Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

I was falsely accused of an assault and I have a lot of proof to show that so now they have charged the other person with falsely reporting a crime but the prosecutor said they are still not going to dismiss my case unless the other person pleads guilty. Can they even do this? These are 2 contradicting charges occurring at the same time. It seems like they are trying to scare the other person into lying and going against me in order to convict me. Any advice would help. Is there laws against this type of thing?


Asked on 8/17/11, 11:14 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Sad to say, prosecution coercion of witnesses happens a lot. There is a Minnesota Statute making "Coercion" a crime. But guess who is in charge of deciding whether to charge a crime? The prosecutor. It's a tough situation. The best that can be done, as far as I know, is for the witness to retain a lawyer for protection from the prosecutor; and the defendant to hang tough with his or her lawyer until the charge is dismissed, or an acquittal.

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Answered on 8/17/11, 11:34 am


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