On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling changing a key component of domestic abuse law. Since 1988, when a person wanted to obtain a domestic abuse order for protection (OFP), the petitioner needed to establish that “physical abuse, bodily harm, or assault” had been “present” or “imminent.” Under this standard, if the court determined that...
So you have a domestic assault conviction for causing bodily harm to a romantic partner or a person to whom you are acting as a parent. Your gun rights are gone for life under the federal Lautenberg amendment, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). How to fix this? Some mistakenly believe they can file a petition in district court to restore the right...
The recent spring 2017 pardon board hearing on June 14, 2017, revealed the Minnesota Pardon Board, made up of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, is reluctant to pardon domestic assault offenses. Many Minnesotans convicted of a domestic assault offense are prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9),...
When a person is charged with a crime, when they make their first appearance in court, a judge will set conditions of release—this occurs whether a person is appearing in front of the judge while in custody (in jail), or appearing out of custody. In either case, the conditions of release may include a requirement that the person deposit some...
Whether right or wrong, sometimes victims of domestic assault do not want their assailants to incur criminal charges and consequences. Police investigate these situations and provide their reports to prosecutors. It is prosecutors, and only prosecutors, who make decisions on whether to charge an individual with a crime, and how to resolve, dispose, or try a case. A prosecutor is...
First of all, bail is an amount of money that a judge may set on a criminal case. If bail is set, then the bail amount must be posted to the jail before the accused can be released from custody. As long as the accused makes all of his or her court dates and abides by all conditions of release,...
It has become increasingly difficult over the past few years to restore the right to possess firearms following a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction. The State of Minnesota prohibits any person convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault from possessing a firearm for three years following the date of conviction. But federally, a person convicted of a domestic assault has a lifetime...
Some police departments in Minnesota are already equipped with body cameras. More departments are now likely to adopt them after Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton recently signed a bill into law that sets regulations for the cameras’ use effective August 1, 2016. In the wake of recent officer-involved shootings, such as Michael Brown in Ferguson and Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, the...
The United State Supreme Court ruled today that in cases of criminal threats, the communicator’s intent matters more than the receiver’s interpretation. In the case at issue, Elonis v. U.S. (No. 13-983), Anthony Elonis was prosecuted for making threatening communications, under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). Elonis posted statements on Facebook after his wife left him and took their two children....
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