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Minnesota Abolishes Life Without Parole for Juveniles

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

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Juveniles

Minnesota Abolishes Life Without Parole for Juveniles by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi On May 19, 2023, Minnesota Governor Walz (D) signed omnibus public safety bill – SF 209, which abolishes life imprisonment without parole for minors. Under the bill, juvenile life-without-parole sentences will be retroactively eliminated. In addition, all …

Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosi...

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Mental Health, Knowingly and Intelligently, Counsel - Right to

Eighth Circuit: Defendant Facing Revocation of Supervised Release Did Not Knowingly and Voluntarily Waive Right to Counsel Where Appointed Counsel Admittedly Knew Nothing About Case and Advised Choosing Between ‘Big House or the Nut House’ by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit …

How Minneapolis Uses Controversial Technology to Spy on Its Citizens

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance

How Minneapolis Uses Controversial Technology to Spy on Its Citizens by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Through a series of public records requests to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Unicorn Riot (a non-profit, media-based organization of journalists) has obtained rare insight into how the police department responsible for George …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Plain Language of Interference With Privacy of a Minor Statute Requires That Defendant Must Have Known Victim Was Under 18 at Time of Offense

Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023

Filed under: Privacy Act/Rights, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Minors

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Plain Language of Interference With Privacy of a Minor Statute Requires That Defendant Must Have Known Victim Was Under 18 at Time of Offense by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Minnesota reversed and dismissed the charges …

Minnesota Governor Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Former Prisoners

Article • March 10, 2023

Filed under: Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute

Minnesota Governor Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Former Prisoners by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On March 3, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed legislation that will give 50,000 Minnesotans previously convicted of a felony immediate voting access. The bill restores political franchise to those who served their time …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced on Oct. 21, 2022, that a former sheriff’s deputy in Dallas County was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in the middle of the day on Jan. 30, 2020. The Miami Herald reported that the then-active deputy, …

Minneapolis Police Department Surveillance Operation Kneels on the Neck of the First Amendment

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: First Amendment, Electronic Surveillance

Minneapolis Police Department Surveillance Operation Kneels on the Neck of the First Amendment by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian The actions and eventual trial of Derek Chauvin were at the center of multiple protests. The people had had enough of police brutality and a lack of accountability in Minneapolis; …

Elgersma v. City of Saint Paul, MN, Order, False Arrest, 2023

Brief • January 23, 2023

Filed under: False Arrest

Elgersma v. City of Saint Paul, MN, Order, False Arrest, 2023 CASE 0:21-cv-01792-KMM-DJF Doc. 34 Filed 01/23/23 Page 1 of 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA David Elgersma, Case No. 21-cv-1792 (KMM/DJF) Plaintiff, v. ORDER City of Saint Paul, Lynette Cherry, Christopher Hansen, and Heather Weyker, in their …

93-Year-Old Woman Owed $2,300 in Tax Debt so Government Sold Her $40,000 Home and Kept all Proceeds

Article • October 15, 2022 • from CLN November, 2022

Filed under: Search and Seizure

93-Year-Old Woman Owed $2,300 in Tax Debt so Government Sold Her $40,000 Home and Kept all Proceeds by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh N. Dye Geraldine Tyler, 93, of Minneapolis owed the government nearly $15,000 in tax debt, so the government sold her home for $40,000 and kept the proceeds. Tyler …

Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief

Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022

Filed under: AEDPA

Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Expanding the savings clause yet again, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the one-year time limit for filing a motion under 28 U.S.C. § …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Expanding Scope of Traffic Stop to Investigate Occupant’s Pretrial Release Conditions Violates Minnesota Constitution

Article • August 15, 2022 • from CLN September, 2022

Filed under: Traffic stop, Doctrine of Unconstitutional Conditions, Pending Appeal/Sentencing

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Expanding Scope of Traffic Stop to Investigate Occupant’s Pretrial Release Conditions Violates Minnesota Constitution by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impressions, the Supreme Court of Minnesota held that violation of a condition of pretrial release doesn’t constitute criminal activity, so police …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2022 • from CLN July, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Britain: A court hearing at London’s highest legal body is scheduled for late June 2022, The Guardian reported. It will concern a lawsuit brought against the City of London police for allegedly wrongfully tasering a Black man on April 7, 2018. Case was …

Minnesota Supreme Court: Depraved-Mind Murder Requires Mental State of Generalized Indifference to Human Life, Which Cannot Exist Where Defendant Kills With Particularity

Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022

Filed under: Depraved Indifference Murder

Minnesota Supreme Court: Depraved-Mind Murder Requires Mental State of Generalized Indifference to Human Life, Which Cannot Exist Where Defendant Kills With Particularity by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the mental state necessary for a depraved-minded murder, Minn.Stat. 609.195(a) (2020), is a generalized indifference …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Confession Must Be Corroborated by Independent Evidence Crime Occurred, Rejects Federal ‘Trustworthiness Standard’ for Corpus Delicti Rule

Article • May 1, 2022 • from CLN May, 2022

Filed under: Impeachment Evidence/Purposes, Confessions and Statements of Defendant

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Confession Must Be Corroborated by Independent Evidence Crime Occurred, Rejects Federal ‘Trustworthiness Standard’ for Corpus Delicti Rule by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota announced that Minn. Stat. § 634.03 (2020) requires a defendant’s confession to be corroborated by independent evidence reasonably …

News in Brief

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: The family of a homeless and mentally ill man who died after being restrained by Phoenix cops in 2017 will get $5 million from the city, after a 7-2 city council vote in favor of the payment on November 17, 2021, according to a report …

Minnesota Police Hand Out ‘Not-Reaching’ Pouches to Reduce Police Shoot-ings of Motorists

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: Shootings, Excessive Force (Police), Traffic stop

Minnesota Police Hand Out ‘Not-Reaching’ Pouches to Reduce Police Shoot-ings of Motorists by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Any proactive measure to cut down on cops shooting motorists is a good step in the right direction. At first glance, what the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (“MDPS”) is doing sounds …

News in Brief

Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: Claims for $300,000 were filed in September 2021 against the city of Chandler, Arizona, in advance of a lawsuit planned by two activists arrested during a protest against police brutality six months earlier. According to a report by the Phoenix New Times, the men, Darien …

Veterans Restorative Justice Act Offers More Than Alternatives to Jail in Minnesota

Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022

Filed under: Alternative Sentencing, Veterans

Veterans Restorative Justice Act Offers More Than Alternatives to Jail in Minnesota by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On August 10, 2021, a crowd of veterans’ organizations, prosecutors, defense attorneys, lawmakers, and other interested parties gathered outside the Minnesota State Capitol to watch Governor Tim Walz symbolically sign into law …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Two-Year Time Limit of § 590.01, subd. 4(c) Runs From Date of Court Decision

Article • November 15, 2021 • from CLN December, 2021

Filed under: Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Two-Year Time Limit of § 590.01, subd. 4(c) Runs From Date of Court Decision by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota announced that the two-year time limit set forth in Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c) to file a timely postconviction petition …

News in Brief

Article • October 15, 2021 • from CLN November, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A former Alabama cop convicted of murdering a mentally ill and suicidal man in his own home reported to a state prison in Montgomery on September 6, 2021, to begin serving a 25-year sentence he received for the crime, according to Huntsville TV station WAFF. …