Gross Misdemeanors / Misdemeanors

Interference with privacy is a gross misdemeanor offense that can rise to felony level charges depending on the circumstances. The general concept of what interference with privacy means may make sense. But the statutory definitions are complex in tr…

Accidents happen. They don’t necessarily result in criminal charges – after all, they are called accidents. But sometimes, an accident can lead to criminal charges for failing to properly obey the traffic laws or if a driver leaves the sc…

Sexting and similar communications have led to the oversharing of explicit images. To combat that, Minnesota enacted a revenge porn law to criminalize the improper sharing of sexually explicit images. The crime is actually called: Nonconsensual Disse…

A Minnesota Reckless Driving offense is one of the most serious non-DWI traffic charges. It is a misdemeanor to start with, but could become a gross misdemeanor if there is a certain amount of harm caused by the reckless driving conduct. With such se…

In Minnesota, it is illegal to be carrying while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances. The offense can be either a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor, requiring possible jail and/or a heavy fine, not to mention revocation of the pers…

Criminal damage to property in Minnesota is a felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor, depending on the nature of the circumstances and amount of damage that occurred. Any conviction for this type of crime not only has serious criminal consequences…

The level of harm is often the distinction between whether an assault or obstruction of legal process charge is a felony or not. Central to this analysis is the term: “substantial bodily harm.” If the victim suffers substantial bodily har…

Just this past late-spring, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling that summarily approved of a lower court decision in which the expungement waiting period was applied from the date of discharge going forward 2-, 4-, or 5-years. There was no analysis…