Congrats, Rana!

Minnesota Lawyer annually honors top attorneys throughout Minnesota for achievements in the legal field and our community. Earlier this month, Standpoint Executive Director, Rana Alexander, was honored at a reception and receive the Attorneys of the Year award.

Rana, along with Katie Barrett Wiik of Saul Ewing LLP, was honored for her work on In re Hope, an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court on behalf of Hope Coalition. Hope Coalition is a nonprofit organization that serves victims of domestic and sexual violence. In July, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that state law protects the confidentiality between sexual assault counselors and the people who come to them for help. It was a huge victory that clearly protects sexual assault victims in their communications with their counselor/advocate. This ruling ended many years of inconsistent enforcement of state statute and set a precedent that all lower courts would have to follow. "The Minnesota Supreme Court applied a strict scrutiny standard and it said that the state has a compelling governmental interest in protecting sexual assault victims," said Rana Alexander, executive director of Standpoint. "That is a huge statement from the Supreme Court in recognizing that we are serious in the state of Minnesota about ending sexual violence." https://www.startribune.com/minnesota.../600189894/...

Standpoint staff and the Board of Directors congratulate Rana Alexander for this remarkable accomplishment. Learn more about the award here.

The Attorneys of the Year 2023 winners were announced on December 22, 2022
“This is an incredibly strong group of honorees. It is humbling to hear the stories of their professional achievements and even more so their commitment to making a difference in the community.” - Selection Committee Member.

Monumental Decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court!

Rana Alexander, Standpoint’s Executive Director, was the lead attorney on this case and has been advocating for the privacy and protection of victim rights in criminal cases for years. Confidentiality is one of the most critical tools sexual violence advocates have to allow them to provide essential services to victim-survivors. 

"The Minnesota Supreme Court applied a strict scrutiny standard and it said that the state has a compelling governmental interest in protecting sexual assault victims," said Rana Alexander, executive director of Standpoint. "That is a huge statement from the Supreme Court in recognizing that we are serious in the state of Minnesota about ending sexual violence."

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-supreme-court-hands-privacy-victory-to-sexual-assault-victims/600189894/

See the ruling here: https://www.mncourts.gov/.../Standar.../OPA210880-071322.pdf