Under the Fith Amendment, you are not obligated to disclose your identity to police if the disclosure would incriminate you. In other words, you must reasonably believe that the disclosure of your identity could be used against you in a criminal prosecution or could lead to other evidence that might be used against you. Let's imagine that [...]
Under Minnesota law, the testimony of a rape victim does not need to be corroborated at trial by any other evidence. In other words, you can be convicted of a rape charge based on the testimony of the victim alone. The law is set up to insure against false charges and wrongful convictions through several [...]
The longer you wait to turn yourself in on a Minnesota probation violation, the more time you may spend in jail. The prosecution will use the delay as an argument against you when seeking for more jail time. Remember, there may still be plenty of jail time hanging over your head from the original sentence. The first step is to retain [...]
When a narcotics search warrant is executed by the police at a home or apartment, often times there are other persons present who do not have anything to do with the controlled substance found on the premises, but become immediate suspects simply by being present. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you have a defense. Before [...]
The crime of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle is a felony level offense in Minnesota. See Minnesota Statute Section 609.487. Any driver who flees or attempts to flee an officer who is lawfully discharging his official duty can be charged with this offense. The crime occurs when the driver, after being given a signal to [...]
If you have been granted a stay of adjudication on a felony drug conviction in Minnesota and have successfully completed your probation, you are eligible to file a petition to seal all records concerning your arrest and criminal charge. You will need to establish a number of factors in your petition, including the steps you [...]
In order for the police to search the trunk of your vehicle for marijuana without a warrant, they would need to establish probable cause to believe that marijuana will be found in the trunk. One way for the police to establish probable casuse for the search of your trunk would be to observe marijuana or [...]
If you have been convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a controlled substance crime in Minnesota, you are prohibited for life from possessing, receiving, shipping or transporting a firearm. A controlled substance crime has been defined by the legislature as being a "crime of violence" along with other crimes like murder, assault and criminal sexual conduct. The lifetime [...]
The charge of tampering with a motor vehicle is a misdemeanor offense in Minnesota. A person can be charged with the offense for tampering with or entering into a car without the owner's permission. We already know what it means to enter into a car, but what does it mean to "tamper" with a motor vehicle under Minnesota [...]
I am a private attorney with 28 years of experience in defending burglary charges. If you have been charged with burglary in Hudson, Wisconsin, you will need an experienced burglary defense attorney to protect your freedom and reputation. The majority of my criminal cases have resulted in a either a dismissal or an acquittal. I [...]