Minnesota
“The fear that you live with, it diminishes as time goes by a little bit, but it’s always there—that I could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and, and have somebody else do something that I could go to prison for. ”
In May 2023, Reason Magazine published a story on the U.S. probation system. Co-authored by JAN Deputy Director Lauren Krisai, the article: The U.S. Probation System Has Become a Quagmire profiled Jennifer Schroeder, a Minnesotan who was serving a 40-year probation sentence for a drug sentence that only landed her in jail for 365 days.
At the time, Minnesota was one of just a handful of states that didn’t cap probation sentences. Later that spring, JAN’s advocacy in the state changed that.
The Minnesota legislature passed, and the governor signed, House File 1607 capping probation to five years - and made the change retroactive. Schroeder’s sentence has since been terminated. It’s just one way JAN has changed laws that change lives in the state.
Recent Legislation
2024
Transportation Omnibus: Ended the practice of towing vehicles for unpaid parking tickets.
2023
HF 2023: Established a Clean Slate automated record-sealing system.
HF 1607: Implemented a 5-year probation cap with retroactive application.
HF 490: Eliminated the practice of suspending driver's licenses for failure to appear and failure to pay fines, with retroactive application.
2022
Public Safety Omnibus: Established a pre-Clearance process for individuals seeking to obtain an occupational license.
2021
House File 63: Includes civil asset forfeiture reform, and requires courts to consider a person’s ability to pay fines and fees.
House File 10: Includes driver’s license suspension reform.
2017
Senate File 151: Creates protections from motor vehicle forfeiture for innocent vehicle owners who were not in or operating the vehicle at the time of seizure.
2016
Senate File 3481: Reforms sentences for a number of drug offenses; expands the conditional release program for people convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
Releases
