21
Aug

What Is Relationship Evidence in Minnesota Domestic Assault Cases?

Domestic Assault
Imagine being charged for one alleged incident, only to learn that the prosecutor intends to present the jury with allegations of conduct from months or years before. In Minnesota domestic assault cases, this can happen through relationship evidence.…
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3
Aug

Specific Unanimity in Minnesota Criminal Trials

Criminal Charges
A jury returns a guilty verdict. Twelve people agreed. That should settle the question of what happened… Except sometimes it doesn’t. If the State charges one count of a crime but the trial evidence describes more than one act that could each, on…
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10
Jul

Minnesota's School Bus Stop-Signal Arm Law Just Changed: Here's What Drivers Need to Know

Case Law Updates
For years, Minnesota drivers who found themselves seconds away from a stopped school bus had a real, litigable question: does the duty to stop kick in when the red lights start flashing, or only once the stop-signal arm is fully extended? As of March…
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6
Jul

What Does "Lewd" Mean Under Minnesota's Indecent Exposure Law?

Criminal Charges
Most people assume indecent exposure means one thing: someone intentionally flashing a stranger for shock value. In reality, Minnesota’s indecent exposure law is broader and blurrier than that, and the exact meaning of the word “lewd̶…
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24
Apr

Minnesota Domestic Assault by Strangulation Law: Charges, Penalties, and Defense Strategies

Contributor: Ariadne Vieira
Domestic Assault
Domestic assault by strangulation is one of the more serious and often misunderstood charges in Minnesota criminal law. It comes up more frequently than many people expect, yet there remains widespread confusion about what legally qualifies as “str…
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22
Apr

When Can Your iPhone Put You Behind Bars?

Contributor: Jessa Schroetter
Criminal Charges
State v. Contreras-Sanchez Decision On April 15, 2026, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a significant decision in State v. Contreras-Sanchez, a case that squarely addresses modern digital privacy in the context of geofence warrants and cell phone l…
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20
Feb

Refusing to Define: Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Jury Instructions in DWI Test Refusal Cases

DWI
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently addressed a narrow but meaningful question about jury instructions in a case involving a refusal to undergo a court-ordered blood or urine test. The Court ultimately affirmed that the Court is not required to defi…
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30
Jan

Timing Isn’t Everything: Minnesota Court of Appeals Reaffirms Search-Incident-to-Arrest Principles

Case Law Updates
The recent Tate v. Robinson case serves as a powerful reminder that under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause (not the precise sequence of police actions) is what matters most. In a pretrial appeal, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed a district…
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26
Jan

When Anger becomes a Crime: Threats of Violence in Minnesota

Case Law Updates
In State v. Fitch, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reaffirmed a principle that continues to shape threats-of-violence prosecutions in Minnesota: words spoken in anger are not automatically protected speech, and context matters. When words reasonably c…
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12
Dec

The 36- and 48-Hour Rules Following An Arrest

Arrest
Getting arrested in Minnesota is stressful, and you are often not thinking about anything other than: “how do I get out of here?” This is when two powerful rules, the 36-hour and 48-hour rules, protect you from being held too long without seeing…
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