Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Re: criminal law

It is ultimately up to the State to decide to bring charges against the individual. The State will take into consideration what the church has to say, but the State alone has the authority to charge someone with a crime.

I would STRONGLY advise the individual NOT to speak with police or anyone else about this incident. Burglary and theft charges of this magnitude are serious charges carrying harsh penalties. The individual needs to speak with a lawyer before speaking to anyone else.

He/she can contact my office for a free consultation.

Thank you.

Re: criminal law

The County Attorney can file a Complaint claiming a felony crime for a burglary or for a theft over $500. The victim's wishes can be disregarded by the prosecutor, and usually are disregarded.

If the suspect admits facts which will help the prosecutor convict, then the prosecutor is far more likely to file criminal charges. The more provable a case is, the more likely criminal charges will be filed. A confession makes a case "provable."

The suspect would be self-destructive to talk to police, or anyone other than their lawyer or their priest, about a crime.

Re: criminal law

Thank you for your question, which highlights one of the most common misconceptions about criminal prosecutions -- that crime victims "press charges."

The popular wisdom, gathered from countless TV crime show dramas is that the victim of a crime can decide whether or not to "press charges." A great deal of air time has been devoted to heart wrenching scenes in which a "criminal" has a sudden awakening, and after much painful soul searching and perhaps some shameless groveling, restores the victim's faith in humanity. In a climactic act of extraordinary forgiveness, the victim calls the prosecutor and states that he no longer wants to press charges. Sometimes, the camera will then turn to the prosecutor, whos visible frustration, or anger, or confusion provides a nice little coda that adds something like an exclamation point to the show's theme.

This is mostly fiction.

In our system of jurisprudence, criminal prosecutions are started by the state, on behalf of the people of the state. The prosecutor does not represent the victim. Instead, his or her responsibility is to protect the people of the state, whether or not the victim may wish to have the case prosecuted. Thus, all criminal prosecutions are captioned, "The State of Minnesota vs. Mr. Defendant."

This can occasionally produce curious results. I once had a case in which the victim of an assault was charged with criminal contempt of court (a crime), because she refused to cooperate with the prosecution and testify against her husband in an assault case. The wife was subpoenaed to testify against her husband, even though she pleaded with the prosecutor not to prosecute. When she refused to appear in court, she was arrested and charged with criminal contempt. It did not matter why she chose not to cooperate, and mattered not whether she had a good reason for her decision; she was charged nevertheless. The prosecutor intended to protect the people of the state of Minnesota from her husband, with or without her approval of the case.

The decision whether to prosecute is in the hands of the prosecutor, and in some instances, the prosecutor will respect the wishes of the crime victim, but is not required to do its bidding. The law requires the prosecutor to consult with (or notify) a crime victim about certain developments in a criminal prosecution, but in the end, the decision whether to charge a case, and how it should be resolved, is in the hands of the prosecutor. This is called "prosecutorial discretion."

Please feel free to call if you have further questions, and good luck.