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What to Expect: The Legal Process for Criminal Charges in Minnesota, Part 3

Trial, Sentencing & Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines

Trial

If no resolution has been reached during the settlement phase, the case will then be set for a court or jury trial. In misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases a defendant is allowed a six person jury trial or, instead, a trial to a judge which is called a court trial. Felony cases allow a defendant to have a twelve person jury trial or a court trial. The defendant is allowed to choose if he or she would like a jury trial or a court trial. If the defendant wishes to waive or give up his right to a jury trial, and have a court trial instead, this must be done on the record in open court.

Sentencing Guidelines

The State of Minnesota has developed sentencing guidelines for felony level offenses which take into account the severity level of an offense as well as the Defendant’s prior criminal history, called the criminal history score. The Sentencing Guidelines Grid lays out this information in a grid format with the severity level of the offense on the left hand side (vertical axis) of the grid and the Defendant’s Criminal history score on the top side (horizontal access) of the grid. The grid will tell a Defendant the presumptive sentence in his or her case, however, the court may consider aggravating as well as mitigating circumstances in determining the sentence in a particular case.

A person accused of a felony level offense should consult with an attorney regarding the penalties that could be imposed in his or her particular case were he or she to be convicted.

Sentencing

If at any time the Defendant pleads guilty, or is found to be guilty after a trial, a Sentencing Hearing will be held. Depending on the severity of the offense, sentencing may be done right away after the plea is entered, or on a different day after a pre-sentence investigation has been completed by probation.

Sentences can include: jail or prison time, sentence to service work for the county, being subject to electronic home monitoring, being required to perform community service work, pay fines and/or restitution, and being on probation or parole for a period of time, as well as other conditions that would be set by the judge and/or the probation or parole officer acting under the direction of the judge. Examples of some other conditions that might be set on a particular defendant include: obtaining a chemical dependency assessment and then attending classes or chemical/alcohol dependency treatment, obtaining an anger management assessment and then attending anger management classes, completing a victim impact panel sponsored by MADD or a similar group, being required to remain law abiding and having no same or similar offenses for the period of probation, being subject to random testing at the direction of probation, and/or following other rules to be determined by the Judge or the defendant’s probation officer. The Defendant may also lose his or her driving privileges, or the right to possess a firearm for a period of time as a result of a criminal conviction.

Note that the above list is not exclusive as the court or the probation department may impose other conditions that are not listed above as part of a Defendant’s sentence relating to the specific circumstances of that particular offense.

DISCLAIMER: The above information is deemed to be true and accurate. However, the law is constantly changing and evolving and the above information is intended only to be a basic primer regarding the steps involved in responding to charges in a criminal matter in Minnesota. A person charged with a crime should consider the above information to be one source of information, but will also need to seek out other sources of information and to obtain specific information about the crime with which he or she has been charged. The above information is not intended to be a substitute for consulting with an attorney about the law and the procedures relevant to a any specific case. Any person who is charged with a criminal offense is advised to consult with an attorney to obtain advice regarding his or her specific legal situation.

© 2010 by Richard P. Ohlenberg, Criminal Defense Attorney