Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:36:30 +0000
Will Minnesota lawmakers heed the call of the Minnesota Supreme Court and public outrage and undo the "Minnesota Bong Water Case?" A Bill has been introduced in the Minnesota House, H.F. No. 2757, to amend Minnesota Statutes section 152.01, subdivision 9a, to read: Subd. 9a. Mixture. "Mixture" means a preparation, compound, mixture, or substance containing a controlled substance, regardless of where purity is relevant only when weighing the residue of a controlled substance. If adopted into law, this would bring back proportionality of the severity of a drug crime to quantity.
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:42:19 +0000
Let's review: The government (police) can take your property at any time if suspicious, even if you are innocent. The burden is on you, not them, to do something about getting a court to look at it. If you do nothing, they keep your property, your money; and you lose; without any court or judge ever even seeing the case. If you want to do something about it, you need cash for a lawyer and court filing fees. The law provides the government a free lawyer and requires them to pay no court filing fees. The police agency that targeted you and took you down gets to keep 70% commission on the cash, valuables, your vehicle they seize from you. Could this affect their honesty about their investigation; or, the appearance of propriety?
Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:49:09 +0000
The Case, David Lee Laase vs 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, A07-2023, December 17, 2009, was another 4-3 split decision - with the majority reversing the Minnesota Court of Appeals, to rule against the civil property rights of the individual
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:13:11 +0000
Prosecutor asks "Why would they lie?" Jesus Pleads the Fifth. Mark continues: "And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?" "But he held his peace, and answered nothing." Minnesota abandons the ancient Witness Corroboration Rule - a protection for the innocent. Jewish law at the time required a conviction based upon a witnesses claims to be corroborated by other witnesses - to "agree together." Roman law did also, as did the laws of many other ancient civilizations. This law continued throughout the ages, through English law which was inherited by us in the United States, as Common Law. Many Common Laws were enacted into statute, including in Minnesota, including this one. But in the late 20th Century Minnesota Statutes were amended to significantly water down and mostly destroy this ancient legal right, which had long served to protect innocents from false witnesses.
Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:53:14 +0000
The Minnesota Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, has now ruled that Bong Water (water which had been used in a water pipe) was a "mixture" of "25 grams or more" supporting a criminal conviction for Controlled Substance crime in the first degree. The crime is the most serious felony drug crime in Minnesota, with a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for a first offense. The case is Minnesota v Peck, A08-579, Minnesota Supreme Court, October 22, 2009. The majority opinion takes a literal view, arguing in essence that any amount of a substance dissolved in water makes that water a "mixture" containing that substance. Perhaps. But, since Minnesota's criminal prohibition laws are organized to make greater quantities of drug possession a more serious crime than smaller quantities, such a simple-minded view defeats the purpose of the quantity-based severity levels.
Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:54:26 +0000
Do You Need a Lawyer? When it comes to criminal law, most people have been fortunate never to have ask themselves that question. We do not expect the unexpected. How do you know when, "I need a lawyer!"
Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:09:48 +0000
In Minnesota, a person arrested on a police officer's suspicion of DWI has the legal right to consult a lawyer prior to responding to a request by police to consent to chemical testing. A problem often arises due to the fact that most of these situations happen in the late night or early morning hours when most people - and most lawyers - are asleep. Most people who find themselves in this unwelcome circumstance never believed they would be, and may not know a criminal lawyer or DWI defense lawyer to call. Sometimes they call any Minnesota lawyer they can think of, even though they might not be a criminal lawyer, or DWI defense attorney. This article is intended to help that lawyer.
Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:30:41 +0000
There is no statute or law that requires that young person to consent to a search by providing a breath sample simply because they are walking down the street, or found at a house party, with an odor of an alcoholic beverage about them. A young person in this position can simply refuse to consent to such a search.
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