On January 9, 2020, the Minnesota Guidelines Commission approved guidelines that would cap probation sentences for most felony offenders at five years. Certain offenses, such as homicides, criminal sex offenses, and criminal vehicular homicide, would be exempt from the cap. There would be some exceptions for judges who can depart from the cap when public safety warrants a departure. These...
Under Canadian Immigration Law, if a non-Canadian citizen has a criminal record, he or she may be denied entry to Canada or otherwise said to be “criminally inadmissible.” The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal database and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) crime database are synced, allowing the Canada border to quickly access individual U.S. criminal records....
If your child has been charged with a criminal offense in juvenile court, there can be a lot to worry about. While criminal charges are enough to deal with alone, there may be additional ramifications from public access to criminal records. If a 16 or 17-year-old juvenile offender is charged with a felony offense, court proceedings are public, and the...
The holidays. A time of gift giving, celebrating, and spending time with loved ones. Alcohol pours and spirits rise as a new year approaches. However, the holidays can also bring about a significant amount of stress and tension. Experts say the end of the year creates a toxic storm, with alcohol mixing with financial stress and relatives being in close...
With hunting season underway, it is important to understand how past convictions could affect your gun rights. In Minnesota, a person convicted of a crime of violence cannot possess firearms. Minnesota Statute § 609.165, Subd. 1a says certain convicted felons are ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition. The statute explains, “that a person who has been convicted of a crime...
If your Halloween plans include pulling what you consider to be a harmless prank, you may be unintentionally damaging property. Even if you simply intended to pull a prank, the Law is only concerned with whether the property was damaged. Criminal damage to property is a general intent crime, meaning that it is irrelevant whether you intended property damage while...
The legality of Minn. Stat. § 609.749.2(4) (Stalking by Telephone) was recently decided by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The case arose from a conflict beginning in 2016 between a Minnesota man and the Rice County Sherriff’s Office. The Defendant in the case was upset about a former interaction with the Sheriff and began calling and leaving threatening voicemails with...
In Minnesota, it’s illegal to possess marijuana, but not hemp. So what’s the difference? Basically, both hemp and marijuana come from cannabis plants. Hemp is marijuana with low-levels of THC, which is tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive part of the cannabis plant. In Minnesota, hemp is cannabis with a THC concentration at or below 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis....
As of August 1, 2019, a handful of new criminal laws went into effect in Minnesota. Below is a shortlist to keep you in the loop: Hands Free: Holding your phone while driving is a crime, unless required for obtaining emergency assistance, if there is a threat to life and safety, or in an authorized emergency vehicle performing official duties....
A police officer is someone who is supposed to protect people and keep communities safe. But during the Parkland, Florida school shooting in 2018 the school resource officer, Scot Peterson, stood outside the school not doing enough to mitigate the situation, according to prosecutors in Florida. Meanwhile, innocent students lost their lives inside. However, Mr. Peterson said he did respond,...
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