The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects our homes against unreasonable searches and seizures by the police. A home may be search with a valid warrant but this will requires a showing before a judge of probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and the home contains evidence of the crime. Any [...]
In Minnesota, the entrapment defense may be used in a criminal case to combat government overreaching and obtain an acquittal. In order to prevail on the defense, a defendant will need to establish by a "fair preponderance of the evidence" that the government induced him to commit the crime. Inducement occurs [...]
Just when you thought your express mail package was safe from government intrusion, think again. Police at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport are now free to remove any package from a conveyor belt and subject it to a sniff by a narcotics detection dog. This seeming violation of the Fourth Amendment is no longer considered an unreasonable search and seizure in [...]
How do the police set you up on a typical sex sting operation in Minnesota? The police may start by placing an ad on Backpages which reads something like, "Naughty Little Play Things." The ad will list the girls ages at 18. A person who responds to this ad will soon be entrapped by the police through the use of [...]
Are you charged with a controlled substance crime in Minnesota that calls for a prison commit? Are there no defenses in your case and you are about to give up all hope? Help is on the way. You just need to prove to an open-minded judge at the time of sentencing that you are "particularly [...]
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the DWI conviction of a criminal defendant for refusing to submit to a urine test where police failed to obtain a search warrant. The Court held that Minnesota's test-refusal statute is unconstitutional when applied to suspects who are charged with refusal to submit to either a warrantless blood or urine [...]
So at one time in your past you made a mistake; the police caught you with a felony amount of marijuana, cocaine, or methamphetamine. You were charged in Minnesota with the felony offense of Controlled Substance Crime in the defending 5th Degree Possession MN. You may have been convicted of the felony offense or plea [...]
The answer to this question depends on whether or not your confession was voluntary. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not allow the prosecution to use an involuntary confession against you at trial. When determining voluntariness, Minnesota courts look to see if the defendant's will was overborne at the time of the confession by the police through the use of [...]
I recently defended a client who was charged with operating a marijuana grow house. Drug Task Force agents executed a narcotics search warrant at his home and discovered marijuana plants growing on all three levels. On the upper level of the home agents found 251 suspected marijuana starter plants in a walk-in closet. The plants ranged between 1.5 and [...]
I recently defended two clients in Anoka County who were charged with misdemeanor prostitution. The stakes were high as both clients had green cards and a conviction would jeopardize their chances of becoming U.S. citizens. The Coon Rapids Police Department designed an online ad to capture the attention of men interested in paying money for sex. The ad [...]