Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Guilty or Not Guilty?

The first charge is 5th degree assault, the second offense is disorderly conduct. The story: I walked up to a guy at a party, flicked him in the nose with my index finger and said ''that's for telling everyone i raped your ex-girlfriend.'' He started pushing me aggressively, i raised my fist and he backed up, called the police and said he was being assaulted. I walked away, on the way out of the party, this guy knocks me in the face with his shoulder, so i punched him in the back of the head. That was the end of the altercation. There are obviously events that lead up to this. Do i plead guilty or not guilty?


Asked on 8/07/07, 4:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Re: Guilty or Not Guilty?

Since the burden of proof is on the prosecution, given the severe consequences of having an assault conviction record, it would be wise to both plead "not guilty" and retain a good criminal defense lawyer -- not necessarily in that order.

In many assault cases, the prosecutor may argue the defendant is guilty of assault despite provocation, or may argue "mutual combat." Either of those, if accepted by the jury, would support conviction. In such cases, the defense may assert that either an assault did not occur, or the affirmative defense of "self-defense," or both. In response, the prosecutor can argue the defendant failed to attempt to leave, since in Minnesota the law imposes a "duty to retreat" (at least when outside one's own home), as a condition to a "self-defense" defense.

Hopefully you did not tell this story to police; or, if you did, hopefully your lawyer will be able to get it suppressed.

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Answered on 8/07/07, 4:41 pm


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