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Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statut...

Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Warrantless Searches, Good Faith Exception, Hearsay Evidence/Exceptions, Exclusionary Rule

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statute Applies Only to Sworn Testimony by David Kim by David Kim The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that a buccal swab collected from a criminal defendant pursuant to …

NEWS IN BRIEF

Article • November 15, 2025 • from CLN December, 2025

NEWS IN BRIEF by Alabama: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama sentenced former Centre Police Department (CPD) Off. Michael Kilgore, 41, to four years in federal prison on October 8, 2025, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a wild evidence-planting scheme to …

Eighth Circuit Announces § 2255 One-Year Limitations Period Begins to Run in Deferred-Restitution Criminal Case When Subsequent Amended Judgment Finalizes Amount

Article • November 15, 2025 • from CLN December, 2025

Filed under: Limitations, Habeas Corpus, Restitution, AEDPA

Eighth Circuit Announces § 2255 One-Year Limitations Period Begins to Run in Deferred-Restitution Criminal Case When Subsequent Amended Judgment Finalizes Amount by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion was timely, concluding that the one-year …

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions  on Self-defense and Defense of Others

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: Defenses, Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions in Jury Room

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Determining Whether a Defendant Is Entitled to Jury Instructions on Self-defense and Defense of Others by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota clarified the standard for determining whether a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on self-defense and defense of others. Applying …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims

Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025

Filed under: State Law Claims, Wrongful Use of Force, Firearms

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces No Duty to Retreat When Using Reasonable Force in Defense of Another and Provides Framework for Analyzing Such Claims by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Minnesota affirmed a Court of Appeals (“COA”) decision holding that a …

Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, Proposed Order for Distribution of Wrongful Death Proceeds, Wrongful Death-Medical Neglect, 2024

Brief • November 11, 2024

Filed under: Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, Proposed Order for Distribution of Wrongful Death Proceeds, Wrongful Death-Medical Neglect, 2024 CASE 0:24-cv-00170-DWF-TNL Doc. 49 Filed 11/11/24 Page 1 of 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Louis Bellamy, as Trustee for the next of kin of Lucas John Bellamy, Deceased, Plaintiff, …

News In Brief

Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News In Brief by Alabama: WSFA out of Mobile reported that on August 22 and 23, 2024, a sex trafficking sting operation occurring in several jurisdictions resulted in the arrests of 11 men. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and other law enforcement officials discussed the results at a press conference. …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Former Centre policeman Michael Kilgore, 40, should have known co-conspirators will bumble any crime. After his co-conspirator went singing to authorities, Kilgore was fired and charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in May 2023. WRCB reported, that according to the plea agreement, Kilgore …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: On June 29, 2024, the Tempe police department posted a Facebook message regarding an award that two of its officers had just received. “Congratulations to Officer Zachary Hyde and Officer Gavin Young. Last night both received the Hero Award at the 35th annual Mothers Against …

Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled

Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Civil Commitment, Sex Offender Classification

Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian Implementing legal mechanisms to prevent “future crime” is a common theme of science fiction involving dark, dystopian future societies. But it is happening here in America today. Twenty states allow the indefinite detention …

Minnesota Becomes Third State to Restrict ‘Excited Delirium’

Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024

Filed under: junk science

Minnesota Becomes Third State to Restrict ‘Excited Delirium’ by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi   On May 24, 2024, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, signed a law prohibiting police officers from being trained about “excited delirium,” a widely rejected diagnosis characterized by a state of extreme agitation and delirium. The …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Under State Constitution Does Not Apply to Search and Arrest Based on Quashed Warrant That Appears Active Due to Clerical Er...

Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024

Filed under: Constitution, state, Good Faith Exception

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Under State Constitution Does Not Apply to Search and Arrest Based on Quashed Warrant That Appears Active Due to Clerical Error by Court Administration by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   The Supreme Court of Minnesota declined to extend the good-faith …

Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops

Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Prosecutors, Police/Govt Misconduct, Criticism of Government

Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford   In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement spurred by the police-involved killing of George Floyd, citizens across the country elected reform-minded prosecutors who ran on platforms promising accountability for police who break the …

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Repeated Statements During Closing Arguments That Defendant ‘No Longer Has Presumption of Innocence’ Constitutes Plain Error, Requiring a New Trial

Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024

Filed under: Improper Comments, Plain/Harmless Error

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Repeated Statements During Closing Arguments That Defendant ‘No Longer Has Presumption of Innocence’ Constitutes Plain Error, Requiring a New Trial by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the prosecution committed plain error by repeatedly telling the jury during …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Odor of Marijuana Alone Emanating From Vehicle Insufficient for Probable Cause to Search Under Automobile Exception

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: Probable/Proximate Cause, Searches - Automobile

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Odor of Marijuana Alone Emanating From Vehicle Insufficient for Probable Cause to Search Under Automobile Exception by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso  The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that the standard for probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle requires more than …

Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, MN, Complaint, Wrongful Death-Denial of Medical Care, 2024

Brief • January 23, 2024

Filed under: Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Estate of Lucas Bellamy v. Omweri, MN, Complaint, Wrongful Death-Denial of Medical Care, 2024 CASE 0:24-cv-00170-DWF-TNL Doc. 1 Filed 01/23/24 Page 1 of 43 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Louis Bellamy, as Trustee for the next of kin of Lucas John Bellamy, Deceased, Case …

Green v. Anoka County, MN, Settlement, Inadequate Medical Treatment, 2025

Brief • January 21, 2024

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Green v. Anoka County, MN, Settlement, Inadequate Medical Treatment, 2025 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS This Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims ("Settlement Agreement") is effective as of the date of the last signature below and is made and entered into by, on the one hand, Deyonta Green ("Green" …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Reported by KHSL in Chico/Redding, Nicholas Lee Rush, 49, a Chico Police Officer, has been charged with providing marijuana to an underage family member, 17, and also encouraging the teen to share the stash with his girlfriend. In 2022, an investigation into whether Rush was …

Probation Sentences Capped in Minnesota

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Probation, Parole & Supervised Release

Probation Sentences Capped in Minnesota by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi Part of an omnibus bill, Minnesota recently placed a five-year cap on probation. Any Minnesotan serving probation sentences longer than five years is now eligible for resentencing. Before this legislation, Minnesota law allowed probation sentences to be as long …

Police Study Shows That Reform and Effectiveness Are Not Mutually Exclusive

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform

Police Study Shows That Reform and Effectiveness Are Not Mutually Exclusive by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, a new social movement has emerged and is growing in popularity. The burgeoning movement is calling for police reform along with the reduction …