Outcomes of Deferred Sentences for Military Veterans

Enacted in 2021, the Veterans Restorative Justice Act (“VRJA,” Minn. Stat. § 609.1056) requires courts to defer prosecution, upon probationary conditions, when a military veteran commits an eligible offense as the result of a qualifying service-related condition. Eligible offenses are misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and felonies ranked by the Sentencing Guidelines at severity levels 7, D7, and below. 

 

A 2024 VRJA amendment—which the Commission unanimously supported—requires courts to forward to MSGC reports on VRJA deferred sentences and probation violations, the data from which MSGC must annually report to the Legislature.35 Effective August 1, 2024, MSGC must report the following summary data to the Legislature by January 15 of each year, disaggregated by county, regarding deferred sentences under the VRJA: 

• The number of individuals who received a deferred sentence under the in the previous year; 

• The number of individuals who violated probation and received an adjudication of guilt in the previous year—including whether the violation was technical or was an alleged subsequent criminal act; and 

• The number of proceedings dismissed in the previous year.