Tamburino Talks Law

Governor Walz’s Executive Order #20-20 which issued on March 25th mandates that Minnesotans must stay at home and work from home unless they are exempted because they work in an essential business. Lawyers and law firms that practice in criminal defense are exempted. Therefore, the Caplan & Tamburino Law Firm remains open. My law firm represents people on all sorts of legal matters, and specifically we are very active in criminal defense. You may reach us 24/7, 365 days a year. We are still conducting free consultations, meetings with clients, court appearances, motions, hearings, investigations, and many other legal services. You may contact us anytime and we will always try to help you with your individual concerns.

The Covid-19 crisis has caused many changes in our court system. Almost all civil cases and out-of-custody (meaning that the defendant is not in jail) criminal cases have been continued well into May or June. In-custody (meaning the defendant remains in jail during the process) cases are still being heard in court because of certain constitutional rights to specific hearings within specific timeframes. But even some in-custody cases have had their jury trials continued for a short period of time. Additionally, some court appearances are being conducted via video platforms like Zoom. Arrests are still being made by police and many people who are arrested are not released from the jail until after they appear in front of a judge. Those appearances are called arraignments or first appearances, and they usually occur within 36 hours of an arrest. Bail and/or conditions of release are also still being set on cases, and most people charged with non-personal crimes are being rel

Sometimes during periods of great crisis people in powerful positions have some bad ideas. One of those bad ideas floating around now is the issue of whether we should postpone the general election. That’s a bad idea. We have never postponed a presidential election. Not during the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, civil unrests, or pandemics have we ever postponed or suspended a presidential election. Our political system is strong and can adapt to all sorts of serious problems that may occur. Our right to vote is sacrosanct in the Constitution and nothing should stop or delay our vote in any election, especially a presidential election.

During times of national and state emergencies, the executive of a state, the governor, can issued orders that have the full force and effect as any other law. Normally, laws are made by the legislature passing a bill and the governor signing that bill into law. But during an emergency, the governor can simply issue an executive order and that order is legally treated like any other law. The governor does not issue these orders alone. Rather, he issues them in conjunction with his executive council which is comprised of 5 members: the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state and the state auditor. Executive orders last for 30-day increments and may be terminated anytime by the governor or the legislature. Also, there are criminal penalties associated with violations of an executive order. Usually, it is considered a misdemeanor crime if you violate an executive order which means that you could receive up to 90 days in jail and/or $1,000.0

U.S. Attorney General William Barr is now asking Congress to suspend parts of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees all individuals the right to a speedy and fair trial, the right to bail, and the right to due process under the law.  He makes this utterly absurd request under the guise of the Covid-19 emergency. He wants the chief judge of each federal district to be empowered to decide which people to hold indefinitely without bail or trial and continue all sorts of other hearings and trials both criminal and civil.   Suspending such constitutional rights is completely unnecessary since our justice system can easily adapt (as we are seeing in many parts of the country today) to the new realities of physical distancing, limiting gatherings, dispensing with in-person contact visitation with inmates, and continuing trials and hearings for periods of time when necessary.   In fact, here in Minnesota, our courts are adapting very well.  We’re doing phone conferences for pa

Covid-19 is obviously creating two profound crises - health and economic, and right now we seem to be in a tailspin on both.  But, unless we get control of our economy quickly, we will not have the resources to attend to our health crisis.  If our economy bottoms out, the dollar’s value will plummet, no one will buy government bonds, and our economy will shrink to such a degree that it will rival the worst years of the Great Depression in the 1930s. We can’t continue to stay home, not work, not spend $, and not produce goods and services. We need to get back to work. Therefore, the government should change its social policy immediately to one where all people over 70 and/or people who have underlying immunocompromised medical conditions should stay home and self-quarantine, and the rest of us should go to work.  The large majority of people who contract the virus will survive without the need of any hospitalization or extraordinary medical care, which means that they sh