This CLE is co-sponsored by the MSBA Criminal Law Section and the Robina Institute’s In Conversation Series*.

While Minnesota has the sixth lowest incarceration rate in the nation, Minnesota’s community supervision rate is the seventh highest.  In addition, probation revocations represent a growing share of prison admissions and are a key driver of Minnesota’s rising incarceration rate.  Before revoking probation, the court must make findings on the Austin factors, which require the court to specifically identify the condition or conditions violated, find that the violation was intentional or excusable, and find that the policies favoring probation no longer outweigh the need for confinement.   In this session, attendees will learn what considerations the prosecutor and defense should bring to the proceeding.  This session will place particular emphasis on the third Austin factor and introduce the latest research about what works in probation, including the risk-need-responsivity principle, which matches the level of supervision and conditions to the probationer’s risk to reoffend and criminogenic needs.

* Located at the University of Minnesota Law School, the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice is a mission-driven organization dedicated to engaging in original, interdisciplinary education, research, and policy analysis to achieve transformative change in sentencing and correctional policies and practices. The Robina Institute's In Conversation Series are public events dedicated to exploring issues in criminal justice in an in-depth and conversational way. We invite leading experts - practitioners, community members, academics, judges - to present information about a leading topic and to engage in conversation with each other. We then continue that discussion with questions and comments from the audience.