Victim Services provides advocacy, support and referrals for victims of crime as their cases move through the criminal justice process.

Crime victims may be owed restitution. Restitution is reimbursement from the defendant for out-of-pocket losses and expenses directly resulting from a crime. Find out more about restitution for crime victims.

Victims of crime have the right to address the court through a victim impact statement. Advocates can help them prepare and submit that statement. Learn more about victim impact statements.

The CIU can only review criminal convictions in cases that were prosecuted by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Cases may be eligible whether someone pled guilty or was found guilty at trial.

Applicants must make a plausible claim that they are actually innocent or were wrongfully convicted of the crime charged. In order for the CIU to investigate, there will need to be potential leads to reliable new evidence to support the claim of wrongful conviction.

Yes, applicants who are no longer incarcerated may apply. But, because the CIU has limited resources, it will need to direct those resources to cases where individuals have the most at stake.

As a result, the CIU will generally prioritize cases where the applicant is currently incarcerated and is serving a substantial amount of time in prison.

The CIU can investigate convictions for any type of crime. However, convictions for sex crimes where the main evidence at trial consisted of the victim’s story and the defendant’s denial, without substantial other evidence, generally are not strong cases for CIU review because those cases typically do not present many angles for investigation or new factual development.

The CIU will not consider cases where a direct appeal following conviction is still pending. A direct appeal includes cases currently pending review with the Minnesota Court of Appeals or the Minnesota Supreme Court.

A person may apply if they have a pending post-conviction petition, but if the person is represented, they should consult with their attorney prior to submitting an application to the CIU.

It is important to know that applying to the CIU does not by itself stop or delay any applicable court deadlines. Also note that the CIU attorneys represent the State of Minnesota, and nothing an applicant shares with the CIU is subject to attorney-client privilege.

If the application meets the basic requirements for CIU review, the CIU will perform the following steps:

First, the CIU will conduct a preliminary investigation to decide whether the case presents plausible claims of wrongful conviction of the type that justify a full factual investigation. 

Next, for cases that move into the full investigation stage, the CIU will conduct an investigation with the goal of determining whether there are new facts that would justify some form of legal relief. The scope and nature of that investigation will be highly case-specific. It may involve, among other things, witness interviews, review of government files, and any applicable DNA or other forensic testing.

For cases that move into the full investigation stage, the CIU will seek to notify all applicable victims and survivors that the CIU is investigating before the CIU conducts any interviews or does other investigative work outside of reviewing government files.

The CIU will share any available resources or referrals to victims and survivors that could be helpful and responsive to their circumstances. The CIU will seek to provide victims and survivors with as much information as possible about how the process works and what to expect.

If the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office ends up supporting relief in a case, the CIU will seek to inform victims and survivors of that fact before any court filing or public announcement.  The CIU will explain why the HCAO is supporting such relief and seek to answer all questions as fully and candidly as possible. The CIU will also let victims and survivors know if the full investigation is closed because the CIU does not support relief. 

Given the number of variables, including the number of applications pending at any given time, it is difficult to give an estimate as to how long the review process may take. In any case that goes through the full investigative process, however, applicants and their loved ones should expect a lengthy wait.

The CIU will notify applicants by postal mail if their application is being denied or if their case is moved into the full investigation stage. Once a case is in full investigation, the timing and substance of any updates will vary by case. For applicants represented by an attorney, the CIU will communicate with the attorney.

Based on the results of its investigation, if the CIU determines that the facts show that a wrongful conviction occurred and that there is a legal basis for some form of relief, the CIU will provide that opinion to the Hennepin County Attorney along with a recommendation for relief.

The County Attorney must then determine whether the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will agree to relief.

Ultimately, a court must be the one to grant the relief, whether that is vacating a conviction or modifying a sentence. In cases where we support relief, the CIU will coordinate with the applicant’s attorney concerning any applicable court filings.

CIU review is performed within the County Attorney’s Office and is not a judicial process.

No one has a legal right to CIU review, and there is no process for appealing an unfavorable decision. The CIU’s rejection of an application, however, does not affect the person’s ability to pursue other forms of relief, including through postconviction litigation or clemency petitions.

In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law allowing prosecutors to ask a judge to adjust the sentences of past criminal prosecutions. This law, referred to as Prosecutor-Initiated Sentence Adjustment (“PISA”) is in Minnesota Statute Section 609.133. Prosecutors are not permitted to seek a longer sentence under this law.

 

Background Information on the Law

Under the PISA law in Minnesota, prosecutors may review past cases and file a petition to ask a judge to adjust an individual’s sentence. If the court determines that there are “substantial and compelling reasons to adjust the individual’s sentence,” the judge can modify it, with three exceptions.

The court cannot:

• increase someone’s sentence

• reduce or eliminate restitution

• reduce or eliminate conditional release if required by law after someone has served time in prison

 

When the court reviews a petition, it must consider the following factors:

• the impact a sentence adjustment would have on public safety

• how an adjustment would promote the rehabilitation of the individual

• whether an adjustment would properly reflect the severity of the underlying offense or reduce sentencing disparities

• statements by a victim about the harm suffered and the potential sentence adjustment

 

Victim Input

Victims’ voices will play an important part in this process. Two victims’ rights groups, Violence Free Minnesota, a coalition to end relationship abuse, and MNCASA, the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, supported the passage of the PISA law.

Under the law, prosecutors and the court must consider the impact a sentence adjustment would have on victims. Victims or a victim’s family have the right to provide input and make a statement to the court about a possible sentence adjustment. The HCAO will notify the victim or victim’s family when it has decided to move forward with a case and assign a victim-witness staff member to guide the victim or family through the process.

 

PISA in Hennepin County

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has been actively identifying types of cases to prioritize for potential sentence adjustments. Eligible individuals will receive an invitation from our office to apply for PISA.

As of February 7, 2024, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is also accepting applications for PISA from incarcerated individuals serving Hennepin County convictions. To ensure our office is effectively using PISA, we must prioritize certain applications. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is currently prioritizing individuals who:

• are currently incarcerated,

• are not scheduled for release until at least 2027,

• have served more than 3 years in prison, and

• do not have any open cases

There are over 2,000 individuals serving Hennepin County convictions in DOC custody. If you do not currently fit the above criteria, we will not be moving forward with your case at this time. We will, however, respond to your application and invite you to apply when you meet the above criteria. (Please note: criteria is subject to change, and we will update both our website and the application to ensure we are communicating the current criteria with potential applicants).

You can download the application here.

The application should only be completed by the incarcerated person or their counsel. The incarcerated person does not need counsel in order to submit an application, and they will not “skip the line” by having counsel.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is working with lawyers at the University of St. Thomas School of Law (UST Law) to review and process applications for Prosecutor Initiated Sentence Adjustment. Please note that by submitting an application for PISA, the applicant is allowing the HCAO to share information related to the case with UST Law.