An Eligible Non-Minnesota Offense is used in criminal history based on how it relates to Minnesota law and sentencing policies. Keep in mind, there is no special trick to equating a non-Minnesota offense to a Minnesota offense for criminal history. The final determination of how a non-Minnesota offense is used in criminal history is up to the court. This is especially important in situations where there is not sufficient information to equate the non-Minnesota offense to a Minnesota offense.
Section 2.B.5 - Convictions from Jurisdictions other than Minnesota
a. In General. The court must make the final determination as to whether and how a prior non-Minnesota conviction should be counted in the criminal history score. The court should consider, but is not limited to, the factors in paragraphs b through e, below. Sections 2.B.1 through 2.B.7 govern the use of these convictions.
b. How to Count. Find the equivalent Minnesota offense based on the elements of the prior non-Minnesota offense. The section in which to count the non-Minnesota offense in criminal history depends on:
- whether the offense is defined as a felony, gross misdemeanor, or targeted misdemeanor in Minnesota; and
- the sentence imposed.
An offense may be counted as a felony only if it would both be defined as a felony in Minnesota, and the offender received a sentence that in Minnesota would be a felony-level sentence, which includes the equivalent of a stay of imposition. The offense definitions in effect when the offense was committed govern the designation of non-Minnesota convictions as felonies, gross misdemeanors, or misdemeanors.
c. Assigning Felony Weights. Section 2.B.1 governs the weight of a prior felony conviction from a jurisdiction other than Minnesota, and must be based on the severity level of the equivalent Minnesota felony offense.
d. Federal Offenses; No Minnesota Equivalent. Federal felony offenses that received a sentence that in Minnesota would be a felony-level sentence, but for which no comparable Minnesota offense exists, must receive a weight of one in computing the criminal history score.
e. Juvenile Offenses from other Jurisdictions. Minnesota law governs the inclusion of a prior felony offense from jurisdictions other than Minnesota committed by an offender who was under 18 years old in the juvenile section or adult section of the criminal history score. The offense should be included in the juvenile history section only if it meets the requirements in section 2.B.4. The prior can be included in the adult history section only if the factfinder determines that it is an offense for which the offender would have been certified to adult court if it had occurred in Minnesota.
Helpful Tools: Accessing other States Statutes is the best way to gain information about an offense. The Legal Information Institute, housed at Cornell University Law School, provides links on its website to state statute resources across the country. For your convenience, here are direct links to the more common states: Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. For federal offenses, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel provides a link to the United States Code. For finding the Minnesota statute, the Office of the Revisor of Statutes publishes statutes that can be searched by number or keyword.
Caution: Just because the non-MN offense says Theft of Property or Controlled Substance, there are certain thresholds found in statute that have to be met before the offense can be assigned a value in criminal history. For controlled substance offenses, both the drug and the amount will need to be known to find the Minnesota equivalent. This handout, MN Controlled Substance Thresholds, will assist you when you have that information in determining which degree of drugs the non-Minnesota prior should be equated to.
After determining a Minnesota equivalent offense, the prior offense may be eligible to be used in criminal history under the policies outlined in Minn. Sentencing Guidelines 2.B. For example, offenses equating to a felony in definition will be used in criminal history in accordance to the policies in 2.B.1 and statutory equivalents to gross misdemeanors and misdemeanors will be used in criminal history in accordance to the policies in 2.B.3. To determine if the offense should be used for a custody status, see the policies in 2.B.2.
Key Points
Remember that a non-Minnesota offense may be counted as a felony in criminal history only if it would be defined as a felony in Minnesota and the offender received an imposed sentence of at least 1 year and 1 day or the equivalent of a stay of imposition. If the prior offense meets the definition of a Minnesota felony but the offender received a sentence of less than 1 year and 1 day, Guidelines policies state that the offense can be used in the misdemeanor/gross misdemeanor section for 1 unit.
Unless the prior juvenile felony offense directly matches Minnesota's policies regarding age, type of offense, and adjudication of delinquency as stated in 2.B.4, the factfinder will have to make a determination as to whether or not the prior offense will be used in criminal history.
Official Guidelines language on this topic can be found in Minn. Sentencing Guidelines 2.B.5.