Not Guilty In Minnesota

A Blog To Answer Your Criminal Law Questions

20 May 2012

Meth Crimes In Minnesota

Methamphetamine crimes in Minnesota

Drugs and felony charges:  sadly not a recipe for a happy, upbeat blog post.  If you’ve been charged with a methamphetamine-related crime, though, you need to understand some basic information about Minnesota laws.

Crimes involving methamphetamine in Minnesota usually involve possession, manufacture, possession of drug ingredients, called precursors, with intent to manufacture, and sale.  If it’s possession, manufacture, or sale that you’re charged with, the prosecutor will have to prove that the substance found was actually methamphetamine and not some other drug.

Sale and possession crimes

Minnesota’s penalties for methamphetamine crimes are harsh, much harsher than the penalties for possession, sale, etc. of similar amounts of drugs like marijuana.  Methamphetamine sale and possession crimes are divided into degrees depending on the weight of the substance involved.  For example, sale of 10 grams or more or possession of 25 grams or more is a first-degree crime that can get you 30 years in a jail, a $1 million fine, or both.  The dividing lines for the degrees are:

 

Sale

Possession
First degree 10 grams or more 25 grams or more
Second degree 3 to 10 grams 6 to 25 grams
Third degree Any amount 3 to 6 grams
Fourth degree — Any amount

Likely sentences for sale and possession crimes include:

  • First-degree crimes:  for a first-time offender, the recommended sentence is 86 months in prison.
  • Second-degree crimes:  for a first-time offender, the recommended sentence is 48 months prison.
  • Third-degree crimes:  for a first-time offender, the recommended sentence is a stayed 21-month sentence (that will usually mean probation).
  • Fourth-degree crimes:  for a first-time offender, the recommended sentence is a stayed 12-month sentence, but often up to a year in county jai.

However, all of these sentences will be increased if you have prior controlled substance convictions.  For example, with a prior drug crime conviction, the maximum sentence on a first-degree methamphetamine crime is 40 years.

Manufacturing crimes

 You can be convicted of a manufacturing crime regardless of whether or not you intended to sell the drugs.  In contrast to sale and possession crimes, the penalties for manufacturing are not linked the weight of the drugs found.  The maximum penalty for a manufacturing crime is 30 years in jail, a $1 million fine, or both.  Further, if you are convicted of manufacturing the sentence can include restitution to pay for the cleanup of contaminated property.

Possession of precursors crimes

 The penalties for a possession of precursors crime are less severe than for the other methamphetamine crimes.  It’s still a felony, though, and carries a sentence of up to 10 years along with a maximum of a $20,000 fine.

Any comments or question feel free to call or post a comment

Rosengren Kohlmeyer
Law Office Chtd.
Mankato, Minnesota 56001

Remember, this isn’t legal advice just commentary.  For legal advice you need to hire a lawyer.

Posted by Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office in MN Drug Crimes and tagged , , , | Leave a Comment
15 May 2012

What Did Senser Really Sense? The Amy Senser Trial

The verdict is in:  a Minnesota jury convicted Amy Senser of

Amy Senser

The Verdict Is In…Guilty.

criminal vehicular homicide.  If you haven’t been up on your Minnesota news lately, Ms. Senser’s trial followed an accident where the vehicle she was driving hit and killed Anousone Phanthavong, who had been standing next to his car on a freeway exit ramp after his car ran out of gas.  Ms. Senser didn’t stop at the accident scene and in fact didn’t even admit she was driving the car until several days later.

To convict someone for criminal vehicular homicide based on leaving the scene of the accident, the prosecutor has to show that the person knew he or she had been involved in an accident with a person or another vehicle.  This is where big orange barrels came into play during the trial.  Amy Senser’s defense was that she thought she’d hit a construction barrel, and showed the jury the size and shape of one of those barrels.  Would it be possible to confuse hitting a person with hitting a construction barrel?  Some experiments might be able to show one way or the other, but that’s probably not a test many people are going to be willing to be guinea pigs for, at least on the “being hit” end!

The jury apparently tried to soften the blow of their conviction:  they sent a note asking if the court could let Ms. Senser know that they (the jury) believed she had only thought she hit another vehicle, not a person.  But in the legal world, this is actually meaningless, since a 2007 Minnesota Supreme Court case established that believing you hit another vehicle, and then leaving the scene of the accident, is enough to get you convicted of criminal vehicular homicide if you actually hit a person and the person dies. (The closing argument by the prosecutor, Ms. Deb Russell, was interesting as it seemed she was very angry and seemed to thrive on the anguish.  Most prosecutors act much more professional in court and are a quite a bit more detached in my experience).

The drama isn’t over with the verdict, though.  There is sentencing in a few weeks where Ms. Senser faces up to 4 years in prison.  With the added media hype it’s likely that the Judge might very well want to “send a message”. Amy Senser’s lawyer recently subpoenaed a local television station to try to get the raw footage of interviews the station did with jurors after the jurors had returned their verdict.  This is definitely an unusual move and will no doubt bring a fresh round of courtroom drama, so stay tuned!

As always, any comment or questions post them here.

Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office
Mankato, Minnesota

Posted by Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office in DWI and tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment
16 Apr 2012

Minnesota DWI Laws: What Motor Vehicles?

Minnesota DWI Laws:  Motor Vehicles

In a “you couldn’t make it up” case from northern Minnesota, a man was arrested for DWI (that’s driving while impaired) for having too high of a blood alcohol content while driving…a mobility scooter.  The man was physically

Minnesota Scooter DWI

Yes Virginia, You Can Get Charged with A DWI On A Scooter

disabled and used the three-wheeled scooter, which had a maximum speed of 5.75 miles per hour, to get around.  He was initially convicted of the DWI charge, but fortunately for him, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed his conviction, finding that the man was essentially a pedestrian, rather than the driver of a motor vehicle, while he was operating the scooter.

What can you get a DWI for driving? 

As far as more serious DWI offenses go, it’s worth noting that you can be charged with DWI for driving things other than cars (mobility scooters aside!).  Minnesota’s DWI law prohibits driving a “motor vehicle” while intoxicated.  So what’s considered a motor vehicle under Minnesota law?  They are vehicles that are self-propelled—that is, they don’t move by human power.  They include the obvious cars and motorcycles, but also motor boats, off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and off-highway motorcycles.  A few other unusual items in this category include bulldozers, trolleys run by overhead wires, and cars that have temporarily broken down and are inoperable.  Things that are not motor vehicles include, as we now know, mobility scooters, as well as trailers and bicycles.

Why can you get a DWI for driving something that isn’t a car?

Although it might seem strange that you can get a DWI for driving a snowmobile or a bulldozer, it makes sense when you think about what the purpose of the DWI laws are—to keep Minnesota residents safe.  The Minnesota Legislature, in their infinite wisdom, have determined that you could just as easily hurt someone driving a snowmobile while intoxicated as you could driving a car while intoxicated.  If you’re planning to take beer along for a fishing trip or boat ride, make sure you have a designated driver, just as if you were headed out for a night on the town.

What else does this mean for me?

The fact that things like motor boats and snowmobiles are considered vehicles means that Minnesota’s implied consent law applies to you if you are driving one of these vehicles.  Remember our post on the implied consent law?  This law makes it a crime to refuse to submit to a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine.  So if you get stopped by law enforcement while using a motor vehicle other than a car, you are still required to provide a sample for chemical testing.  This means if you’re cruising on your snowmobile and get stopped it’s every bit as serious as if you were stopped while driving.

Another reason why you should keep in mind that driving vehicles other than cars, if you’ve drunk too much, can get you a DWI:  the penalties are not more lenient for driving, say, a boat, while intoxicated.  Minnesota’s sentencing provisions for DWI don’t differentiate between whether your offense was the result of driving a boat or driving a car, so take the DWI laws seriously no matter what kind of motor vehicle you’re driving.

There is one exception for first time DWI defendants who are charged with boating while impaired, you generally don’t lose your license for the same duration as if you were driving a motor vehicle, but that is a one time only benefit and doesn’t apply for multiple DWI folks.

Any comments or questions please feel free to either send me an email, visit us at our Main DWI Defense Site.

Jason Kohlmeyer
Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office Chtd.
507-625-5000

As always, none of this is legal advice, just comments on current laws and legal events.  For legal advice you need to retain me as your attorney.

Posted by Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office in DWI and tagged , , , | Leave a Comment
13 Apr 2012

Does A Non-Court Appointed Lawyer Make Difference? Rand Study Says Yes.

Recently a study by the Rand Corporation looked at this issue recently by examing the results of 3,173 murder cases in Philadelphia from 1994-2005.  Rand Corp. seemed to think the results were suprising, but I think everyone in the justice system really wasn’t too shocked.

FIrst, the study, the question Rand wanted to address does a full-time public defender, with the full resources of the public defenders’ office result in a better outcome than private lawyers who are appointed by the court and paid a very low, flat fee?

public defenders

Is This The Rand Supercomputer They Used?

No suprise, the answer was yes a full-time public defender is better than having an appointed, part-time criminal defense lawyer.  Why? the first isseu was the pay.  The reason is that appointed counsel received about $3,333 for a full-blown murder trial.  The effective hourly rate was less than $2/hour.  This coupled with the issue that most court appointed counsel are sole-practitioners with limited resources and limited criminal defense experience mean that not only are you getting the absolute cheapest defense attorney, you’re getting an defense attorney that has very limited experience!

Minnesota doesn’t really use court-appointed criminal defense attorneys, with the exception being for child support contempt cases and some conflicted federal criminal cases.  The pay for the Minnesota court appointed attorneys is better, but not much.

Thus, if you are debating to keep a court appointed attorney or a private attorney, you will need to do some hard decisions, do you want a professional attorney who has your best interest in mind? or do you want a court-appointed attorney making $2/hour as they do in Philadelphia?

 

Posted by Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
11 Apr 2012

Gun Regulations: Minnesota Firearm Laws

Keeping in line with gun regulations: Minnesota firearm laws

Spring turkey huntingis coming up, and the nice early warm weather is making outdoor shooting ranges more enticing than they would be in your average March.  If you’re thinking about buying a gun, or if you already own one and you want to make sure you’re keeping up with all the right rules and regulations, here’s a rundown of the Minnesota laws on gun permits and ownership.

Picture of Turkey Hunting Using Minnesota Gun Laws

Turkey Hunting? Already?

Handguns / Pistols

Let’s look at these first because the rules are more complex.  To buy a handgun, you need a “permit to purchase” unless you already have a permit to carry (more on that later).  Assuming you don’t have a permit to carry, you can get a permit to purchase by filling out an application form (called the Minnesota Uniform Firearm application), which is available on the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s website.

Another way to get a permit to purchase is to just go to the gun shop where you want to buy the weapon.  The shop will conduct a background check to determine if you are eligible to buy a gun, although it will probably charge you for the service.

In Minnesota, you can’t carry a pistol in a public place without a permit to carry.  Being in a public place includes driving through a public place, so that means you can’t have a gun in your car while driving on a public road without a permit.

To get this permit, you need to fill out an application to your county sheriff or police chief and show that you have had training in the safe use of a pistol, that you’re over 21, and that you’re not prohibited from possessing a firearm (for example because you’ve previously been convicted of a felony).  If you can meet all those requirements, you are guaranteed to receive the permit, unless the sheriff finds that granting you the permit would be likely to be dangerous to either yourself or other people.

Once you get your permit, make sure to carry it on you, along with government-issued photo ID, at all times when you’re carrying your gun in public.  If you forget and are stopped, you can be charged with a petty misdemeanor and fined, so make sure not to forget!

Even with a valid permit to carry, there are places that carrying the gun will still be prohibited.  These include school property, private premises which have a sign banning guns, and, in general, courthouses and jails.

Shotguns and rifles

For hunting guns, there’s no need for a permit to purchase, you don’t have to register the gun, and you don’t have to worry about a permit to carry.  You can take a rifle or a shotgun to and from hunting, to and from target shooting, or to a trade show or ceremony where guns are traditionally used.  However, you’re not allowed to carry a rifle or shotgun in a public place.  “Public place” does not include areas where hunting or shooting is lawfully allowed though.

With this basic summary in mind, you won’t have to worry about running “afowl” of Minnesota gun laws when you’re out turkey hunting!

Any questions or comments feel free to email me below or visit the Mankato Criminal Defense website.

Jason Kohlmeyer
Mankato, Minnesota
507-625-5000

Remember, this isn’t legal advice just a discussion of a legal topic, for legal advice you’ll need to hire a lawyer.

Posted by Rosengren Kohlmeyer, Law Office in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

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