Category: Criminal Defense

When a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, people watching the news may have noticed local law enforcement units utilizing gear that is usually reserved for members of the military. NPR reported that members of law enforcement had assault rifles, wore protective, military-style gear and even rolled through the streets in armored vehicles.

In January of this year, an African American man from St. Paul was sitting on a bench inside a bank as he waited to pick up his children from daycare. CNN reports that a security officer told the man to leave the area, alleging that it was for employees only though there were no signs marking it as private. Additional law enforcement were called in and told the man he was going to jail.

Recently, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges for an incident that occurred while he was disciplining his child. According to the Houston Chronicle, the indictment has called attention to the way a jury is selected in the state of Texas, which can either be done at random or under the supervision of a court-appointed commissioner. For Peterson’s grand jury hearing, the chief deputy county clerk was tasked with the process of finding jurors. As an assistant professor of criminal justice notes, the clerk is considered a work associate of the district attorney, which means he may have been influenced during jury selection.

People in Minnesota who want to own a gun do not need a permit to have it in their home or business, or even when traveling between their home, business, where the gun was purchased or a repair shop. However, carrying the weapon elsewhere does require that the gun owner go through the appropriate steps to acquire a permit.

In 2012, a millionaire was robbed, bounded and suffocated. According to the San Jose Mercury News, a homeless man’s DNA was found under the victim’s fingernail, and the man was arrested on a murder charge. However, his attorney was able to prove that not only did the man not commit the crime, but he was never even at the scene.

A Minnesota teenager had a record of skipping school. According to the St. Peter Herald, law enforcement caught up with the young man a few months ago at a soccer practice and arrested him in front of his peers and coaches. After violating his probation again, the young man was sentenced to spend three weeks at a correctional facility.

Police in Virginia busted through the home next door to a 17-year-old. According to NBC 12, the teenager pulled out his cellphone and stood on his own porch, videotaping as law enforcement handcuffed suspects in front of his house.