Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota
Minnesota Petty Misdeanor
While visiting friends in Minnesota, my 18 y.o. daughter was charged with a misdemeanor offense of being a minor in possession of alcohol. I won't go into to much detail, but the officer lacked probable cause for investigating my daughter. We hired a MN attorney who negotiated with the prosecutor to have the charge decreased to a petty misdemeanor. Our attorney says that this will keep this issue out of any searchable criminal databases, and, since a petty misdemeanor is not a ''crime'' in MN, my daughter can truthfully deny any criminal conviction. I'd like confirmation of our lawyers assertion that my daughter's pleading guilty will keep the information out of any searchable database that might be utilized for school or employment. Do you think she should take the deal?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Minnesota Petty Misdemeanor
Minnesota Statutes define a petty misdemeanor as a civil infraction, not a crime. Therefore if one pleads guilty to a petty misdmeanor, then one cannot be convicted of a crime as a result of that alone.
Court records and law enforcement records are generally public records, avaialble to the public, as well as "data aggregator" firms who gather, package and sell such information.
As far as whether she should take the deal, that would depend upon her needs as well as the details (facts) of the case.
Re: Minnesota Petty Misdeanor
Under Minnesota law, a petty misdemeanor is not considered a criminal offense and is civil in nature. Ther fact that it is not criminal means that it will not appear on centralized criminal databases. However, it can still be accessed if a person runs a county check.
If the evidence is strong that the search or seizure was unlawful, it would appear that it may be wise to challenge the offense.
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