A Misdemeanor is a charge that is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1000.00 fine. A typical misdemeanor charge is an assault where there are no “substantial” or “great” bodily injuries.
A Gross Misdemeanor is a charge that is punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $3000.00 fine. A typical gross misdemeanor charge is an assault or violation of an order for protection where the defendant has a prior conviction for assault within 5 years of this new charge.
A Felony is a charge that is punishable by more than 1 year in prison and a fine. A typical felony charge is an assault where there are “substantial” or “great” bodily injuries, an assault that involves a dangerous weapon, specific threats to cause harm, kidnapping, or false imprisonment. A defendant may also be charged with a felony if they have 2 convictions for domestic assault offenses within a certain time period.
An Arraignment also called a First Appearance is the first time that a defendant will appear in criminal court after being charged with a crime. At the arraignment, the defendant will be informed of the charges against him or her, a public defender may be appointed to represent the defendant, and a judge will decide if bail is appropriate, and if conditions of release should be imposed on a defendant if released from jail. Most criminal cases will continue on to the next stage of the criminal process, the pretrial, so that more information can be obtained before the criminal case is resolved.
The Pretrial also called a PCPT is the next stage in criminal court after a defendant has been charged with a crime. At the pretrial, the prosecutor and the defense attorney, or defendant if he or she does not have an attorney, will meet to discuss the case and may discuss a potential resolution to the case. Many cases do settle at the pretrial stage, but if the case cannot be settled at the pretrial, the case will be set for trial.
The Trial is the final stage in the criminal court process. While most domestic violence cases do not have an actual trial, there is the chance in every domestic violence case, that there may be a trial. Under the United States Constitution, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are entitled to have a trial before a judge or a jury. At the trial, it is the Prosecutor’s job to offer enough evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty of the crime that he or she is being charged with. To do so, the victim and witnesses may need to testify in court as to what happened during the incident. The defendant may present evidence to show that he or she is not guilty of the crime charged, but does not have to offer any evidence if they do not want to do so. After hearing all of the evidence presented at the trial, the jury, or the judge if there is no jury, will decide whether or not the defendant is guilty of the crime with which he or she has been charged. If a defendant is found guilty, the defendant will be sentenced by the judge for violating the law. The exact terms of the sentence will vary in each case, but may typically include some or all of the following: serving time in jail, stayed jail time, fines, meeting with a probation officer, anger management, domestic abuse programming, alcohol or chemical treatment and or counseling, restitution, and other conditions relevant to the case. If a defendant is found not guilty after a trial, the criminal part of a domestic case is over.
The Prosecutor is the lawyer who represents the State in the criminal case. It is the prosecutor’s job to pursue criminal charges in cases if they believe that they have sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has occurred. It is therefore the prosecutor who makes the decision to “press charges” and not the victim. Prosecutors generally will want to know what the victim’s wishes are in a particular case, but must decide how to handle a case based on all the evidence obtained about the case. Victims sometimes think that the prosecutor is “their” attorney, and it is true that the prosecutor usually is concerned with what the victim wants to see happen with the case. The prosecutor, however, is not the victim’s attorney, but the state’s attorney, and can not offer the victim any legal advice and may make decisions about the handling and resolution of the case that are contrary to what the victim would like to see happen to the case. A victim generally does not need to hire his or her own attorney in a criminal case, but may do so if he or she wishes to do so.
The Defense Attorney is the lawyer who represents the Defendant in a criminal case. It is the defense attorney’s job to advise the defendant and advocate on his or her behalf. A defendant does not have a defense attorney in every criminal case, but it is often a good idea as the defense attorney can advise the defendant as to their rights under the law and whether they have any possible defenses to the crime.
The Public Defender is a type of defense attorney, who may be appointed to represent the defendant free of charge. The United States Constitution guarantees a defendant in criminal cases the right to have a free attorney appointed to represent them, if the defendant is found eligible, based on his or her income and assets
Defendant is the term that is most commonly used to refer to someone who has been charged with a crime following a domestic incident. The defendant may also be called the Suspect, especially if the defendant is not arrested immediately following the domestic incident. Every defendant in a criminal case is considered innocent until proven guilty and has other rights protected under the United States and Minnesota Constitutions, including the right to have a trial before a judge or jury, the right to confront the witnesses against them, and the right to remain silent. Victims sometimes get frustrated at the number of rights defendants seem to have, but these rights are fundamental to the American system of justice, which seeks to protect all persons from being unjustly convicted under the law.
Victim is the term that will be commonly used to refer to the person who is reporting a domestic violence incident. The victim of a domestic violence incident has numerous rights protected under Minnesota law, the majority can be found in the Chapter 611A, the victim’s rights act. These rights include: the right to apply for reparations, the right to participate in the prosecution if a suspect is charged, the right to be notified of a proposed plea agreement, the right to be present at sentencing and the right to object orally, or in writing, or through the prosecutor to the proposed plea negotiation, and the right to be provided notification of the final disposition of the criminal case.
A “tab charge” is the process by which a defendant is most often charged with violating State law in misdemeanor cases. A defendant is “tab charged” when the arresting or investigating police officers tell the jail, that the defendant has violated a specific law, and that the defendant should be charged with violating that law. When a defendant is “tab charged”, no formal charging document is filed with the Court. “Tab charges” are allowed only in misdemeanor cases. The “tab charge” is allowed by the Rules of Criminal Procedure in misdemeanor cases partly because of the great number of misdemeanor cases that arise every day and the need to have a faster charging process. A defendant may demand a formal written complaint in a misdemeanor case.
A Complaint is a formal written document that charges a defendant with violating State law. The complaint must contain sufficient facts to show that the defendant has violated a specific State law and must be signed and approved by a Judge. A complaint is required to charge a defendant with a crime in all gross misdemeanor and felony cases, and may be issued in some misdemeanor cases.
“Beyond a reasonable doubt” is the standard of proof that the prosecutor must meet in order to convict a defendant of a criminal charge. It is the highest burden of proof under the law, and is much higher than the standard in civil cases, such as order for protection hearings, where the burden of proof that must be met to issue the Order is “clear and convincing evidence”.
A “factual basis” must be given when the defendant is going to plead guilty to a criminal charge. It is a listing of enough facts to satisfy the court that the defendant is in fact guilty of the crime they are pleading guilty to, but it does not have to contain all of the facts of the incident.
A “domestic abuse no contact order” is an order issued by the court that prohibits a defendant in a domestic case from having any contact with the victim. A “Domestic Abuse No Contact Order” will always be issued when a suspect bails out of jail before appearing in court and will be requested in most cases when the defendant appears in court. The decision to issue the “Domestic Abuse No Contact Order” is up to the judge and one may be issued even if the victim does want contact with the suspect. If a victim wants to provide information to the court about their wishes as to whether a “Domestic Abuse No Contact Order” should be issued, they should contact the victim advocates or liaisons who work with the prosecuting attorney. If a suspect is found to be violating a “Domestic Abuse No Contact Order”, the suspect can be arrested and charged with a separate misdemeanor offense for violating the no contact order. The “Domestic Abuse no Contact Order” will remain in place until it is removed by a judge or the case is dismissed or the defendant is found not guilty by a judge. If a victim wants to request that a “Domestic Abuse No Contact Order” be lifted, he or she should follow the procedure listed on the handout included in this packet.
Evidence based Prosecution also sometimes called victimless prosecution is the term used by prosecutors to describe an approach to prosecuting domestic assault cases, where prosecutors base their decision to prosecute a particular domestic violence case based on the evidence documented in the case and not on the victim’s wishes as to prosecution. By using this approach, prosecutors hope that they will be able to hold more defendants accountable for their actions and will be able to take the pressure off victims from having to “press charges” against the person with whom they may remain in a relationship. This approach to prosecution is used by both the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
*Information provided by: Michelle M. Jacobson, Assistant Minneapolis City Attorney