Criminal Defense

Minnesota Supreme Court Finally Answers Questions Whether Police Can Force You to Unlock Your Phone with Fingerprint We’ve previously addressed this issue here. The Minnesota Supreme Court has finally chimed in and appears to have settled the debate. In State v. Diamond, the Minnesota Supreme Court sided with the State and held that police can force a suspect to provide a fingerprint...

A person convicted of First Degree Manslaughter in Minneapolis faces up to 15 years in prison. Several different circumstances can lead to a charge of First Degree Manslaughter. Probably the most common set of circumstances that will result in a First Degree Manslaughter charge is what’s known as the “heat of passion” killing. This occurs when one person causes the...

The Duluth police officer who assaulted a man in a wheelchair at a detox center has been released from the police force.  Former officer Richard Jouppi has also been charged with one count of Fifth Degree Assault and one count of Disorderly Conduct.  Both charges are misdemeanors and carry a maximum possible punishment of up to 90 days in...

EXPUNGEMENT OF DOMESTIC ASSAULT Crimes of domestic violence are now eligible for a Minnesota expungement.  A domestic assault expungement had previously been prohibited from being expunged under the new Minnesota expungement law. Crimes of domestic violence, such as domestic abuse, domestic assault, sexual assault, violations of an order for protection (OFP) or a restraining order, stalking, and violations of a domestic...

We are currently representing an individual in Blue Earth County, Minnesota who is charged with Criminal Defamation in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.765.  We previously filed a motion to dismiss arguing the Minnesota criminal defamation statute is unconstitutional.  In our opinion, the Minnesota criminal defamation statute is overbroad because it punishes constitutionally protected free speech and does not provide for...

Defending Your Freedom, Finances and Your Future When facing criminal charges, especially misdemeanor offenses, it’s common for people to assume that they can plead guilty, defend themselves or rely on the help of a public defender and get a good outcome. After many years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer, John has repeatedly seen defendants come to court...

The recent opinion by the Court Appeals has left some uncertainty in Minnesota regarding an adequate legal remedy for what’s become known as “revenge porn” crimes.   Frequent readers of our blog know that we recently prevailed at the Court of Appeals and convinced the Court that Minnesota’s criminal defamation law was unconstitutional because it violated the free speech protections of...

Can I Use Medical Marijuana at Work? Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Law has been around for about a year-and-a-half now. Over 600 patients have successfully registered to receive medical marijuana. While the Minnesota Medical Marijuana Law offers protects registrants and medical marijuana users from certain civil and criminal penalties, the law doesn’t provide a blank check for registrants to use wherever, whenever, or however...

A PROBABLE CAUSE SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A LAWFUL WARRANTLESS VEHICLE SEARCH. If the police have probable cause to believe that contraband or other evidence of a crime is hidden somewhere in a vehicle, the officer may conduct a warrantless vehicle search.   This probable cause warrant exception authorizes a search of every part of the vehicle that could...