Who is permitted to report child abuse or neglect? Anyone who knows, has reason to believe, or suspects that a child is being, or has been, neglected or physically or sexually abused. Minn. Stat. § 626.556, subd. 3. Who is required to report child abuse or neglect? An individual who knows or has reason to…
The Minnesota Maltreatment of Minors Act establishes a system for reporting possible child abuse and neglect to government agencies that provide protective services for the child or conduct criminal investigations. The act also governs agency responses to reports and access to information generated under the act. Some of the system’s features are determined by federal…
Sexually Dangerous Persons Civil Commitment Law: Placement for People Who Are Civilly Committed Sexually dangerous persons are committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Human Services and are placed in a secure treatment facility in Moose Lake known as the Minnesota Sexual Psychopathic Personality Treatment Center or a secure facility in St Peter. In…
State and federal firearms laws govern where and how firearms can be carried, transported, and used in Minnesota. This information brief describes those laws.Various state and federal firearms laws prohibit or otherwise restrict people from possessing, carrying, transporting, and using firearms at certain locations in Minnesota. Most of these laws provide exceptions for law enforcement…
Sexually Dangerous Persons Civil Commitment Law: Rights and Procedures for Civil Commitment Hearings The hearing on the petition is a civil proceeding and is governed by the same procedures and rules as a proceeding to commit a person as “mentally ill and dangerous.” These procedures include, among other things, the subject’s right to be represented…
A civil commitment proceeding under this law is initiated by the county attorney and is filed in the county where the proposed patient resides or is present. If the proposed patient is an inmate of a state prison, the petition may be filed in the county where the proposed patient was convicted. Alternatively, the petition…
Minnesota law requires that when a court sentences a person for a felony-level criminal sexual conduct crime, the court must make a preliminary determination as to whether the civil commitment of the person as a sexually dangerous person would be appropriate and must include this determination in its sentencing order. If the court determines that…
Prior Criminal Convictions Prior criminal convictions are not required in order to civilly commit a person under this law. However, the standard of proof required for involuntary commitment under this law is a stringent one (clear and convincing evidence) and may be difficult to meet, absent the type of strong proof of prior harmful sexual…
Pharmacies Methamphetamine precursor drugs are defined as any compound, mixture, or preparation, intended for human consumption that contains ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as an active ingredient. These drugs can be sold over-the-counter, but such sales are subject to amount and location restrictions. Methamphetamine precursor drugs can only be sold in packages containing less than three grams…
Sale and Purchase of Methamphetamine Precursor Drugs A pharmacy employee who violates the restrictions placed on the sale of methamphetamine precursor drugs is guilty of a misdemeanor.1 Likewise, a person who purchases an amount of methamphetamine precursor drugs that exceeds the statutory maximum is guilty of a misdemeanor. Minn. Stat. § 152.02, subd. 6. The…
Juvenile records typically receive a greater degree of confidentiality than adult court records. However, if a juvenile is found delinquent based on behavior that, if committed by an adult, would constitute any of the manufacturing, sale, or possession crimes, or possession of substances with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, the court’s disposition order must be forwarded…
The gravity of crimes involving sale or possession of methamphetamine is linked to the amount of substance involved; the amount of the drug is determined by the total gram weight of the substance, not by the actual amount of methamphetamine present in it. Because of the dangers that methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin pose, the penalties…
Possession of any reagent or precursor drug with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine is a felony, carrying a penalty of up to ten years in prison or a $20,000 fine, or both. If the person convicted of this crime has a previous controlled substance conviction, the penalty is increased to up to 15 years’ imprisonment…
Manufacturing methamphetamine, in any amount, with or without intent to sell, is a first-degree controlled substance crime, punishable by a 30-year prison term or a $1 million fine, or both. If the person convicted has a previous controlled substance conviction, the penalty is at least four and up to 40 years’ imprisonment and an optional…
There are four primary methamphetamine crimes in Minnesota: manufacture, possession of precursors with intent to manufacture, sale, and possession. In order to convict a person of one of the methamphetamine crimes, the state must prove that the substance at issue is actually methamphetamine; precursor drugs do not trigger liability under these statutes, except for the…
Methamphetamine and its derivatives, however they are manufactured, are included in Minnesota’s definition of narcotic drugs. Minn. Stat. § 152.01, subd. 10. In addition, any substance or mixture containing any amount of methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule III controlled substance, and methamphetamine precursor drugs are classified as Schedule V controlled substances. A precursor drug…
It is illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess methamphetamine in Minnesota. also illegal to possess methamphetamine precursor drugs with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. The following posts help explain the laws on methamphetamine, including crimes and penalties for violations of the law, restrictions on the sale of precursor drugs, and regulations regarding the use cleanup…
Minnesota’s DWI law provides misdemeanor penalties and driver’s license suspension for any driver under age 21 who is convicted of driving a motor vehicle anywhere in the state while consuming alcohol or while there is physical evidence of such consumption present in the person’s body. (This law applies only to the driver and not to…
DWI laws apply equally to drivers of all ages. DWI violations require either evidence of impaired driving or an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, or the presence of certain illegal substances in the person’s body, during or within two hours of the time of driving, operating, or being in control of a motor vehicle,…
A special DWI law establishes a .04 per se standard for alcohol concentration while flying and also criminalizes test refusal. Violation is always a gross misdemeanor. It also is unlawful to fly within eight hours of any alcohol consumption—a zero-tolerance standard, but time limited. Violation is a misdemeanor. CREDIT: The content of this post has…
DWI law provides an even stricter standard of zero tolerance for school bus driving, by making it unlawful to drive a school bus when there is physical evidence in the person’s body of the consumption of any amount of alcohol. In addition to criminal penalties, such a violation also triggers cancellation of the person’s school…
DWI law sets a lower per se alcohol concentration limit for driving commercial motor vehicles, .04 instead of .08, and the implied consent law allows for a chemical test upon probable cause that the commercial vehicle driver has consumed any amount of alcohol. A person who violates the .04 standard while driving a commercial motor…
A violator who has no qualified prior impaired driving incident is subject only to the criminal penalty (a misdemeanor) and the loss of operating privileges for that type of vehicle. The person is not subject to driver’s license revocation, mandatory chemical dependency assessment and treatment, mandatory conditions of release, long-term monitoring, the penalty assessment fee,…
Before becoming relicensed to drive after the period of license withdrawal stemming from an implied consent violation or DWI conviction, a person must pass the license examination and re- apply for a driver’s license and pay the following fees: $250 – driver’s license (DL) reinstatement fee (basic fee) $430 – surcharge on the DL reinstatement…
Records of implied consent license actions and DWI convictions must be retained permanently on the official driving record. The “no alcohol” restriction of a person’s B- Card also remains in effect and on the person’s driving record permanently. A temporary law enacted in 2005 allowed B-Card holders who had gone ten years without a repeat…
Driver’s licensing law allows DPS to impose restrictions on a person’s license to “assure safe operation.” Under DPS rules, a person whose driver’s license has been cancelled and denied for a third or subsequent impaired driving violation and who has successfully completed treatment and rehabilitation may apply for a restricted driver’s license, a B-Card, provided…
A person whose driver’s license has been revoked for an implied consent violation or DWI conviction may apply for a limited license to drive: to and from a job, or for a job; to chemical dependency treatment; to provide for the educational, medical, or nutritional needs of the family; and/or for attendance at a postsecondary…
Criminal law defines six levels of criminal vehicular operation (CVO)—all but one constituting felony offenses—depending on the level of injury inflicted: criminal vehicular homicide (causing death, but not constituting murder or manslaughter) great bodily harm (serious permanent injury) substantial bodily harm (temporary substantial injury) bodily harm (pain or injury—a gross misdemeanor) death to an unborn…
Need help? Contact a criminal defense attorney. Minnesota criminal law defines the term felony to mean any crime for which incarceration of more than one year may be imposed. Under Minnesota’s felony DWI law, a person who commits first-degree DWI is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to: imprisonment for not more than…
Upon conviction for DWI, repeat offenders are subject to the following mandatory minimum criminal penalties: second DWI offense within ten years: 30 days incarceration, at least 48 hours of which must be served in jail/workhouse, with eight hours of community work service for each day less than 30 served third DWI offense within ten years:…
