By Mark A. Friese Fifty years ago, twenty percent of criminal cases went to trial. Estimates today show ninety to ninety-five percent of state court criminal cases are resolved through a process called “plea bargaining.” In federal criminal cases, ninety-seven percent end with a plea of guilty. These startling numbers underscore the reality: certainty in…

By Luke Heck Under both our state and federal constitutions, we have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. To be free from an unreasonable search is easy for most individuals to generally understand; law enforcement, absent an exception to this requirement, cannot search you, your house, or your personal belongings without…

Somewhere along the line, the drafting of our state’s DUI laws has become an adversarial process. We continue to make non-controversial things controversial instead of being problem solvers. A prime example of this is HB 1534, the bill that has been introduced this legislative session purported to address some alleged ambiguities to North Dakota’s current…

In November, North Dakota voters rejected Measure 3, which would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for people 21 years of age or older. For some people, the defeat of Measure 3 was a devastating setback to reforming the state’s drug laws. For others, it was a needed pause on a movement getting out…

In criminal cases, there are “direct” consequences of a guilty plea or conviction. Common direct consequences include fines, court costs, imprisonment, probation, community service, and others. “Collateral consequences” are additional penalties that result from criminal convictions, most often without notice or advance warning. Collateral consequences are typically classified as civil penalties, required by statute. Examples…

Today’s news stories are full of descriptions of mass shooters, many of which are described as having mental illness issues (PTSD, Paranoia, Schizophrenia, etc.). As a Minnesota defense attorney, I am constantly approached by people asking whether the suspect is “going to get away with it” because of a mental illness. The answer to this…

You are stopped by a police officer after leaving your favorite local North Dakota watering hole. The officer tells you he smells the odor of alcohol, inquires about your alcohol consumption, and inevitably wants you to do some field sobriety tests to see if you are “okay” to drive. After those tests, his opinion is…

While you may have been enjoying the last dog days of summer and missed this big ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court, you can catch up on what you need to know now. In order to understand this recent decision and its implications, we have to backtrack to a previous court case, Birchfield v. North…

Lukacris (young attorney) walks into senior attorney’s [Atticus] office and following colloquy occurs: Lukacris: Why do all of your clients receive evaluations of some sort? Atticus: What do you mean? Lukacris: I have noticed that you routinely have clients evaluated for one thing or another! Atticus: Don’t you? Lukacris: No way! I am a trial…

August 1st, 2018, a new law came into effect in Minnesota. In January, a young child was killed when he was struck by a snowmobile driven by a man whose driver’s license had been revoked for previous DUI offenses. In response to this tragedy, legislators have enacted a new law, dubbed “Little Alan’s Law” in…