In our criminal justice system, a defendant has the constitutional right to confront their accusers at trial. If the accuser does not appear for trial, then the prosecution may not have as strong of a case, if any case at all. Knowing this, some defendants will attempt to tamper with the prosecution’s witnesses by trying…
Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued one of the most anticipated opinions regarding DWI laws this term. The high court determined whether MN’s DWI forfeiture law was unconstitutional on its face; was unconstitutional as applied to the innocent owner of the vehicle; and was unconstitutional as applied to the driver of the vehicle. The court decided…
For anyone who has dogs, or is familiar with the characteristics of them, you know that the sense of smell is impeccable. The canine sense of smell is so good, that police and other law enforcement agents have even used them in detecting criminal activity. More particularly, the presence of narcotics. The question then becomes…
Track the phone, track the person. As cell phones have become a vital organ to many, the ability to locate a phone allows law enforcement to place a person in a specific area. It is impossible for the Fourth Amendment to keep up with the technology explosion in real time. But eventually, case by case,…
“Ignorantia juris non excusat” means ignorance of the law is no excuse to escape liability. John or Jane Doe may not use this excuse to get out of a crime, but police officers can get away with it certain situations. Recently, the Minnesota Court of Appeals filed a decision inclined towards this theory in McGuire…