Felonies in Court
After an arrest has been made for a felony a court hearing will follow to determine the set bail if any are to be imposed. If bail cannot be posted by the individual a bondsman may be called or the individual will remain in jail until the trial date. An arraignment hearing will then follow with the statement of the individual's rights. Soon after is an omnibus hearing where the determination of probable cause will take place along with the presentation of the illegal offense. A pre-trial is set. At this trial the prosecutor and the defense attorney will negotiate a plea to be placed on the record. A full trial will then take place for the pending conviction of the felony. Investigations will predate the trial and will help determine which conviction should be imposed.

Minnesota Felonies
Felonies in the state of Minnesota include burglary, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, drug-related charges, embezzlement, bad checks, white collar crimes, battery, assault, rape, aggravated assault, homicide, murder, manslaughter, and trafficking. Because these offenses are the most serious in the country, felony cases have more court hearings than misdemeanor cases.

Minnesota does not have classifications for its felonies and misdemeanors. Instead each offense is broken into categories with punishments. Murder in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment for life. Murder in the second degree can carry an imprisonment sentence of up to four years in prison with or without a fine up to thirty thousand dollars. Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree is punishable by up to forty years in prison or as low as thirty years in prison. A fine for this felony cannot exceed thirty thousand dollars.

Drug crimes can carry prison sentences up to thirty years or a fine up to thirty thousand dollars. The circumstances of the crime depict the fine at hand. Aggravated robbery in the first degree can constitute up to twenty years of imprisonment with or without a fine up to thirty-five thousand dollars. Assault in the first degree can carry punishments of twenty years in prison and a fine of no more than thirty thousand dollars. Driving under the influence can be punishable up to twenty years in prison with or without a fine up to thirty thousand dollars.

Both robbery and theft are punishable by up to twenty years in prison and can carry fines up to thirty thousand dollars. The severity of the crime will depict the punishment's severity. Manslaughter in the first degree can be punishable by up to fifteen years of imprisonment with a fine no more than thirty thousand dollars.

Minnesota Expungement
A felony conviction can have serious consequences for an individual when applying for employment, voting, serving in the military, and possessing a firearm. Expungement can eliminate the evidence of a past arrest or conviction and an individual can state legally that a crime never took place. Whether or not a conviction is eligible depends on the severity and the number of crimes committed along with the amount of time that has lapsed since the committing of the crime.