Iris Garcia Salamanca made her first court appearance yesterday on multiple drug distribution charges. The hearing took place at the federal courthouse in downtown St. Paul and your correspondent was…
Ryan Wolner Booking Photo – Martin County Sheriff’s Office Bail in Minnesota Minnesota is an outlier among states when it comes to mandating bail in criminal cases. Minnesota’s courts have…
On July 1, news broke that a three-person panel containing Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison had pardoned a man who had been convicted of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl,…
Maria Virginia Lopez Herandez, age 47, pled guilty this afternoon in federal court in downtown St. Paul to one count of illegal immigration. Your correspondent was there. Technically, Lopez, of…
Recent advocacy around solving non-fatal shootings in Minnesota led to my invitation to participate in this week’s Niskanen Center Third Annual Criminal Justice Convening in Savannah, Georgia. The event brought…
On July 1, news broke that a three-person panel containing Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison had pardoned a man who had been convicted of repeatedly raping a…
The case of Tou Lou Vang has made headlines over recent weeks after Minnesota’s Board of Pardons (Governor Walz, Attorney General Ellison, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Hudson) unanimously voted…
After a holiday weekend in which the metro area experienced multiple shootings and at least one murder involving Somali gang members, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher posted a video on…
Last week, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison advised the 16-person Conviction Review Advisory Board that he was suspending operation of his office’s Conviction Review Unit (CRU). Ellison did not issue…
Last week brought news that a three-person panel containing both Governor Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison had issued a pardon to a man who had been convicted of repeatedly…
The number of habeas corpus cases filed in Minnesota is ramping back up again, reflecting both renewed ICE enforcement activity and increasingly lenient judges. Since March 25, when the federal…
Yesterday, we wrote about a man who was convicted of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl but has now been pardoned by a three-person panel including Governor Walz and Attorney General…
Leonides Hernanez-Portillo, 39, made his first appearance in federal court today (July 2), facing two felony criminal counts related to illegal immigration. He was indicted by a federal grand jury…
The Pioneer Press reports: A three-person Minnesota panel including Gov. Tim Walz granted a pardon to an immigrant convicted of sexually abusing a child, drawing accusations that he and other…
Historical approach to mental illness and chemical dependency Up through the 1960s, Minnesota, like much of the nation, had developed a significant state hospital structure where some 16,000 patients were…
Kevon Devante Rayshun Ousley, 31, appeared in federal court in downtown St. Paul this afternoon, indicted on a felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Your…
Alexio Miranda, 32, pled guilty on Friday (June 26) to a felony firearm charge arising out of an anti-ICE riot back in January. The U.S. Attorney for Minnesota announced the…
It was a dramatic scene in the land of Paul Bunyan. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Roofers jump from homes in Bemidji to escape ICE agents The raid occurred two…
The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) tracks assaults in the city using three categories: 1) Aggravated Assault defined as an assault involving substantial bodily harm, great bodily harm, or the use…
The U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen, announced felony charges against 15 individuals in an indictment unsealed this morning (Case No. 26-cr-115). Rosen then held a press conference to announce…
Guilty plea Vance Boelter pled guilty in federal court today to murdering Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their Brooklyn Park home nearly a year…
The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission (CRC) was created by the DFL-led Minnesota Legislature in 2023. The Commission’s role is to review applications for clemency from convicted individuals and make recommendations to…
Fewer than half of illegal alien habeas corpus petitioners are being released from ICE custody, since an important 8th Circuit appeals court ruling in late March. Reportedly, during the height…
I have frequently highlighted Minnesota’s struggle to detain violent offenders, only to see them commit further preventable crimes after their release. The May 23, 2026, murder of 17-year-old Tyson Goodsell…