SF663

Purpose

To change the offense of unintentional murder in the second degree by adding a new scenario where a death can lead to that charge. Specifically, the bill expands when a death occurring during protective-order-related conduct can be charged as unintentional murder in the second degree, and it broadens which protective orders are recognized for this purpose to include orders issued in additional jurisdictions (such as other states and provinces).

Main Provisions

• Maintain the two existing ways to be guilty of unintentional murder in the second degree: 1) Death caused without intent while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense (other than certain criminal sexual conduct) with force or violence, or during a drive-by shooting. 2) Death caused without intent while the offender is intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict Bodily Harm and the offender is restrained under an order for protection, and the victim is protected under that order.
• Add scope to the second scenario (the protective-order scenario) by:
  • Broadening the set of protective orders that count for this purpose to include:
  • Order for protection issued under chapter 518B
  • Harassment restraining order issued under section 609.748
  • Court order setting conditions of pretrial release or conditions of a criminal sentence or juvenile disposition
  • Restraining order issued in a marriage dissolution action
  • Any order issued by a court in another state, the United States, the District of Columbia, tribal lands, U.S. territories, Canada, or a Canadian province that is similar to the listed Minnesota orders
  • Requiring that the victim be a person designated to receive protection under the order
• Retain the penalty language: unintentional murder in the second degree carries a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison.

Significant Changes to Law

• Cross-jurisdiction recognition: protective orders from outside Minnesota (including other states and certain Canadian jurisdictions) can trigger the enhanced unintentional murder in the second degree charge when the other conditions are met.
• Expanded list of protective orders: more types of protective orders are covered under the statute, beyond those previously listed, as long as they are similar to the allowed Minnesota orders.
• Clarified scope of who is protected: the victim must be a person designated to receive protection under the order.

Definitions and Scope

• Key terms from the bill text:
  • unintentional murder in the second degree
  • order for protection
  • protective order (as included in the bill’s expanded list)
  • person designated to receive protection
  • harassment restraining order
  • pretrial release conditions
  • criminal sentence conditions
  • juvenile disposition
  • marriage dissolution action
  • drive-by shooting
  • felony offense with force or violence
• The bill ties the homicide charge to protection-order status at the time of the act and to the protective order’s designation of protected persons, while expanding the jurisdictional reach of the protected orders.

Practical Effect

• Prosecutors can pursue the enhanced charge in more cases where a death occurs during conduct that involves protection-order restrictions, even when the protective order comes from outside Minnesota.
• Individuals who kill or cause death while under a protective order and who meet the specified conditions could face a potential sentence of up to 40 years for unintentional murder in the second degree.

Considerations

• The change may affect cases involving protective orders across state lines or international (Canada) contexts, where the order is deemed "similar" to Minnesota’s protections.
• It targets incidents involving "intentional infliction or attempted infliction of bodily harm" under protective order conditions, linking protective-order violations to severe criminal penalties.

Relevant Terms

• unintentional murder in the second degree
• order for protection
• protective order
• person designated to receive protection
• harassment restraining order
• drive-by shooting
• felony offense with force or violence
• bodily harm
• pretrial release conditions
• criminal sentence conditions
• juvenile disposition
• marriage dissolution action
• out-of-state orders
• District of Columbia
• tribal lands
• U.S. territories
• Canada
• Canadian province
• similar orders