The 2023 legislative session was a busy one for Minnesota’s elected officials. The DFL-controlled House and Senate passed many bills tweaking old laws and adding brand new ones. Here are some of the most important things to know about the new criminal bills passed by the legislature: Cannabis This year Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana...
The Minnesota State Legislature has been working since the beginning of the year on legislation that would legalize the possession and use of marijuana in the state. When this bill passes, it will no longer be illegal for Minnesotans to possess up to two pounds of marijuana. But this begs the question: What happens to my charges relating to marijuana...
Minnesota will likely legalize recreational marijuana in the very near future, as the state House and Senate approved different versions of the bill in April 2023. This leaves only reconciliation of differences between these versions and the Governor’s signature left to make the bill Minnesota law. One major component of the bill is it provides for the automatic expungement, the...
There has been a new bill that passed Minnesota’s House of Representatives that aims to help make expungements easier for those with criminal records – it is called the Clean Slate Act. Representative Jamie Long drafted the bill with the premise of allowing the population of Minnesotans with a criminal background, approximately 25 percent of residents, an “opportunity for redemption.”...
On April 1, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to federally decriminalize cannabis. The bill would also allow some marijuana convictions to be expunged. This was the same bill that was passed by the House in 2020 but stalled by the Senate, with was controlled by Republicans at the time. This time around, the House passed the bill 220-204...
Have you ever wondered if you could pursue public employment after a criminal conviction? The idea of working for the State of Minnesota after a conviction may seem like an unlikely proposition. However, it may not be as unlikely as you think, thanks in part to Minnesota Statute § 364.01. First, it is necessary to define “public employment.” Public employment...
You may have read this title and thought, “what does it even mean to expunge records?” That is a fair question. An expungement is the process of asking a judge to seal court records, this process prevents those records from being publicly accessible. There are two different types of expungement, partial and full expungements. A full expungement is straightforward since...
Yes. You are able to request that all records of your file be destroyed if either of the following circumstances occurred following your arrest: all charges were dismissed prior to a determination of probable cause; or the prosecuting authority declined to file any charges and a grand jury did not return an indictment. If one of the above circumstances is...
An arrest warrant can be issued for a number of reasons, including new criminal charges, a probation violation allegation, or for a failure to appear in court. Whatever the reason, the warrant must be dealt with or else you could end up being arrested and taken to jail under very inconvenient circumstances, to say the least. Contact an attorney immediately...
Predatory offender registration occurs when a person has been convicted of a qualifying crime (pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 243.166) and consequently they are required to provide information about their address and other biographical data with law enforcement. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare cases in the law where the answer is clear—no. A person who was required to...
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