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State of Minnesota v. Kevin Russel Serbus. MN Criminal Law
The defendant in this Renville County case was stopped on a public highway after the officer believed he was intoxicated. The officer did a field sobriety test, after which he arrested the defendant and put him in the back of the squad car.
The defendant asked the officer to retrieve his phone, wallet, and keys. The officer found the wallet and keys, but said that he was unable to find the phone. The defendant helpfully told the officer that the phone was in the center console, next to his gun. The officer secured the gun and took the defendant to the county jail.
THe defendant was charged with a violation of Minn. Stat. 624.7142, which prohibits carrying a pistol "on or about the person's clothes or person in a public place" while under the influence of alcohol. The district court, dismissed the charge on the ground that the the pistol was not in a public place. The state appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
The appeals court noted that the statute was somewhat ambiguous, because it is unclear whether it related to the car's console, or to the highway on which the car was located. The appeals court noted that the danger to be prevented by the statute was the danger to the public. Therefore, it made little difference whether the individual was in a vehicle or on foot.
For this reason, the Court of Appeals held that the gun was in a public place, and that the lower court had erred in dismissing. Therefore, it reversed and remanded the case.
No. A19-1921 (Minn. Ct. App. July 13, 2020).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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