A continuance for dismissal (sometimes known as a “continuance without a plea” or an “agreement to suspend prosecution”) is perhaps the best resolution to a criminal case besides outright dismissal or an acquittal. A continuance for dismissal is an agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor. A typical agreement requires the the case be “put on the shelf” for an...
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently held in In re Welfare of J.J.P. that when a district court is considering an expungement petition on a juvenile’s adjudication of delinquency, the court has statutory authority to expunge the delinquency order from both judicial branch and the executive branch agencies. The Minnesota Supreme Court found that statute allows executive branch agencies to consider...
First Degree Burglary: The State has to prove the defendant entered a building without consent and committed a crime or had the intent to commit a crime PLUS just ONE of the three: The building the defendant entered was a residence, and another person who was not an accomplice was within the home when the defendant entered or at any...
Funds used in prostitution and sex trafficking crimes may soon be subject to forfeiture to the state of Minnesota. Currently, Minnesota law allows for forfeiture of funds or other items for certain designated offenses including drug crimes, weapons violation crimes, DWI, drive-by-shootings, theft, fraud, and offenses against a person. Minnesota Bill SF346 adds a provision to the current forfeiture law allowing...
After authorities captured Boston Marathon bombing suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, officials with the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations told media outlets that they may question Tsarnaev without reading him his Miranda rights first. Many commentators voiced criticism over the government’s decision to deny Tsarnaev a reading of the Miranda warning, with some stating that...
The United States Supreme Court in Missouri v. McNeely, decided today, stated that it would not create a blanket rule that the natural metabolization of alcohol in a person’s blood, breath, or urine is enough of an emergency to justify a warrantless blood test. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires states to produce a warrant before conducting...
If you have been convicted of or adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile of a felony-level “Crime of Violence,” this applies to you. Currently in Minnesota, offenders convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a crime listed under Minn. Stat. § 624.712, Subd. 5 (Crimes of Violence) have a lifetime prohibition on possessing firearms. While on the surface this seems like common sense,...
If you are seeking expungement of a case where you pled guilty to an offense and/or were convicted, you should know there are currently changes being sought to expungement laws that would make expungement a more meaningful remedy for you. The Minnesota Legislature convened on January 8, 2013. Several organizations are currently lobbying state legislators to pass a new statute...
In many cases where a person is arrested and charged with domestic assault a Court will issue a Domestic Abuse no Contact Order (DANCO) as a condition of release at the first court appearance. Once that’s done, the Complainant (or alleged victim) may then seek and obtain either a Domestic Abuse Order for Protection (OFP) or a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO)...
A Judge can impose conditions of release, or bail, on someone charged with a crime and typically does so at a person’s first court appearance. In imposing a bail amount a Judge considers two factors: Flight risk; and Danger to public welfare Conditions may be also attached for pretrial release on misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors unless the maximum cash bail...
Blog Categories
- Assault
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- Criminal Vehicular Operation
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- Juvenile Crimes
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- Underage Drinking
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- White Collar Crimes