Category: Criminal Defense

The United States Supreme Court heard a case on Monday that will decide whether federal judges can sentence prisoners for a longer amount of time for rehabilitation. The Court’s decision will impact over 80,000 federal criminals who are sentenced every year and those who seek criminal defense. The case made it to the Supreme Court because lower federal court judges are split as to whether rehabilitation time can be considered in a convicted criminal’s sentence.
Minnesota is failing its prisoners released on Felony Probation. We are the Leading the Country in sending persons on Felony Probation back to Prison within 3 years. That means we are failing big-time,and wasting a lot of money. We should be turning these people recently released from prison into tax-paying citizens so that they can work and their payroll taxes will help pay for OUR Social Security and Medicare benefits when we retire.
As the weather in Minnesota finally transitions from the long winter to reliably warm spring days, high school students near the dates of prom and high school graduation and graduation parties. For some, high school prom and graduation parties are a rite of passage where underage drinking occurs. The reality is that a season of celebration that throws alcohol into the mix can result in danger, death and DUI.
Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a criminal defense case involving whether police were required to give a 13-year-old boy Miranda warnings and whether the young teenager was in custody at the time he was questioned. The justices were divided along political lines as they questioned both sides during the oral arguments. While some justices worried that different standards of Miranda warnings would need to be applied to different age groups, other justices easily thought that a 13-year-old would interpret questioning by a police officer differently than an adult.
Last month, we wrote about the fall in juvenile crime prosecutions in Hennepin County. This month information has been released that shows Dakota County is also experiencing a similar trend. The downward trend in juvenile crime prosecutions in Dakota County has occurred consistently over the last eight years. The local trend is a part of a national decline in the number of juveniles who face prosecution and need criminal defense. Some legal experts believe the downward direction of juvenile crimes is attributed to anti-bullying, anti-drug abuse and juvenile crime prevention initiatives.
For every criminal case the prosecution and the criminal defense must use the available evidence to demonstrate their case. These days some prosecutors believe that a certain crime show may be making their job more difficult, CSI. Some prosecutors think that the crime show CSI has created a new expectation among jury members. The new expectation is that tests that use high technology should be used to convict defendants. The new trend is referred to as the CSI Effect.
A Vietnamese internet crime ring under investigation for a number of white collar crimes including fraud, money laundering and identity theft may have a connection to Minnesota. The federal investigation is being conducted by the United States Department of Homeland Security and is called “Operation eMule.” The crime ring uses hundreds of stolen identities to swindle thousands of dollars from online retailers. Two 22-year-old college students from Winona State University have been linked to the ring by investigators.
While Vikings cornerback Benny Sapp may be a growing figure in Minnesota sports, he is also a parent. Like many Minneapolis parents, there is nothing more frightening that knowing your child is in the hospital. Having a child with a serious enough illness or medical condition to require hospitalization puts most parents on edge. Whether this means they have a short fuse, are not acting with their normal judgment or are somewhat confrontational, no one should understand this better than hospital staff.
The number of young offenders who face prosecution and need criminal defense in Hennepin County is on the decline because of the county’s alternative community program. The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative is responsible for decreasing the number of juvenile offenders in the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center (Juvenile Detention Center) by half in comparison to 2006.
On Friday January 14, 2011, criminal defense trial attorney Max A. Keller of Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys won a jury trial victory in Hennepin County. The jury returned a not guilty verdict on the sole count of the complaint in a Violation of an Order for Protection (Violating an OFP) case. The Hennepin County Jury Trial involved forensic computer evidence, cell phone records, alibi witnesses, and impeachment of the key witness for both sides by transcripts of prior testimony under oath.