Minnesota statutes identify five degrees of assault. Within each degree, however, are several factors that could result in that charge. First degree assault is the most serious and brings felony-level charges that can result in a sentence of 20 years in prison. Below is a chart outlining the differences in the levels of assault in Minnesota. First Degree Causes great...
Can you be charged with assault for hitting someone after they provoked you? Maybe. But there’s a high legal bar to prove that you acted in self-defense during a fight. Someone may be charged with assault—even if they didn’t throw the first punch–if they “(1) commit an act with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or...
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) allows for criminal penalties for offenses committed by multiple people as part of a singular ongoing criminal organization. It was first enacted as a federal law in 1970 as an attempt to diminish organized crime, but now, many states—including Minnesota—have their own adaptations of the federal law.
As yet another Tesla passes you on the interstate, you may find yourself wondering when every car will be self-driving. With any technological advancement comes new legal challenges, especially in the criminal world, and one question that has arisen recently is whether it is constitutional to search driverless cars. Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it is unconstitutional...
Who can legally make a citizen’s arrest in Minnesota? Many laws regarding citizen’s arrest have their roots back in medieval England where sheriffs encouraged the ordinary citizen to arrest people breaking the law and bring them to the sheriff for prosecution. Many states in the U.S. —including Minnesota—adopted this concept from English Common Law and codified them into statutes that...
Up until Friday July 1, 2022, possession of any amount of marijuana in a resinous form—such as edibles—was a felony in Minnesota. That all changed when a bill went into effect that allows the sale of food and drinks infused with THC, the ingredient that gets people high. The bill was created to help regulate the sale of Delta-8, a...
We’ve all heard it before—someone has committed a crime “with intent” or “intentionally.” But what does “intent” really mean? Intent is one type of mens rea – or state of mind— that may need to be proved when someone is charged with a crime. The term mens rea literally translates to “guilty mind” and refers to the state of mind...
Over the past several years, the movement towards post-conviction review and wrongful conviction reform has become more widespread. Here in Minnesota, the Attorney General Keith Ellison set up a Conviction Review Unit (CRU) that became effective in June 2021. The process started with a federal grant awarded to review cases where there are plausible allegations of actual innocence or manifest...
On June 21, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling holding that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence. After a drug-deal-turned-robbery in 2003, Justin Taylor pled guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and use of a firearm in furtherance of a “crime of violence.” Taylor was convicted of using a firearm in furtherance...
In recent years, some states have started banning corporal punishment in the classroom, while some states still allow it. This has sparked discussion in the medical, psychological, and legal field about the consequences and legality of corporal punishment in general. All 50 states currently still legalize some forms of corporal punishment in the home, although not everyone agrees with this....