Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
This article proposes that the Legislature should amend section 609.035 to address the problems with the court-created version of the multiple-victim exception. First, the Legislature should amend the statute to allow for the imposition of multiple sentences in cases involving crimes committed against multiple victims. Second, in keeping with Minnesota’s goal of maintaining a rational, proportional sentencing system, the Legislature should limit the district court to imposing no more than two sentences per behavioral incident. Third, the Legislature should codify Minnesota Supreme Court case law holding that the court can only impose a sentence for the most serious offense committed per victim, using comparison of the statutory maximum sentences and the offense’s severity-level rankings under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines to determine which of several offenses is most serious. These charges will ensure that Minnesota’s sentencing system is applied consistently and even-handedly and that criminal defendants receive sentences commensurate with their culpability.
Recommended Citation
Butler, Benjamin J., "The Exception that Swallowed the Rule: Fixing the Multiple-Victim Exception to Minnesota Statute Section 609.035" (2013). Symposium: 50th Anniversary of the Minnesota Criminal Code-Looking Back and Looking Forward. 3.
https://open.mitchellhamline.edu/symposium-minnesota-criminal-code/3