Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Felony charge

My son who is 20 has been charged with 5th degree possession of a controlled substance. The county attorney has offered a stay of adjudication to him. Could you give me some advice on whether to accept this offer? The case is venued in St. Louis County (not where we live) so there would be no jail time and the public defender thought probation would be for 2 years. Thanks for your help


Asked on 1/23/09, 12:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Re: Felony charge

For my clients accused of drug crimes who have no prior record, I typically recommend that our outcome goal should be to (1) prevent a "conviction;" and also (2) be subject to expungement by statute (Chapter 609A) if the stay conditions are not violated.. There are two common ways this can be accomplished: (a) "pretrial diversion" (which is better); or (b) a stay of adjudication under Minn Stat 152.18 (not as good but meets the above criteria).

FFI: http://www.liberty-lawyer.com/drugcrimecharges.html

http://www.liberty-lawyer.com/drugcrimecharges/drugstatutesmn.html

http://www.liberty-lawyer.com/attorneyprofile.html

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Answered on 1/23/09, 5:54 pm


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