Good morning, and merry Christmas Eve. I said last week there would be a Digest only if we had enough news, and here it is: 1. Appeals court tosses state’s revenge porn law. The Minnesota Court of Appeals has overturned a state law that makes it illegal to disseminate private sexual images of someone without their permission, arguing it’s overbroad and a violation of First Amendment Rights. The ruling Monday upends the state’s 2016 law addressing revenge porn and has supporters pushing for a review by the state Supreme Court. A three-judge panel found the revenge porn law not only covered situations where someone knowingly posts explicit images of someone without their permission, but also situations where someone might not know the other individual did not consent to its publication and “did not cause or intend to cause a specified harm.” It overturns a district court ruling, as well as a felony conviction for Michael Casillas, who was charged in Dakota County in 2017 under the revenge porn law after disseminating videos of an ex-partner in a sexual act with another person. The lower court argued that Casillas used his partner's passwords to access the videos and then texted his ex noting that he planned to send them out, meaning he knew it was against the person’s wishes. But Casillias’ attorney said he didn’t know he didn’t have consent to send the video to others. The Court of Appeals said its ruling does not condone Casillas’ behavior, which it called “abhorrent.” “Nor should it be read as failing to appreciate the significant harm that the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images causes,” the ruling read. “The state legitimately seeks to punish that conduct,” it read. “But the state cannot do so under a statute that is written too broadly and therefore violates the First Amendment. In the end, we are constitutionally obligated to faithfully apply the law.” MPR News 2. Court says power plant needs environmental assessment. Minnesota regulators must prepare an environmental assessment worksheet before a proposed natural gas plant can be built in Superior, the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The decision reverses the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's October 2018 approval of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center and sends it back to the agency for further review before plans can move forward.Duluth-based Minnesota Power is proposing to build the 550-megawatt plant with La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative on a plot of land between Enbridge Energy's Superior terminal and the Nemadji River. The utility company maintains that the plant would supplement its push for more renewable energy sources "when the wind isn't blowing and sun isn't shining" and lessen the company's dependence on coal. But several groups contended that the Minnesota PUC was wrong in its approval of the plant because the agency denied an environmental review of the project, the state should give preference to emission-free power plants and the company did not show the plant was needed. The appeals court said Monday that state law requires the preparation of an environmental worksheet when a citizen petition "demonstrates that, because of the nature or location of the action proposed in the agreement, there may be potential for significant environmental effects." A three-judge panel unanimously sent the case back to the PUC for further proceedings. Duluth News Tribune 3. Zelle to take over Met Council. Former Minnesota transportation commissioner Charlie Zelle will take charge of the Metropolitan Council in January following an appointment Monday from Gov. Tim Walz. Zelle, 64, will chair the board in charge of Twin Cities mass transit and regional growth planning. He fills the position left open by the resignation of Met Council Chair Nora Slawik. “Charlie understands the challenges and the opportunities currently facing the metropolitan region,” Walz said. The Met Council, a 17-member appointed board with a lot of authority, has faced scrutiny from lawmakers over its decision making and spending. It is currently deeply immersed in the Southwest light rail line construction. Zelle was transportation commissioner for six years under Gov. Mark Dayton. He is chairman of Jefferson Lines, a charter and passenger-route bus company that has been in his family for almost a century. “I am committed to applying my private and public sector experiences to help achieve the vision of a prosperous region -- for everyone,” Zelle said MPR News 4. Want gifts? Get elected governor. The game-ball handoff Tim Walz took last month from Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck left Minnesota’s governor with a prized momento he intends to proudly display. But it is far from the only gift that has come Walz’s way in his first year in office nor is it the one that’s touched him the most. More than 100 gifts have been presented to Walz this year, according to a roster kept by his office. While governors get a lot of gifts, technically the offerings aren’t theirs to keep. They started rolling in on his first full day as governor. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent him an orchid flower he kept at the Governor’s Residence. Since then, he’s received dozens of books and a collection full of ball caps, neckties, scarves and logoed shirts. “I mean, everything I go to people want you to wear the sweatshirt from the town,” Walz said last week. “They want you to wear the University of Minnesota Crookston shirt, or Morris, or where it’s at. Others have given fishing lures, candy, booze and seeds -- hemp seeds, lotus seeds and more. In March, he brought home a loon door stop; this month, the Canadian ambassador gave him a pewter loon. A replica of the University of Minnesota Duluth hockey championship ring came his way in April. MPR News
5. Hennepin County public defender suspended. Chief Hennepin County Public Defender Mary Moriarty was suspended indefinitely Monday pending an investigation. Moriarty, who in 2014 became the first woman to hold the job, said she received the startling news from the state chief public defender in an e-mail when she was at work early in the day. The notice directed her to leave her office computer and said she was suspended pending “further review of issues before the board,” she said. She will continue to get paid. Said Moriarty: “I don’t know what happens next. This is a complete surprise, out of the blue.” However, she said the first sign of trouble came last Wednesday when she was summoned to appear before the State Board of Public Defense Committee. Moriarty said the board asked about her “inflexibility” with other criminal justice officials; having “excessive absences” with no explanation; an allegation of “racism” she had made; a 9-month-old retweet referring to the anniversary of a lynching; and a “culture of fear” in the office she runs. She disputed all the claims and was baffled by many of them. “Nobody had brought any of this to my attention,” she said. Star Tribune
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