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News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2020 • from CLN July, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: The death of David Glen Ward of Petaluma was declared a homicide by the Marin County coroner in May 2020, followed by a lawsuit from David’s mother, Ernestine Ward, alleging wrongful death, excessive force and negligent supervision by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies. Leading up to …

Minnesota Supreme Court: Hotel Guests Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Registry Information

Article • June 15, 2020 • from CLN July, 2020

Filed under: Warrantless Searches, Sting Operations

Minnesota Supreme Court: Hotel Guests Have Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Registry Information by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression in the Supreme Court of Minnesota, the Court held that hotel guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the sensitive location information found in …

MN DOC GTL Phone Rates 2019

Kickback publication • January 24, 2020

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

MN DOC GTL Phone Rates 2019 Exhibit 8-1 Price Schedule for Phone Rates Rate par Min_ Call Type for Offender/Client IntraState Interstate International $0.040 $0.040 .. :$0.[68 TTYNRS* 0,00 · .. State Rataper Min Commission for Rate-40_% · Debit/Prepaid State Commission Rate-40% Rate per Min State for Commission Collect Rate-40 …

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Heightened Pleading Standard for Birchfield/Johnson Claims Raised in Collateral Postconviction Proceedings

Article • November 19, 2019 • from CLN December, 2019

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Heightened Pleading Standard for Birchfield/Johnson Claims Raised in Collateral Postconviction Proceedings by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota announced a heightened pleading standard when a petitioner asserts a Birchfield/Johnson claim for relief in a collateral postconviction motion. On March 22, 2012, deputies …

MN DOC Commission Payments July 2014-July 2019

Kickback publication • October 11, 2019

Filed under: Telephones

MN DOC Commission Payments July 2014-July 2019 July August September October November December Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 2014 Revenue Commission 241,009.32 $ 127,029.00 250,638.87 $ 131,817.88 254,767.75 $ 134,710.82 256,671.53 $ 136,147.23 255,420.71 $ 135,914.21 255,875.01 $ 135,539.34 1,514,383.19 $ 801,158.48 Comm % 52.7% 52.6% 52.9% …

Minnesota Supreme Court: Even With a Warrant, Forced Anoscopy Is Unreasonable Search

Article • September 16, 2019 • from CLN October, 2019

Filed under: Searches, Body Cavity Searches

Minnesota Supreme Court: Even With a Warrant, Forced Anoscopy Is Unreasonable Search by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that forcing a suspect to undergo an anoscopy to retrieve a baggie from his rectum was an unreasonable search even though police had obtained a warrant …

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies That State Has Burden to Prove Competency to Stand Trial

Article • August 21, 2019 • from CLN September, 2019

Filed under: Trials

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies That State Has Burden to Prove Competency to Stand Trial by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The State and not the defendant has the burden to prove that a defendant is competent to stand trial, the Supreme Court of Minnesota held, clarifying the rule on the …

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds ‘Stalking-by-Mail’ and ‘Mail-Harassment’ Statutes are Facially Overbroad

Article • July 16, 2019 • from CLN August, 2019

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds ‘Stalking-by-Mail’ and ‘Mail-Harassment’ Statutes are Facially Overbroad by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that Minn. Stat. § 609.749(2)(6) (“stalking by mail”) and Minn. Stat. § 609.695(1)(3) (“mail harassment”) are facially overbroad. Juvenile defendant “A.J.B.” was convicted of stalking by mail …

Minnesota police officer decertifications

Publication • 2019

Filed under: Police Misconduct

Minnesota police officer decertifications Discipline FY 2005 to Current FY 2005 Reported Licensee/Number Violation Disposition Closed Issued 7/8/2004 Tim Clayton Weierke #12721 Criminal sexual conduct SACO- Voluntary Surrender; not to reinstate license 7/28/2005 5/15/1995 8/6/2004 Roger Willard Sprick #80652 Felony level offense Automatic Revocation 8/6/2004 8/16/1980 Phillip John Wills Chief …

Minnesota Sees Rising Tide of Payouts for Epidemic of Police Misconduct

Article • February 15, 2019 • from CLN March, 2019

Filed under: Police Misconduct

Minnesota Sees Rising Tide of Payouts for Epidemic of Police Misconduct by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Although bigger cities and states have gotten most of the negative publicity regarding police misconduct, Minnesota and its biggest city, Minneapolis, are drawing unwanted national attention for over $60 million in payouts the …

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Sentencing Guidelines  at Time of Offense, Not Time of Sentencing, Controls for Purposes of Calculating Criminal History Score

Article • February 14, 2019 • from CLN March, 2019

Filed under: Sentencing, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Sentencing Guidelines at Time of Offense, Not Time of Sentencing, Controls for Purposes of Calculating Criminal History Score by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke  On August 15, 2018, the Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the classification of a previous offense used to calculate a defendant’s …

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Rule Against Judicial ‘Participation’ in Plea Negotiations

Article • January 18, 2019 • from CLN February, 2019

Filed under: Guilty Pleas, Sentencing

Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Rule Against Judicial ‘Participation’ in Plea Negotiations by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Minnesota clarified the rule barring judicial “participation” in plea negotiations, overturning decades of decisions by the court of appeals, which had applied the wrong rule of law in such …

Minnesota Supreme Court Joins the Chorus by Announcing Birchfield is Retroactive

Article • December 29, 2018 • from CLN January, 2019

Filed under: Drug Testing, Search warrants

Minnesota Supreme Court Joins the Chorus by Announcing Birchfield is Retroactive by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that Birchfield v. North Dakota, 136 S. Ct. 2160 (2016), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state cannot use criminal sanctions to compel a …

Minneapolis Police Used EMS Staff to Drug Certain Suspects, Report Says

Article • August 20, 2018 • from CLN September, 2018

Filed under: Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Minneapolis Police Used EMS Staff to Drug Certain Suspects, Report Says by Betty Nelander by Betty Nelander A City of Minneapolis investigation has revealed that some people who were suspected of crimes were drugged by medical responders with a powerful anesthetic at the request of local police. The drugging requests …

Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Entitled to Appointed Attorney for One Review of Conviction, Even When It’s Not a Direct Appeal

Article • June 17, 2018 • from CLN July, 2018

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Appeals

Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Entitled to Appointed Attorney for One Review of Conviction, Even When It’s Not a Direct Appeal by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that a convicted defendant is entitled to appointed counsel, pursuant to statute, for one review of his or …

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Report, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends, Census, Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Rural Prisons, Bail, Bail Bonds, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Report, 2018 The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Jacob Kang-Brown, Oliver Hinds, Jasmine Heiss, and Olive Lu June 2018 From The Director The turn of the century marked a new direction for the nation’s prisons and jails: after three decades of …

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Fact Sheet, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Statistics/Trends, Census, Conditions of Confinement, Rural Prisons

Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Fact Sheet, 2018 The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration After decades of continuous and unified growth across all states from the 1970s to the early 2000s, the landscape of U.S. incarceration fragmented into distinct trends. The last decade has been characterized …

Families Against Mandatory Minimums: Everywhere and Nowhere -- Compassionate Release in the States, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Geriatric Classification, Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Release and Reentry, Parole, Rehabilitation Act, Mental Health

Families Against Mandatory Minimums: Everywhere and Nowhere -- Compassionate Release in the States, 2018 Everywhere and Nowhere Compassionate Release in the States By Mary Price June 2018 1 About the Author Mary Price is general counsel of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). She directs the FAMM Litigation Project and advocates …

$67,500 Settlement in Case of Mistaken Identity in Minnesota

Article • December 7, 2017

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

$67,500 Settlement in Case of Mistaken Identity in Minnesota by Lonnie Burton by Lonnie Burton On July 19, 2016, the city of Hopkins, Minnesota, finalized a settlement agreement in which it agreed to pay a man who was falsely arrested and charged with a sex offense a total of $67,500. …

Press Release re Amicus Brief in Support of Phone Fee Reform 2016

Publication • June 8, 2017

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Press Release re Amicus Brief in Support of Phone Fee Reform 2016 State of Minnesota M3«s ^?«iS8^ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 102 STATE CAPITOL LORI SWANSON ST. PAUL, MN 55155 ATTORNEY GENERAL TELEPHONE: (651) 296-6196 September 23, 2016 Paul Wright, Executive Director Pluman Rights Defense Center P.O. Box 1151 …