Category: Criminal Defense

Court ruling brings attention to coerced confessions

In 2007, a black man in Indiana was accused of shooting and killing a 28-year-old. According to the South Bend Tribune, during a three-hour interrogation, the man denied the crime. The detective then told the suspect that due to the racial makeup of the jury, it was possible that the man would not receive a fair trial.

Minneapolis Search Warrant Yields Little, But 2 Dogs Killed by Cops

A no-knock search warrant was executed on Larry Lee Arman’s home in St. Paul on July 9, 2014. Arman’s two children and girlfriend were also present in the home at the time the search warrant was executed. The two children were on the main level in the line of fire when the SWAT team barged, unannounced into the home.

Minnesota Anti-Bullying Laws

Parents and children around the country are more concerned than ever about bullying, whether in physical stalking, emotional harassment, or cyber-bullying. In an effort to curb this harmful behavior, several states are cracking down on bullying and enacting anti-bullying laws.

Father run over by Daughter in DWI Accident

DWI or driving while under the influence of Alcohol or other drugs can be dangerous to the driver, passengers, or bystanders, or people in another car. Unfortunately, people who try to prevent DWI’s can be injured too, even by accident, in ways they never anticipated. This weekend, a man who tried to stop his daughter from getting a DWI got run over and killed by accident. This is an extremely tragic “accident.”

What Is a Warrant and When Is It Needed?

A warrant is a legal document that gives the police the authority to make an arrest or search a premises. There are two common types of warrants: arrest warrants and search warrants.

Pre-trial asset restraint in Minnesota

In Minnesota, there are two types of pre-trial asset restraints and these include civil asset forfeiture and criminal asset forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture occurs when the government takes assets from the owner after providing some sort of notice about the impending action. In these cases, no conviction or criminal charge is necessary. In criminal asset cases, the government can seize property from a person before a trial if the owner has committed a crime.

Understanding entrapment in Minnesota

Entrapment refers to any situation where a person is induced or persuaded to commit a criminal offense by a police officer so that they can obtain evidence to prosecute that person. However, it is important to understand that entrapment does not refer to situations where the person was already pre-disposed to commit a crime and the law enforcement official was merely present to witness the action.

Minnesota’s prison overcrowding issue

Prison overcrowding is a vast issue in Minnesota. With many policymakers insistent on the need for stricter sentencing and no tolerance for multiple-offense inmates, state prisons are bursting at the seams. Instead of reducing or eliminating prison terms for many non-violent inmates, especially those incarcerated for fraud and other white collar crimes, prisons are slowly releasing inmates in early release programs.

Questioning the validity of the breath test in Minnesota

When law enforcement officers stop drivers for suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, they routinely administer field sobriety and breathalyzer tests to determine the extent of the drivers’ inebriation. The same often occurs when officers perform routine traffic stops and believe they have reason to suspect that drivers are under the influence of alcohol.

Supreme Court says authorities can take DNA swabs

Although the consensus was far from unanimous, the Supreme Court ruled recently that law enforcement officials can take DNA swabs from those who are taken into custody for a serious criminal offense, regardless of whether or not they have been convicted. An article that was published in USA Today sheds light on the issue and the opinions of some of the Supreme Court members who voted.