01/09/2009			Memorandum
01/09/2009			Motion
01/09/2009			Affidavit of Service
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/13/2009			Transcript
01/14/2009			Other Document
01/14/2009			Affidavit of Service
01/21/2009			Order Denying Motion (Judicial Officer: VanDeNorth, John B., Jr. )
01/22/2009			Exhibit List
01/29/2009			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Toussaint, Edward, Jr. )
02/11/2009			Update sent to Collections
02/11/2009			Update sent to Collections
06/09/2009			Request for Trial Court Record-Appellate Court
07/28/2009			Publicly Viewable Note to File
10/28/2009			Other Document
01/28/2010			Order-Other (Judicial Officer: Magnuson,Eric J. , )
02/26/2010			Appeal Denied

Financial Information

			Defendant LAZARYAN, NANCY CAROL
			Total Financial Assessment			251.00
			Total Payments and Credits			0.00
			Balance Due as of 04/11/2010			251.00
05/02/2008			Transaction Assessment			206.00
08/04/2008			Transaction Assessment			45.00

Nancy Lazaryan Political Satire_MN_Leg.

I thought you might be interested in this You must be logged in to view this video. The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised. Please confirm that you wish to view this video. This video or group may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube's user community. Please confirm that you wish to view this video. This video is unavailable. This featured video is available for rental by clicking here. Info Comments Favorite Share Playlists Flag Thanks for rating! Minnesota Legislators are Chicken Sh**t From: johnkhutchison2008 January 25, 2010 103 views Citizens demand that the Minnesota Legislature obey the constitution. Legislators run and hide and call the police. Part One of Three. up on CNN http://www.ireport.com/people/johnkhutchis?view=overview&... ... (more info) (less info) View comments, related videos, and more Posted on several sites...YouTube...MySpace...and I-Report on CNN.....if CNN "likes it" they will post on the regular CNN website. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=johnkhutchison2008#p/u/2/fUXs5OBntXk http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=johnkhutchison2008#p/u/1/TuHjnT596p0 http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=johnkhutchison2008#p/u/0/AECydX0B0zM I'm busy doing editing....more shows coming this week.... Nancy Lazaryan