RAMSAY OBTAINS DISMISSAL IN DOMESTIC ASSAULT CASE "Spare the rod and spoil the child." This quote from the Bible (Proverbs 13-24, King James Version) stands for the notion that children will flourish only if punished, physically or otherwise, for any wrongdoing. While many parents disagree whether corporal punishment is appropriate in today’s society, the question really is, does the law permit parents to spank their children? If so, what amount of force is permitted under the law in Minnesota? Many parents even today use some sort of corporal punishment. Many others do not. When school teachers, day care providers, doctors or certain others observe signs of potential abuse, they are required under the law to report such signs to the police. Unfortunately, many judges, lawyers and prosecutors are not fully ware of the law in this area. Minnesota Criminal Jury Instruction, 13.86, addresses the law: 13.86 Permitted Use of Reasonable Force Toward a Child: The defendant is not guilty of a crime if the defendant used reasonable force upon or toward [the child] without the child’s consent when circumstances existed, or the defendant reasonably believed circumstances existed ... when used by a parent ... in the exercise of lawful authority to restrain or correct the child .... The burden of proof is on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that such a circumstance did not exist, and that the defendant did not reasonably believe it to exist. Under the law then, parents may use "reasonable force" on their children to restrain or discipline them as long as parents reasonably believe the force used is appropriate under the circumstances. In addition, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the force used was unreasonable given the circumstances. This issue came up earlier this month in a case handled by our firm. A school teacher noticed some minor bruising on one of her pupils. On a later date, she saw the parent striking the student for misbehaving. The teacher reported the incidents to the police and the state filed charges against our client. Chuck Ramsay was able to convince the prosecutor to dismiss the charges. Unfortunately, this was not so easy of a task. The prosecutor believed that parents could no longer use corporal punishment and insisted that the criminal charge of domestic assault was appropriate. Ramsay educated the prosecutor by providing the jury instruction along with an explanation of the underlying facts. The prosecutor recognized the very high burden on the state and dismissed the charges against our client. If you or someone you know is in need of legal help, contact Chuck Ramsay immediately at 651.604.0000. |
