Opinion ID: 1615231
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Minnesota Caselaw

Text: There is only one case in which our court has directly addressed the Bail Clause in article I, section 7. See State v. Pett, 253 Minn. 429, 92 N.W.2d 205 (1958). In Pett, we faced the issue of whether bail could be denied under article I, section 7 following the abolishment of capital punishment. See id. at 430, 92 N.W.2d at 206. In interpreting this bail clause, we placed great importance on the fact that Minnesota had modeled this part of its constitution after language in the Pennsylvania Constitution. See id. at 431-32, 92 N.W.2d at 207; see also Penn. Const. art. I, § 14. Further, we stated: When the Minnesota constitution was drafted, the provisions of the constitutions of states admitted prior to Minnesota were available, and we must assume that they were carefully studied and compared.    It must be assumed that the provision we adopted was carefully selected from among the various provisions dealing with the subject of bail found in the constitutions of states already admitted to the Union. Pett, 253 Minn. at 432, 92 N.W.2d at 207. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that the right to bail before trial is specifically guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution. See Commonwealth v. Caye, 447 Pa. 213, 290 A.2d 244, 245 (1972); see also Commonwealth v. Lemley, 2 Pitts. 362, 363 (1862). Likewise, in Pett we held that, following the abolishment of capital punishment in Minnesota, all crimes are bailable. See Pett, 253 Minn. at 433, 92 N.W.2d at 208. In applying this rule to the facts before us in Pett, we concluded that under our constitution the [district] court had no discretion except in fixing the amount of bail. [3] Id. at 435, 92 N.W.2d at 209. The Pett holding is critical to our analysis because it establishes that all crimes in Minnesota are bailable. It also establishes that the history of the Pennsylvania bail clause is useful when interpreting our Bail Clause in section 7, which in turn supports the conclusion that Minnesota's Bail Clause limits government power and protects the accused. [4]