Today is August 1, which means a bunch of new laws went into effect in Minnesota. Today, we take a look at three different laws that affect Criminal Law that went into effect today.
New Minnesota Laws
New Minnesota Drug Sentencing Laws – One of the biggest changes is how the state will handle drug convictions. Simply put, legislators updated sentencing guidelines to help ensure drug dealers spend more time in prison while drug addicts spend less time in jail and more time getting treatment services or on extended probation. The change affects all state controlled-substance laws, except for ones that are related to heroin.
Proponents of the move believe it will free up over 700 beds in Minnesota’s prison system and save the state about $12 million annually. The law is not retroactive and will only apply to crimes committed on or after August 1.
Revenge Porn Law – This new law makes it illegal for a person to distribute private sexual images without consent from both parties. The state will have the discretion to charge violators with either a felony or gross misdemeanor based on the circumstances of the case.
Under the new law, victims of revenge porn will be able to claim damages for financial loss do to the release of the private images. Damages can include all financial losses due to the distribution of the material, damages in the amount equal to any profit made by the distributor, and civil penalties up to $10,000, which includes court and attorney fees.
Drake’s DWI Law – A couple years ago, 5-month old Drake Bigler was killed by a drunk driver who had two previous DWIs on his record. The driver had a BAC more than four times the legal limit when he struck the car carrying Bigler, and the crash was motivating factor in passing Drake’s Law, which increases the maximum penalty for any criminal vehicular homicide involving a drunken driver.
The law will apply to anyone with first- or second-degree DWI convictions in the past 10 years which caused injury to a person. Under the previous law, a person could face up to 10 years in jail for criminal vehicular homicide. Now, that maximum penalty has been bumped up to 15 years.
