State of Minnesota, Appellant, vs. Signe Elissee Pearson, Respondent, C9-99-2021, Court of Appeals

Source: (2000) Filed May 2, 2000. Reverse and remand; motion granted. Peterson, Judge. Washington County District Court. File No. K998416.

In this case, the State of Minnesota, as the appellant, argued that the district court erred by staying adjudication of felony theft charges against Signe Elissee Pearson. The opinion of the justices of the appeals court found primarily three points. One, a district court may stay adjudication of a felony theft charge only to avoid an injustice resulting from the prosecutor’s clear abuse of discretion in the exercise of the charging function. Two, a restorative justice program does not have authority under Minnesota law to assign a sanction for a criminal offense that would be an improper sentence if imposed by the district court. Three, when sentencing a defendant who has participated in a restorative justice program under Minnesota law, the district court is not required to impose a sanction assigned in that program.