Minnesota's Crime

A Minnesota criminal lawyer is met with intense challenges on a daily basis. With the states population is over five million people, the crime rate is rising. Some claim that this is due to the economic hardship that our country is facing. Especially in Minnesota where unemployment is high, it is suggested that the more people out of work, the less money they have resulting in more people willing to commit crimes in order to obtain money or property that is not theirs. Minnesota crime law does not differ much from any other state in the United States. A Minnesota criminal lawyer could be representing a bank robber one day and a possible rapist the next day. Most people who study Minnesota criminal law will tell you that the state has a wide variety of criminals but the two most popular crimes in the state are rape and arson.

• In Minneapolis, MN there were over twenty thousand property crimes last year. Property crimes indicate stealing anything that does not belong to the individual committing the crime. This can include money, jewelry, retail goods or any other personal or commercial property. Minnesota criminal law has strong punishments for people who commit these crimes. A Minnesota criminal lawyer is met with cases like these very frequently due to the high volume of property crime in the state.

• Last year there were over five thousand violent crimes in Minneapolis, MN. Violent crimes are when the person committing the crime uses or threatens to use physical harm to someone. The actual violent crime can either be the goal of the offender or the violent crime can be the way they accomplish a property crime. For example, if a criminal is robbing a store, he might hurt or kill someone in order to get what he wants. Minnesota criminal law attempts to prevent these violent crimes from happening and has extremely harsh punishments for violent criminals. A Minnesota criminal lawyer will represent many of these criminals through out a given year.

Every state in the United States sees both violent and property crimes. Cities with bigger populations tend to have a higher crime rate due to the amount of homes and commercial businesses there are. Minnesota does a good job in trying to prevent all criminals from committing more crimes and Minnesota criminal law makes sure that these criminals face justice. A Minnesota criminal lawyer will see first hand how bad the crime is in their state because they are the ones representing the criminals.

Minnesota Lawyers

The Senate race between incumbent Norm Coleman and democratic challenger Al Franken was not expected to turn out as a task for Minnesota lawyers, but once the race was to close to call Norm Coleman needed a Minnesota lawyer and Al Franken needed a Minnesota lawyer. Both parties claimed that they were the victor and that the opposing side was grasping at straws. All Minnesota lawyers that were involved knew this was going to be a lengthy process.

• The Minnesota lawyer for Norm Coleman told the Minnesota Supreme Court that thousands of ballots had not been counted, but when Coleman’s Minnesota lawyer was asked to support that claim with evidence, he was unable to do so. There were several recounts and many court hearings ending at the state supreme court. This process went on for seven months making it the longest senate race in our nation’s history. Minnesotans waited and waited what seemed like forever to see who their other senator would be.

• Towards the end of the process it seemed clear that democratic challenger Al Franken was going to be the winner and that the rest of the proceedings were just semantics. However, both Minnesota lawyers stood firm on their case. Each Minnesota lawyer believed they had a fair chance. It was not until June of 2009 that a decision was made and Al Franken was elected the new senator of Minnesota. Both Minnesota lawyers put forth a huge effort for their clients. Senator Franken only won the election by a few hundred votes.

Minnesotans are very happy that the race is over. The situation was getting mass amounts of media attention and rightfully so. While there might have been some glitches in the Minnesota voting process and mistakes may or may not have been made by officials and justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court, it seemed that the process worked itself out and Franken came out as the victor. This should be a lesson to all politicians to never take a lead in the polls for granted. Franken was not favored in the beginning of the race and he ended up winning. This was a similar situation to the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Recounts and hearings take time and it can turn into a long and grueling process. The important issue is that the system works in the end so that the American people can choose a leader in a fair and bi-partisan way.

Minnesota Debate Immigration

One of the most important issues concerning Minnesota residents is immigration. There is debate between many lawyers in Minnesota between what is fair or morally right and what is legal. Many Minnesota residents believe there needs to be reform to the current immigration laws. One lawyer in Minnesota demands there should be a fence along the United States and Mexico borders while another lawyer in Minnesota claims that a fence is not a good long term solution.

• There are a group of lawyers in Minnesota that believe that there are many illegal immigrants taking jobs that legal Unites States citizens should have. At a time when not only Minnesota’s unemployment rate is high, but the country’s unemployment is rising as well, every Minnesotan should have a fair opportunity to work. Some Minnesota companies, especially those that deal with agriculture hire illegal immigrants because of their experience of the field and their productivity as well as the economic benefits of hiring illegal immigrants. Since the immigrants are here illegally and job opportunities are slim to none, many illegal immigrants are willing to work for less than minimum wage and are paid in cash because they are not on the books. Some lawyers in Minnesota suggest that there should be fines imposed on employers if they are caught hiring illegal immigrants. This is a heavy part of the debate for the lawyers in Minnesota because it deals with legal and moral issues.

• A lawyer in Minnesota would also argue that immigrants that are here illegally might also be receiving some of the same benefits as those who are in this country legally. These benefits could include health insurance which could be obtained by their employer or else where in which proving legal documentation is not necessary. The same lawyer in Minnesota would suggest that an illegal immigrant could receive an education or that children of illegal immigrants could obtain educations.

• There are some lawyers in Minnesota that suggest there should be legislation passed to create a process that lets illegal immigrants who have been living in Minnesota and paying state and federal taxes for an extended period become legal citizens.

• There are many who suggest that in addition to building a fence around our southern borders, immigrants who are seeking United States citizenship should have to know or learn English in order to become a citizen. However, some suggest that is an act of discrimination. Most people looking for citizenship are adults and many psychologists have done studies suggesting that it is harder to learn a language as an adult.

This debate is obviously not secluded to just Minnesota, but Minnesotans have always had a strong voice in the debate. One lawyer of Minnesota might lean toward the liberal side of the debate by suggesting to open the borders, while another lawyer in Minnesota might side with the conservative notion that no immigrants should be aloud into the country. No matter which side you agree with, there are valid points to both sides.