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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Update On Leingang/Blunt Dismissal

Last night news broke that criminal charges against North Dakota Workforce Safety officials Romi Leingang and Sandy Blunt.  There weren’t many details about the dismissal last night (you can read the motion to dismiss by clicking here), but today AP reporter Dale Wetzel has an article in the Williston Herald that has more information.

It boils down to this: The prosecution filed a motion to dismiss because a WSI lawyer, Jodi Bjornson, recalled that she had told Leingang that obtaining access to the driver’s license photos was legal since the photos weren’t, in her opinion after reviewing the law, confidential.  The charges pending against Leingang and Blunt stemmed from misuse of said photos during a search to find which disgruntled ex-WSI employee was sending disruptive emails to current WSI employees.

The Forum article last night indicated that this disclosure from Bjornson happened during a “re-interview,” which suggests to me that Bjornson changed her story.

Regardless, that Leingang and Blunt received bad legal advice from a WSI lawyer is hardly their fault, so they are off the hook.  What awaits Bjornson is hard to say.  What’s really troubling is that this case has been going on for months now, costing the taxpayers a lot of money and disrupting operations at one of the government’s largest agencies, and it’s all turning out to be a big nothing despite partisan agitating to the contrary.

How the prosecutors could have let the case get this far without coming across the fact that Bjornson dismissed bad legal advice is beyond me.  It smacks of shoddy work, and possibly politically-motivated to boot.

Comments

So who’s supposed to pick up the legal bills of these two? 

Miscarriage of justice indeed?

You would think that the defense lawyers would have pointed out that they relied on counsel’s instructions.  If so why did it go so long?


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on October 20, 2007 at 08:50 am
Avatar for halatbis

The lawyers on both sides will most likely be paid by the State as this takes shape--kind of---oops, my mistake, never mind.  The defendants are the losers--their reputations and image.  The whole thing is pretty lame. Pity!

halatbis on October 20, 2007 at 12:49 pm

The lawyers on both sides will most likely be paid by the State as this takes shape--kind of---oops, my mistake, never mind.

Yep government employees screw up and rather than hold them responsible the taxpayer winds up holding the bag.  I guess that’s the way it should be but the responsible parties should lose their jobs.


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on October 20, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Avatar for SCates

The fact that Blunt and Leingang obtained council before beginning the investigation has been known for a very long time. The claim that this (Bjornson’s new testimony) ends everything is nothing but bologna. The BCSA prosecutors had a very, very weak case. None of the deposed primary people agreed with each other. There was absolutely no evidence that Blunt and Leingang conspired to disseminate confidential information. The claim of “a viable affirmative defense of mistake of law” is nothing but a convenient out for BCSA. This thing has been a travesty. Where do Blunt and Leingang go now to get their reputations back?

SCates on October 20, 2007 at 01:31 pm

These two went snooping around cause some one was disclosing dept salaries (which are public record) by email.

They need to be in another line of work.

WOOF on October 20, 2007 at 02:41 pm

So now I wonder if there are any further charges remaining against Mr. Blunt and Mr. Leingang.  I have to wonder if the left side of the blogosphere will demonstrate some integrity and offer an apology to these two men and to those who had the common sense to see this situation for what it was. I doubt it, but I hope the reprehensible behavior will not go un-noticed by the bloggers on the right in North Dakota and else where.

On a side note, nice thing to drop on a Friday, wouldn’t you agree?

C.

Chris Brownell on October 20, 2007 at 03:38 pm

Another reason why the Nd. income and property tax rate is so high!

Kevin on October 20, 2007 at 08:27 pm
Avatar for Tim Effertz

I am a disabled worker. I have experienced a decrease in efficiency at WSI because everyone is watching their back instead of taking care of the needs of the injured workers. The process used to make decisions has become much more important than the final outcome, leaving people to wait for decisions for months while WSI holds a “dog and pony show” to prove they satisfied the lawyers. I hope that Mr. Blunt returns WSI to the condition it was in before certain politicians used the injured workers to try to make points with the voters. What a shameful waste of the assets of the State and the services to injured workers. Some public apologies are due to Mr. Blunt and to the injured workers.

Tim Effertz

Tim Effertz on October 22, 2007 at 07:02 pm
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