Minnesota

Arrestees: No. An expansion to the collection mandating that included arrestees was struck down by Minnesota courts (see In re Welfare of CTL).

Convicted Offenders: Yes.

Qualifying Crimes: Any felony — Minn. Stat. § 609.117, subd. 1, requires a specimen when a person charged with a felony is convicted of that offense or of any offense arising out of the same set of circumstances. (The former enumerated list — murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, criminal sexual conduct, incest, burglary, indecent exposure, and attempts — reflected the pre-2005 statute.) If a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for committing or attempting a crime that, if committed by an adult, would constitute the above, they will be subject to DNA collection. Convictions pursuant to which the defendant is sentenced as a “patterned sex offender”

Time of Collection: If not taken at arrest, upon sentencing or adjudication or before release from a prison term served for a qualifying underlying conviction

Expungement: A petition may be filed to seal records if there has been a time period after release, depending on the type of crime underlying the conviction. Other than pursuant to the above, upon petition and hearing whereby the defendant presents clear and convincing evidence that expungement will yield a benefit to the defendant commensurate with the disadvantages to the public and public safety. Records are sealed, but not deleted, and may be reopened in certain instances.

Statutes / Case Law

§ 609.117 DNA Analysis of Certain Offenders Required

§ 609A.02 Grounds for Order

§ 609A.03 Petition to Expunge Criminal Records al records

In re Welfare of M.L.M., 813 N.W.2d 26, 28 (Minn. 2012) (upholding DNA collection when convicted of a misdemeanor arising out of the same set of circumstances as a felony).

State v. Bartylla, 755 N.W.2d 8 (Minn. 2008) (DNA in the database collected properly for a past conviction may be used to match to unknown DNA collected from crime scene without violating the Fourth Amendment).

Legislative History

• HF 59 (1989) → 1989 Minn. Laws ch. 290. Created both pillars of Minnesota’s DNA program in a single omnibus criminal law bill. Article 4, § 16 established § 609.3461 (later renumbered § 609.117), requiring courts to order offenders convicted of criminal sexual conduct under §§ 609.342–609.345 to provide a biological specimen for DNA analysis. Article 4, § 7 established § 299C.155, directing the BCA to develop uniform DNA evidence collection protocols and maintain a centralized cross-reference database, with the data classified as private and accessible only for law enforcement purposes.
• HF 345 (1991) → 1991 Minn. Laws ch. 232. A sexual abuse statute-of-limitations bill that restructured § 609.3461 into two subdivisions. Added Subd. 2, “Before Release,” as a backstop: if a qualifying sex offender committed to Department of Corrections custody had not provided a specimen at sentencing, the commissioner of corrections or local corrections authority must order collection before the person completes the term of imprisonment.
• SF 371 (1991) → 1991 Minn. Laws ch. 285. A broader child protection and sex offender bill — also establishing Minnesota’s first sex offender address registration system at § 243.166 — that amended § 609.3461 to extend DNA collection to persons sentenced as patterned sex offenders under § 609.1352, and to juvenile delinquency adjudications for qualifying offenses.
• HF 1585 (1993) → 1993 Minn. Laws ch. 326. Large omnibus crime prevention bill covering drive-by shootings, firearms, and registration. Article 10, § 15 and Article 13, § 32 tightened the collection trigger, clarifying that collection is required when a person is charged with a qualifying sex offense and convicted of that offense or of any offense arising out of the same set of circumstances — closing the gap where a defendant pleads to a lesser charge from the same incident.
• SF 3345 (1998) → 1998 Minn. Laws ch. 367. Omnibus crime prevention and judiciary finance bill. Article 3, §§ 12–13 expanded the mandate to first-degree murder under § 609.185 cl. 2 and indecent exposure under § 617.23 subd. 3 cl. 2, and extended “Before Release” collection to offenders serving time in Minnesota under reciprocal interstate agreements. Article 6, § 15 made cross-reference corrections as part of a broader sentencing recodification.
• SF 2221 (1999) → 1999 Minn. Laws ch. 216. The most significant expansion in the statute’s history. Article 3, §§ 7–8 rewrote § 609.3461 to require collection from all convicted felons, reaching well beyond sex offenses to murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery, kidnapping, arson, burglary, and other felonies. Article 3, § 9 directed the revisor to renumber § 609.3461 as § 609.117, giving the statute its current citation. Subject to a partial governor’s line-item veto.
• SF 7 (2001 1st Special Session) → 2001 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 8. Part of a large omnibus public safety and domestic abuse bill. Article 9, § 6 amended § 609.117 Subd. 2 to extend “Before Release” collection to any person currently serving imprisonment for, or with a past conviction for, a qualifying felony — capturing inmates serving time on newer crimes who had uncollected DNA from prior felony convictions. Subject to a governor’s line-item veto.
• HF 1 (2005) → 2005 Minn. Laws ch. 136. Omnibus public safety finance bill, passed 131–3 in the House and 62–4 in the Senate. Article 12, § 9 amended § 609.117 in full, replacing the enumerated lists in Subd. 1, Subd. 2, and Subd. 3 with a single universal standard: collection is required whenever a person is charged with committing or attempting to commit any felony offense and is convicted of that offense or of any offense arising out of the same set of circumstances, with a parallel formulation for juvenile adjudications. Added “if the offender has not already done so” to prevent duplicative collection. Effective July 1, 2005, applying to offenders sentenced, released from incarceration, or accepted for supervision on or after that date.
• HF 2996 (2008) → 2008 Minn. Laws ch. 299. Sexual offender provisions bill, passed 132–0 in the House and 61–2 in the Senate. Section 19 amended § 609.117 Subd. 3, updating the interstate compact citation from § 243.16 to § 243.1605 and carrying forward the requirement that a specimen be provided under Department of Corrections or Community Corrections Act county supervision within 15 business days after the offender reports to the supervising agent, at the supervising agency’s expense. Effective July 1, 2008.
• SF 3116 (2010) → 2010 Minn. Laws ch. 256. Presented to the governor April 19, 2010 and signed April 22, 2010. Added § 609.117 Subd. 4, “After supervision expires,” creating a mechanism to reach offenders whose sentence or supervision has already ended. On a prosecuting authority’s motion — supported by an affidavit identifying the offender, last known address, charged offense, offense of conviction, and confirming a BCA database search found no prior specimen — the court must issue an order to show cause why the offender should not now be ordered to provide one. The offender must appear within 30 days or may avoid appearance by voluntarily providing the specimen, and on non-compliance the court may order submission within 30 days at a designated location and authorize a peace officer to detain and bring the offender before the court.

No law or program.

No program or law found.

No program or law found.

The City of Duluth PD used FY2020 SAKI funds to build an offender census for Duluth/St. Louis County, collect owed samples, and track outcomes. https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2019-ak-bx-0003

No program or law found.