A ruling by Minnesota’s top court made it illegal for police to subdue a suspect and sedate them in order to conduct a body cavity search, reversing a decision by two lower courts. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the search of a man believed to be in possession of illegal drugs was a violation […]
MN Supreme Court Won’t Hear Sex Offender Program Case
We’ve been documenting the saga surrounding Minnesota’s sex offender civil commitment system for years now, and it appears that no firm resolution is in sight after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that they won’t hear a challenge to the program’s constitutionality. If you remember from our previous blogs on the subject, Minnesota’s current sex offender […]
Illegally Obtained Evidence Can Now Be Used In Minnesota Courts
Although it sounds more like a headline we’d use on April Fool’s Day, sadly, it’s not. Yesterday the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling saying unconstitutionally seized evidence can be used in the court of law. Now, it wasn’t exactly that straightforward, but it should still be a cause for concern for the general public. […]
Minnesota Extends Fourth Amendment Rights to Civil Cases
The Minnesota Supreme Court has expanded search and seizure protections in civil cases after authorities went beyond their legal rights while collecting evidence to create their case. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the citizen in two separate cases that limit when a cop can legally search seized property. In the first case, […]
Minnesota Supreme Court Rejects DWI Necessity Defense
A while back, we wrote about the case of Jennifer Axelberg, the Minnesota woman who was arrested for driving under the influence while attempting to flee from her abusive husband. Axelberg later pleaded guilty to a lessor charge of careless driving , but she appealed the loss of her driver’s license under the Necessity Defense. In order […]
