Contrasting Problems, Then and Now

The Prohibition era was like a wave of organized crime that affected many of Americas major cities in the 1920s and 1930s, including cities in Minnesota. Notorious gangsters and mobsters ran wild in Minnesota's major cities like St. Paul. Perhaps the hardest thing to fight for the police officers of Minnesota was corruption. In a time where bribery, extortion, and pay offs were all too common, it was hard to distinguish which police officers were legitimate or compromised. Mobsters who ran the illegitimate underground operations of murder, racketeering, extortion, bribery, boot legged goods, and prostitution ran major cities as they pleased. Their business booming illegal operations allowed them to generously pay off countless police officers and run wild. Alcohol was illegal at the time, but it could be found almost everywhere. Why would a police officer arrest an individual for a law that he himself may even think is unreasonable? Better yet why would he risk his own life to arrest a mobster for petty crimes that are seen everywhere, every day? It was way to dangerous to be a good cop and do a good cops work, doing so could mean a sure death sentence. Being corrupt seemed like a much better alternative. Police officers didn't have the luxuries and technologies that officers have today. Statistically police officers back then were fewer in number. 24 hour shifts were much more rare in cold cold Minnesota then they are today. Mobsters back then were a force to be reckoned with, gangs were well manned and had advanced Tommy machine gun weaponry that could stand up to police officers any day of the week. Today officers are much better equipped with technology and training. Systems such as Coplink and 24 hour radio dispatch help fight crime more effectively. Of course corruption and gang violence are still things that police officers have to battle today, things are looking better. As time progresses police officers and the criminal justice system become better, more effective, and more efficient.

Some Criminal History

The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as the Prohibition Amendment from 1920-1933, prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. The mandated shutdown of breweries and distilleries ended the lawful production of alcoholic beverages and created a market that was filled by the unlawful production, sale, and control of bootlegged products and lawless activities which included smuggling, gambling, prostitution, extortion, robbery, and murder. Many of Minnesota's large cities became a center haven for crime much similar to those of Chicago's Al Capone and other mob lord activity seen across the country. Lawlessness and the corruption of officials and police along with the unintended consequences of the legislation infected many American cities, including St. Paul. The city became a center of operation and a haven for such notorious gangsters as John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, Roger "the Terrible" Touhy, Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, and the Barker gang, whose activities extended to robbing banks, holding up mail trucks and trains, and kidnapping and holding their hostages for ransom.

Retrieved on (September 29, 2009)
Moley, R. (May, 2007).
Gangsters in St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Library. Retrieved from
http://www.mnhs.org/library/history_topics/14gangsters.html

Cops! Where are they?

According to the 2004 census of state and local law enforcement agencies, Minnesota has a total of 442 agencies, 355 law enforcement agencies and 87 sheriffs’ offices statewide (Reeves, 2007). The total of full time local law enforcement personnel per 100,000 residents is 6810 and 5521 for the sheriffs’ offices (Reeves, 2007). The ratio per 100,000 residents to sworn officers is a combined 7947 officers statewide. The state law enforcement also has 821 full time employees per 100,000 residents with sworn personnel equaling 544 per 100,000 residents. In total, the state of Minnesota employs 8,491 full time sworn officers per 100,000 residents (Reeves, 2007).

Is this an adequate number of sworn officers to protect and serve the citizens of Minnesota? Probably not! The F.B.I. ranks Minnesota almost dead last with a ranking of 48th in the country for the number of police officers per 1,000 residents (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008). Even though Minnesota is more rural than most, citizens of Minnesota would like to see more police presence which in turn would encourage more community policing. Minnesota could use more sworn personnel. Minnesota recently attempted to increase the needed amount of officers by applying to the COPS program (community oriented policing) laid out earlier this year by the Department of Justice. Fourteen agencies in MN received an amount of around 11 million dollars through the COPS program This amount is only able to fund an additional 53 police officers in the state, a majority (28) will work for the St. Paul Police Department. According to the DOJ, the 1 billion awarded nationwide is only a small sliver of the total requested, at only 12% (Bodley, 2009). There is more demand than there is money. In Minnesota, however, out of the 470 odd officers requested, only 53 were accepted. This additional 53 officers is a small step toward increasing the states demand of more sworn officers and will no doubt help Minnesota with their policing for the good of the residents (Bodley, 2009). Minnesota may also benefit from hiring private security firms, however budget is always a hot topic.

Each city is responsible for determining the amount of policing needs. The leaders of communities determine the needs of their residents; how much police visibility do we want, what is our available funds, what is the population, and what is the current and forecasted growth rate. Without the funds to hire and train new officers, the Mayor of Wanamingo John Simonson states, "(we have) contracts with the Sheriff for police coverage rather than hire our own police officers. This decision was made because the city believes we will be getting quality service at less cost” (The City of Wanamingo, 2007).


Sources:

Bodley, P. (2009, August 6). No stimulus dollars for more police officers. ABCNewspapers. Retrieved September 25, 2009, from http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=847

The City of Wanamingo. (2007) Goodhue County, Minnesota, Wanamingo Office.Retrieved September 25, 2009, from
http://www.co.goodhue.mn.us/departments/sheriff/Wanamingo.aspx

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2008, November). Crime and Safety-Number of police officers Rate per 1000 population. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Reaves, B. (2007, June 13). Bureau of Justice Statistics. [Chart]. Census of State of Local Law Enforcement Agencies. 2004 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2004, NCJ 212749.

Perham, Minnesota Community Policing

The mission statement of the city of Perham, Minnesota police department is: “to protect and serve the citizens of Perham in the most effective, responsive, and ethical manner possible. The Police Department will always be striving to improve service to the Citizens, and will be continually conscious of new and innovative community policing programs, which will allow us to meet the needs of the Citizens we serve. We understand that in order to be effective as a Police Department we must be aware of what is taking place around us, and be responsive and flexible to change with the innovation of technology. We will strive to maintain a professional image within the community. We believe that for us to be successful in accomplishing these goals, we must understand and adapt to the needs of the citizens we serve.” The city of Perham’s police department does much more than just police, they also provide services, such as: Drug Abuse Resistance and Education, or D.A.R.E. Where the officers will go in and talk to kids during their school day about the dangers of drugs and drunk driving. They also offer the MN Safe and Sober challenge, where the program is designed to heighten public awareness in the areas of seatbelts, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and it is their effort to decrease the number of alcohol related driving accidents. This department has also made a crosswalk safety program, where they work with the public to bring attention to new laws in the state about crosswalks, and they have been putting “yield to pedestrian” signs at primary crosswalks in downtown Perham. Another thing the Perham police department does with the public is a “Bike Rodeo”. The clinic includes bike registration, bike safety check, obstacle course, drawing an giveaways for prizes. During the rodeo bike helmets are on sale for a nominal price. The Police Department and Lions Club, send flyers home with elementary students in the spring of the year as to when the clinic is, and the best part, the clinic registration is only $1.

One of the challenges of community policing however is reorienting recruitment. However, the city of Perham has successfully dealt with this challenge in a well thought out and organized manor. They have a reserve officer program that is made up from volunteers from the community, that has duties such as: residential checks, patrol, bike safety, traffic control and security to name a few. The rules are you must be 21 years old, with the exception if you are enrolled in criminal justice in college, than you can join younger, a good driving, be in good physical condition, and you must be at least be a high school graduate. This is just one of the examples of how the city of Perham overcomes community policing difficulties.

Sources Used:

1.http://www.cityofperham.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6F2EA21C-DD29-4AC1-8DBE-388ADCE1D3D5}&DE=

2. http://www.cityofperham.com/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&SEC=%7BF27E64C6-2259-4707-B337-D12CFF21A3FD%7D

Police Brutality in St. Paul Minnesota at RNC

Photo by Paul Demko, Minnesota Independent



Youth beaten by police at RNC.

Source: The Minnesota Independant

Insanity Test

The M’Naughten test is used in Minnesota. This rule is used in the majority of the United States. It was named after the case of Daniel M’Naughten in 1843 in Great Britain. He was a Scottish woodcutter who killed the secretary to the prime minister in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the prime minister. M’Naughten seemingly believed that the prime minister was the reason behind all his personal and financial misfortunes. During his trial, several witnesses testified that he was insane, to which the jury cleared M’Naughten, finding him “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Queen Victoria did not like this outcome, so she appealed to the House of Lords to review the ruling with a panel of judges. The judges annulled the jury decision, and the method that resulted from their review became the foundation of the law regulating legal responsibility in cases of insanity in England: “that a defendant should not be held responsible for his actions if he could not tell that his actions were wrong at the time he committed them.”(PBS) The M’Naughten was later used by American courts and legislatures as well.

The verdict Minnesota hands down if the offender meets the requirements of the insanity test is “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.” As far as punishment, the defendant is generally placed in a psychiatric hospital.

From Daniel M'Naughten to John Hinckley: A Brief History of the Insanity Defense . (2005). Retrieved September 22, 2009, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/crime/trial/history.html#mn

Siegel, L. J. (2008). Various Insanity Defense Standards. In Introduction to Criminal Justice (Twelfth ed. , ). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth .

Minnesota Statutes

Felony:
"Assault" is:
(1) an act done with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death; or
(2) the intentional infliction of or attempt to inflict bodily harm upon another.
Misdemeanor:
Burglary: “Whoever enters a building without consent and with intent to commit a crime, or enters a building without consent and commits a crime while in the building, either directly or as an accomplice, commits burglary…”

The assault crime is similar because they both state that assault is the intent of putting one in bodily harm. The books definition isn’t just the intent but putting one in fear of being assaulted. The burglary crime in the book and Minnesota’s statute are the same because they both are the intent to commit a crime when breaking and entering; however, Minnesota’s statute is more specific in stating that if you are directly or indirectly involved, you are guilty of burglary. Over all Minnesota’s statutes are more specific due to it being geared toward the running the law of the state.

Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (2009). Website about Minnesota Statutes. Retrieved online from: https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609.02&keyword_type=all&keyword=felony

Minnetrista man charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, a felony

37-year old Jeremy Scott Eggersgluss was charge with reckless discharge of a firearm, a felony, on Friday September 18th in Minnestrista, Minnesota. Minestrista police come to his home on Kingswood Road early Thursday after a call a multiple shots fired according to criminal complaints. Neighbors claimed the shots began around 11:30 p.m. and conitnued for about half an hour.

First reponse officials were forced to retreat twice upon hearing the gunshots and ever forced to call emergency response units. According to Minnetrista Public Safety Department Chief David Kold officers made several attempts to establish contact with the homeowners. Officials tried flashing car lights as well as using the public address system but to no avail. It is after these failed attempts that units from the Lake Area Emergerncy Response Team were called in. The LAEP is a police tactical unit made up of members from the cities of Orono, South Lake Minnetonka and Mound Minnessota. Upon arriving to the scene the LAEP used tear gas as well as pepper spray to draw Eggersgluss from the home. Police were also forced to call a state police helicopter to the scene under the impression they were facing a stand-off.


After arresting Eggersgluss police search the home and found two shotguns, a handgun in a cabinet, and a rifle with a silencer attached the barrel. Police also found 20 shotgun shells on the deck and one fired 9-mm cartridge casing. Upon further investigation Eggergluss was found to have had a blood alcohol level of 0.17 well above the legal limit of .10. Eggergluss later admited to consuming wine prior to the inicident. Kolb claims thas despite this alcohol was not a factor in the incident.

Officials later spoke with a 32-year old woman who also also resides in the home. She informed police that Eggersgluss came in worried about his chickens after firing off some shots to scare off raccoons. She told authorities he did this about 10 times.

Eggergluss claims he was firing at raccoons to protect is chicken coop. He told authorities that he fired his shotgun about 15 times and shot at raccoons ten times. He also claims that he was trying to train his dog by shooting at other wildlife including cayotes as well as a blue jays. He posted bail set a $20,00 and is to appear Monday afternoon in court at the Hennepin County District Court. No one was injured during the incident.


photo credit to:WN/ Aruna Mirasdar

souce: Star Tribune

Internet Crimes

In 2007 IC3 received at total of 2773 complaints from the state of Minnesota. The top ten complaints from Minnesota being: Auction Fraud, non-delivery of merchandise, check fraud, confidence fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, financial institutions fraud, Nigerian letter fraud, identity theft, and finally threats. The top dollar loss occurred in non-delivery of merchandise, and this cost the victim $448,040.00, while state losses all together were reported at $3.9 million. The median loss for each crime was: Auction Fraud: $506.00, Non-delivery: $386.00, Check fraud: $3,134.00, Confidence fraud: $1209.86, Credit card fraud: $210.40, Computer fraud: $2,000.00, Financial institutions fraud: $1858.00, Nigerian letter fraud: $3,000.00, Identity theft: $1,137.41, and Threats: $1,500. The total median dollar loss for all the complaints was $866.99. Of the crimes committed in Minnesota in 2007, males carried out 77.3%, while females carried out 22.7%. Per 100,000 population Minnesota ranks 38th highest at 16.95 while ranking 26th on total number of perpetrators identified as residing in Minnesota. This total accounts for 1.2% of all complaints where the perpetrator was identified. Of all the complaints in Minnesota, 56.7% of them were Male, and 43.3% of them were called in by females. Complaints called in by people under 20 made up 3.4% of all total complaints, while 20-29 year olds made up 22.2%, 30-39 year olds made up 23.6%, 40-49 year olds made up 24.5%, 50-59 year olds made up 17.9%, and people over 60 contributed with *.4% of the total complaints made in Minnesota in 2007. The amount of money lost per group, per complaint, looks like this: under 20 year olds lost $400.00, 20-29 year olds lost $525.98, 30-39 year olds lost $650.00, 40-49 year olds lost $1,200.00, 50-59 year olds lost $1,000.00, while 60 and older folks lost $930.00. Per 100,000 population Minnesota ranks 28th highest at 53.35 while also ranking 23rd on total number of complainants identified as residing in Minnesota. This total accounts for only 1.6% of all complainants in the United States.

Sources Used:

http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2007/Minnesota%202007%20Report.pdf

Controversial Legislation

The hunting of the Gray wolves has been a controversial topic in Minnesota for decades. Over hunting caused the species to be nearly extinct forcing the federal government to take action. Minnesota had to comply. In 1974, wolves in the lower 48 United States were listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. This listing gave complete protection to wolves in Minnesota, and prevented the state from managing wolves in any way that caused harm or death. Wolves in the northern United States have always been an issue for ranchers as packs of wolves have been known to attack rancher livestock. Should ranchers have the right to kill an endangered animal if their property, industry, and means of income are being vandalized by wolves? Protection from the Federal Endangered Species Act has successfully protected wolves in Minnesota giving Minnesota the highest population of Gray wolves to date. Current restrictions have been lifted allowing ranchers to kill any wolf harming agriculture or livestock as the Gray wolf is no longer an endangered species. Legislation regarding this animal have gone in circles in regards to its wildlife status.

On March 12, 2007, Minnesota's wolf population was removed from the federal endangered species list. Wolves were managed under State Statute, Rule and by the Minnesota wolf management plan.

On September 29, 2008, after 18 months of state wolf management, a federal district court ruling placed wolves back on the endangered species list.

May 4, 2009 -20In order to comply with the federal court ruling, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service submitted another federal rule in April 2009 to delist wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment. Wolves in Minnesota were removed from the federal endangered species list and returned management authority to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

July 1, 2009 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to a settlement that reversed the decision to delist gray wolves, returning Minnesota’s wolves to the "threatened" classification under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Solution: Make it illegal to kill any Gray wolf in the state of Minnesota. History repeats itself, don’t let this animal become extinct again, doing so would greatly affect the food chain and equilibrium of Mother Nature. Ranchers should realize that wolf aggression is natural to livestock and should let nature run its course. If it is allowed to kill wolves sparingly, whose to monitor which killing is just and unjust?

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At the height of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, 29 states began lowering their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age. And of those 29 states drinking ages varied from 18 to 20 and sometimes even varied based on the type of alcohol being consumed. Minnesota was one of these states. Traffic fatalities rose as did a ccidents on national highways. On July 17, 1984, President Reagan signed into law the Uniform Drinking Age Act mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal drinking age within five years.

Opinion: Around the same time President Carter made it mandatory for men ages 18 to 25 to register for the selective service in regards to the United States military. If young adults can be drafted and possibly die for their country, they should be able consume alcohol. It’s that simple. Alcohol has been a cultural norm in society for generations and young adults will always find ways to get a hold of it. Don’t punish young adults for an unjust law, spend time and effort on more important laws.

source http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/wolves/index.html

Minnesota Justice Research Statistics

The trend for violent crimes is decreasing:
Murder decreasing 1.8% from 111 in 2007 to 109 in 2008
Rape decreasing 2.9% from 2,341 in 2007 to 2292 in 2008
Robbery decreasing 11.7% from 4,695 in 2007 to 4,148 to 2008
Aggravated assault decreasing 6.7% from 8,081 in 2007 to 7,536 in 2008

The trend for property crimes is also decreasing:
Burglary decreasing 9.5% from 28,790 in 2007 to 26,063 in 2008
Theft/Larceny decreasing 1% from 111,216 in 2007 to 110,372 in 2008
Motor Vehicle Theft decreasing 18% from 12,179 in 2007 to 9,948 in 2008.
Larceny is the most frequent crime committed in Minnesota.

Three Questions for UCR Data:
1. If a man slips a date rape pill into his date’s drink, but doesn’t get the chance to rape what is this recorded as?
2. In self defense, if a man is shooting back at someone shooting at him and accidentally shoots a by stander, is it considered homicide?
3. If a garage is left open and a person walking by takes something from the open garage would this be a crime?
Three Questions for NCVS Data:
1. Has there been a recent crime at your school?
2. Have you been aware of someone who was in possession of a weapon?
3. Do you know of anyone that is in relation to a gang?
Three Questions for Self-Report Data:
1. Have you been threatened by a person with a weapon?
2. Has any of your property been stolen?
3. Has someone broken into your house while you were present, but did not harm you?

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Minnesota Justice Information Services (2008): State of Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Uniform Crime Report, retrieved online from http://www.dps.state.mn.us/bca/CJIS/Documents/crime2008%5Cmci2008.pdf

Government does not provide free college & techinical education to all citizens

The higher education system is vitally important of American society.Our society has great expectations of higher education. We don't really look to other institutions as a resources for the future. Higher education jobs is not just to train students, but to contribute to and answer the questions we face about society,quality of life and health. One of the most important contributions that higher education makes to the nation as a whole is to foster economic growth.

On the run

The Star Tribune reported that two students at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota escaped with minor injuries after being assaulted by a group of five young men on bicycles. Prior to the assaults, a campus security guard indicated that the same men punched a woman who was walking near the campus. Shortly thereafter, a young man at a bus stop reported to have been assaulted by the same group of men after refusing to hand over his I pod to the group of men. Once more, another young man walking from his dorm apparently crossed the men, and when he refused to let them use his cell phone, the men punched him in the face and head. According to reports, none of the victims of the assaults were seriously injured nor were they linked in any way. A spokeswoman for Macalester College says the crimes are rather unusual for the neighborhood they occurred in, as it is known to be a quiet one. Thus far, there have been no arrests made.

With all of the information given in the article, these particular incidents could be considered as a combination of crimes of the rational choice and societal theory. The assaults are seemingly random acts of violence with no apparent motives other than wanting to display some sort of message through abuse. The offenders are aware of what they are doing, as they repeatedly act out the crimes. It’s quite possible that the group of men could feel unwanted or unequal upon society as a whole, thus initiating several attacks on complete strangers, some of whom would not turn over personal belongings. The message conveyed is, “Give me what I want, or suffer the consequence.”

If and when the offenders are arrested, there would certainly be plenty of reason and opportunity to utilize counseling and a highly resourceful program that would instill positive reinforcement. Dependent on whether or not the victims desire or have the ability to press charges, incarceration would perhaps be another way, if not the only way to get the offenders to account for their actions.

Complete Article: www.startribune.com

Picture of the State of Minnesota

http://cartophilia.com/blog/postcards/minnesota.jpg

Justice Ain't Free

For the state of Minnesota, the total justice system expenditure for 2006 was $2,643,347. With a break down that looks like this, 48.9% or $1,293,770 being spent on police protection, 23.1% or $610,777 being spent on Judicial and legal needs, and finally 27.9% or $738,800 being spent on corrections. The most money, obviously, was spent on police protection, and the reason for that would have to be because people like to feel they are safe where they live in Minnesota, or anywhere for that mater. If people think they can put more and more money into a police force and think by doing that that they are protected from the “bad guys” then they will do it that is why the most money was spent on police protection, because people want to feel safe. One way that could reduce police protection spending would be to maybe, say a busy highway is having speeding problems, but they want to put less officers out there to reduce spending, just park a police car on the shoulder of a busy highway and put dummies in it to make it look like the police are there, and people will slow down, problem solved for speeding, and no officer had to be paid to sit in the car and watch, it was free to just park the police car there. Another way to reduce police spending could be if the police station needs another working radio for dispatch,
or something of the sort, they could go to another police force and see if they have an extra one they could have, or see if they could get a deal on a good used one instead of going out and buying all new equipment, which has got to get expensive after a while. The last thing I could think of that would reduce police spending is if they need a new police cruiser, or a new K-9 truck, then go to the police impound lot and find cars that the police station owns there that would fit their needs, and turn those into police cars. That way it saves the police force the trouble and money of having to go out and buy a new car and pay the expenses of a new car and what not, that is some ways I believe Minnesota can cut their police protection costs down some, and save some money in the long run.

Mission Statements are for Everyone

Minnesota Department of Corrections
Website address:
http://www.corr.state.mn.us/

Mission Statement is
Our Mission:
To hold offenders accountable and offer opportunities for change while restoring justice for victims and contributing to a safer Minnesota.

Our Dedicated staff will accomplish this by:

Fostering community partnerships
Optimizing best practices
Creating a respectful diverse culture
Utilizing effective communication
Strategic and efficient use of resources

Our Vision is to FOCUS on reducing risk.

**The Minnesota Dept of corrections mission statement seems to utilize both the Rehabilitation prospective and the Restorative Justice Prospective. While the statement admits to the importance of holding offenders accountable, it also offers to want to constructively restore justice as well as offering chances for change while making Minnesota safer without much focus or emphasis on punishment and more on ways of using resources and ideas to better the community.**

Minnesota Department of Public Safety

Website address:
http://www.dps.state.mn.us/

Mission Statement
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is committed to protecting citizens and communities through activities that promote and support prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, education, and enforcement. These objectives are achieved through a focus on saving lives, providing efficient and effective services, maintaining public trust, and developing strong partnerships.

Dept of public safety mission statement adheres to the Rehabilitation Prospective as it offers activities, education, and recovery as key elements of making the public aware of ways to protect themselves as well as their own community. The statement displays a more educational or structural way of dealing with safety as a whole, as it suggests that each program is dedicated to the utmost public safety.




Minnesota Judicial Branch

Website address: http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx

Mission Statement:
The purpose of the Minnesota Judicial Council is to govern the Judicial Branch through the establishment and monitoring of administrative policies designed to achieve an accessible, fair and timely system of justice statewide and to ensure that the Judicial Branch functions as an independent and accountable branch of government.

In support of this purpose, the Judicial Council will exercise administrative policy-making authority for, but not limited to, the following:
Development and implementation of the branch strategic plan;
Budget priorities, budget request, and submission of the Judicial Branch budget request to the executive and legislative branches;
Collective bargaining;
Human resources;
Technology;
Education and organizational development;
Finance, including budget distribution amongst levels of court and amongst districts;
Programs, including jury, Guardian ad Litem, interpreter, expedited child support, and Children’s Justice Initiative; and
Core services, court performance and accountability.

The Judicial Branch mission statement indicates a policy in favor of the due process prospective of justice as it wants the system to be fair and timely, but also effective and accountable.

"Cake" for Everyone!

"Cake" for everyone!
The First layer of the Criminal Justice “Wedding Cake” is the Celebrated Cases. These cases involve famous people and those who are in the media. They are focused on by the media and receive the full spectrum of criminal justice procedures. The Second layer is the Serious Felonies. These cases include rape, robbery, and burglaries. They are in the second layer because they are committed by experienced offenders and the offenders receive a full jury trial. The Third layer is the less serious felonies. They include crimes committed by first time offenders or by people who are interrelated with one another. The Fourth layer and the last layer are the misdemeanors. These include crimes such as shoplifting, public drunkenness, minor assault (battery), and disorderly conduct.

Layer One: Celebrated Crimes
Chargers line backer, Shawne Merriman, was arrested for choking and restraining his girlfriend, Tila Tequila. She signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, charging him with battery and false imprisonment, both of which are felonies. Merriman says that he was trying to protect her; he was only taking necessary precautions to keep her from driving drunk. He had a few witnesses that would testify that Merriman was doing no harm and acting in the right. Merriman and his attorney seem confident that he won’t be charged by the District Attorney’s Office. However, for his football career things aren’t looking as great, general manager, A.J. Smith is not happy with Merriman’s extracurricular activity and just might let him leave when he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.
Wilson, B (2009, September 06). Chargers lb merriman arrested in domestic call. Yahoo! Sports, Retrieved September 07, 2009, from http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-merrimanarrested&prov=ap&type=lgns
Layer Two: Serious Felonies
In St. Paul, Minnesota two groups of young adults, believed to be in their 20’s, were having separate gatherings in their yards. The first party was interrupted around 1:45 am by two men wearing sweatshirts with hoods and bandanas. One of these men had a gun and told everyone to keep their heads down and give them everything they had. The second get together was broken up around 2:45 am. However, this crowd was not so cooperative, there was confrontation and one of the men at the party was shot in the abdomen. He was rushed to the hospital as the robbers fled on foot. The two men are still on the loose, but there is a look out for them. The people of the neighborhood feel they are going to end up with more punishment then it was worth, they ended up taking five wallets, two cell phones, a pack of cigarettes, less than one hundred dollars, and some now-useless credit cards.
Meersman, Tom (2009, September 06). Startribune.com. Retrieved September 7, 2009, Web site: http://www.startribune.com/local/57609362.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

Layer Three: Less- Serious Felonies
Two men are facing felony charges for taking pictures of two half dressed teens in a bedroom. They then took the pictures and showed other students at their high school, this is how the two students found out that pictures had been taken of them. One of the boys was suspended from school for admitting he had taken the pictures the other is facing other charges for a crime he committed later in the year, the pictures, according to court papers, were taken in November of last year.
Powell, J (2009, September 02). Startribune.com. Retrieved September 7, 2009, Web site: http://www.startribune.com/local/south/56673902.html?elr=KArksU, UUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Layer Four: Misdemeanors
Kids were caught draping trees with toilet paper against the wishes of the homeowners. The kids were cited with a petty misdemeanor and face up to a $300 fine. The punishment is also in hopes to deal with the trashing and toilet papering that usually comes with the homecoming activities. Most homeowners understand that this is a “traditional” activity during homecoming week they laugh and clean up the small mess. However, others were taking it seriously and raged back at the kids.
Lange, C (2009, September 02). Kids caught tp'ing in rural kandiyohi county face up to $300 fine. Twin Cities, Retrieved September 07, 2009, from http://www.twincities.com/ci_13252113?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com

A Welcome Post

Welcome to the Minnesota Mystery Machine criminal justice blog! This blog will follow and explore the criminal justice system in the state of Minnesota as it relates to the integration of police officers, courts and corrections under the umbrella of CRJ104! This blog is maintained by a group of undergraduate students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.