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Minnesota Offense Levels

Minnesota Crimes | Criminal Charges » Minnesota Offense Levels

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What does “Level of Sentence” mean?

What are the four Minnesota offense levels? The Minnesota’s four offense levels are:

  1. Felony: crime punishable by 365 days to life in “prison.”
  2. Gross misdemeanor: punishable by 91 – 364 days in “jail.”
  3. Misdemeanor: crime with max 90 days jail.
  4. Petty misdemeanor: not crime, but “conviction.” No jail.

All of these also carry fines.

Only the first three are “crimes.” But all four can lead to a “conviction.” If a conviction results; the judge can “stay” some or all of the jail or prison time with conditions for a period of time. And we call this “probation.” In addition to the direct consequences of a conviction (e.g., lock up), a person convicted suffers “collateral consequences” (e.g., loss of civil rights).

What are the consequences of a criminal charge? For all Minnesota offense levels, the event of “conviction” triggers most of the direct and indirect consequences. But even a “charge” that did not result in conviction can cause some harms. After charges, however, the most we can do in a pending case is to prevent conviction.

The courts distinguish between direct and collateral consequences. They consider the disposition or sentence resulting from a prosecution (if any), the direct consequences. But in today’s information society, the collateral consequences can have a more damaging effect. And this is often due to severe laws stripping civil rights, and public criminal records. See “Collateral Consequences,” Minn. Stat. Ch. 609B.

This page summarizes these consequences, with links to pages with more information.

Any person facing a criminal charge or petty misdemeanor charge in Minnesota, has the right to retain a criminal defense attorney to represent them. And without question, everyone facing a felony, gross misdemeanor, or simple misdemeanor charge should seek the best criminal defense lawyer for help.

What is a conviction?

Because convictions trigger serious penalties, we must first understand what, exactly, is “a conviction?” Law has its own special language. And we must be precise in our use of language. So you may learn some legal terminology here.

A “conviction” is an “adjudication.” Until a Judge decides that the court process was a lawful process adequate to support conviction (“due process”); there is no conviction or adjudication.

A lawful process must meet the minimum standards of constitutional due process. And due process requires notice and the opportunity to present evidence to a fair and neutral magistrate. Moreover, this includes the right to challenge the government’s evidence in a meaningful way.

A judge can adjudicate a defendant guilty after either a fair trial, or a proper guilty plea. But in either case, the when a judge adjudicates guilt she certifies:

  • adequate factual basis for guilt, and
  • result of a fair, legal process.

“Criminal conviction” vs. offense level

Of the four Minnesota offense levels, felonies, gross misdemeanors and misdemeanors are crimes. So, a conviction for any of these three is a “criminal conviction.”

But legally, in Minnesota a petty misdemeanor “conviction” is not a “criminal” conviction. Because a petty is “not a crime.” (Caveat: federal courts have treated a Minnesota petty misdemeanor as a “criminal conviction” for purposes of sentencing “criminal history score.) In other words, a Minnesota petty misdemeanor conviction, is a “conviction” but not a “criminal” conviction. Unfortunately, however, employers and others might not understand or care about the distinction.

Dispositions that are not convictions: A “disposition” is a resolution of a criminal case. And the term disposition includes resolutions other than convictions.

For every Minnesota offense level, we have dispositions that avoid a “conviction.” These avoid the consequences triggered by conviction. So, let’s look at two of them.

Stay of Adjudication: all offense levels

A stay of adjudication is one of the many types of outcomes (or dispositions) of criminal cases in Minnesota law.

When a judge “adjudicates” a guilty plea or guilty verdict as lawful; that is the moment at which “conviction” occurs. (This usually happens at the sentencing hearing.) The word “stay” means to pause, delay or postpone.

When a disposition is a stay of adjudication, the judge postpones adjudication, and sets conditions for a period of time. And if the defendant successfully meets the conditions, at the end, the court dismisses charges without a conviction. This is because adjudication never happens.

There was not even the briefest moment where the defendant was “convicted.” And this is important, for example when it comes to civil rights.

Adjudication (conviction) triggers devastating legal consequences. But if the defendant successfully completes the conditions of the stay of adjudication, she avoids those consequences. The defendant has a strong incentive to comply with the conditions, if he believes that he can.

Typically these are the result of a settlement agreement between the defense and prosecution. But there are cases where a judge can order a stay of adjudication without agreement of the prosecutor. (For example, in a Minnesota Statutes Section 152.18 drug case, or a juvenile case.)

A stay of adjudication is a possible disposition for cases in every Minnesota offense level.

“Pretrial Diversion” or “Continuance for Dismissal”

Pretrial Diversion is when the court “diverts” the case from the court calendar with conditions, without a guilty plea. And this requires prosecutor agreement. (“Divert from the court calendar” means no pending court date is scheduled.) And if the person meets the conditions, at the end of the diversion period, the court dismisses the charge. So no conviction results (not even for the briefest moment).

The absence of a guilty plea is important. Because a guilty plea is part of the public record even where no conviction results (i.e., a stay of adjudication).

A “Continuance for Dismissal without a plea” (sometimes a “Continuance Without a Plea”) is similar. Under the agreement, the court postpones the pending criminal charge with conditions. And at the end, if the defendant hasn’t violated any conditions, the court dismisses the charge. So, no conviction results.

Available for every Minnesota offense level: Though functionally the same, we use the terms Pretrial Diversion for felonies; and Continuance for Dismissal for non-felony and traffic cases. Deferred prosecution is another common term that some other states use for this.

If a prosecutor believes a defendant violated a condition, she can resume prosecution, as if the diversion had never happened.

If conviction, what is the Minnesota offense level?

In Minnesota, a conviction will have an offense level:

Each of the four links above go to a page with details on each of the four offense levels of convictions in Minnesota.

What seems simple at first glance, turns out to require a little deeper understanding of the law. Why? In Minnesota, the sentence imposed determines the level of a conviction, not the level of crime charged. So, if a prosecutor charges a felony; but a judge imposes a misdemeanor sentence; then a misdemeanor conviction results. Minnesota Statutes §609.13.

Better to know before, rather than after.

What about petty misdemeanors?

The meaning of a Minnesota “petty misdemeanor” is a problem, due to imprecise language.

On the one hand a petty misdemeanor is “not a crime.” But on the other hand, one can have a petty misdemeanor “conviction.” Normally we associate the word “conviction” with the words “crime” and “criminal.” For more on this, see my page: petty misdemeanors.

The Minnesota legislature should amend Minnesota statutes; so that a petty does not result in a “conviction;” and to clean up any petty misdemeanor statutes that provide for any conditions or penalties other than the petty misdemeanor fine. Like other states, a Minnesota petty should result in a “violation;” or a “civil infraction.”

What about a first offense?

Does the fact that a person is accused of a “first offense” make a difference? Yes. Of course, the accused person is innocent unless convicted; and the evidence, if any, will be pivotal. But, yes, prior convictions — or even evidence of “prior bad acts” not resulting in conviction — can affect a new criminal charge.

Charge enhancement: Some Minnesota criminal statutes provide for enhanced penalties if the person charged has certain prior “same or similar” offense convictions. For example, many Minnesota drug crime statutes contain charge enhancement provisions. And for an example of a case I won by attacking charge enhancement, see my article: Felony Domestic Assault Dismissal, Based on Priors.

Mandatory minimum sentence: Similarly, certain Minnesota criminal statutes have various levels of mandatory minimum jail or prison time, if the person charged has certain “same or similar” and other prior offense convictions.

Prior bad acts evidence: Selected Minnesota statutes, Court rules of evidence, and constitutional caselaw relate to the possibility of the prosecutor using “prior bad acts evidence” during the trial, even if no conviction resulted from the prior bad act.

“Collateral” consequences

The word “collateral” conveys indirect consequences of a conviction, as opposed to the direct consequences of a sentence. And convictions bring collateral consequences for every Minnesota offense level. But felony convictions, and selected misdemeanors (e.g., domestics) bring more of them. (A “conviction” triggers most.)

Labeling consequences: “collateral” seems dismissive, as if unimportant. But in reality for many, most of the time, the “collateral consequences” are massively more severe than the “direct” consequences (like jail).

The notice problem: Most people don’t know about the severe “collateral” consequences or collateral sanctions until after their criminal case has already been resolved. But at that point, it’s too late.

Here are examples of common collateral consequences:

Question? Call Lawyer Thomas Gallagher, 612 333-1500

If you have a question about Minnesota offense levels, such as felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or petty misdemeanor, you can give Attorney Thomas Gallagher a call.

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