Court Opinion

ID: 9884131
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 02:39:45.288434+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:35.881083
License: Public Domain

GILBERT, Justice
(concurring).
I concur in the court’s decision, but write to express concern about the effect of result reached in this case. The Minnesota legislature, in its 1989 session, in effect sentenced 22-year-old Amber Lynn Bluhm to 6 months’ imprisonment in 2004. The 1993 amendments to Minn.Stat. § 152.025, subd. 3(b), and Minn.Stat. § 152.026 notwithstanding, the legislature’s enactment of these laws in 1989 controls our decision today. The legislature has the power to fix the limits of punishment for criminal acts within constitutional constraints and, as the court’s decision makes clear, the word “shall” is clear and unambiguous.3 Minnesota Statutes § 152.025, subd. 3(b) (2002), and § 152.026 (2002) provide that Bluhm, a repeat offender of controlled substance crime in the fifth degree, must be committed for not less than 6 months as those terms are defined in the statutes.
I write separately to comment on the effect of the legislature’s enactment of this *655mandatory minimum in 1989. The facts demonstrate the unnecessary and unmitigated harshness of this sentence in this case. Bluhm has done everything the criminal justice system could hope for since she was charged with and admitted violating the law. She has completed her course work for a high school diploma, has obtained a job and has completed and adheres to on-going chemical dependency treatment requirements. She also has had a child in the interim and works to help others with chemical addiction issues. Bluhm has demonstrated rehabilitative behavior for over 3 years now, since December of 2000. The record indicates that she has turned her life around.
The legislative and executive branches should be made aware of the effect of some of their sentencing policies. This court, in a long line of cases, has expressed serious concerns with mandatory minimum sentences, which remove all discretion from the trial court, regardless of the facts. See, e.g., State v. Childers, 309 N.W.2d 37 (Minn.1981); State v. Simmons, 258 N.W.2d 908 (Minn.1977). In the context of sentencing for drug-related charges, one size simply does not fit all. This case illustrates that the removal of discretion can lead to an extremely harsh and unjust result, which is not in the best interests of the individual or the state. This case sends the message that even though a young person accused of a drug-related crime does everything asked of her by the criminal justice system to rehabilitate herself, the law, in terms of minimum sentencing, treats her the same as if she had not rehabilitated herself. At a time when our prisons are full and Minnesota has a severe budget shortfall, the rehabilitative achievements of some of our many drug offenders must be taken into account in executing sentences.4
Minnesota has made significant strides forward in working on preventative measures for alcohol- and drug-related crimes, including our drug court initiatives,5 restorative justice, Minn.Stat. § 609.15, staggered sentencing and other rehabilitative programs. These programs are designed to sanction, as well as to correct, behavior and aid individuals accused of alcohol- and drug-related crimes in becoming productive members of society. These programs were established because the traditional criminal justice system is not producing the most desirable long-term results in a growing number of cases. Recidivism is extremely high in alcohol- and drug-related cases where the underlying chemical *656health and addiction issues are not treated in an appropriate manner. With treatment, recidivism rates tend to drop. Minnesota has become a national leader in these preventative initiatives. The mandatory minimum provided for in Minn.Stat. § 152.025, subd. 3(b), and Minn.Stat. § 152.026 runs directly counter to what Minnesota has been trying to accomplish in terms of rehabilitation and diversion to reduce recidivism. Sentencing Bluhm to 6 months’ imprisonment runs directly counter to what Minnesota has been trying to accomplish.
ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice (concuri'ing).
I join in the concurrence of Justice Gilbert.
HANSON, Justice
(concurring).
I join in the concurrence of Justice Gilbert.

.This case does not overrule our well-established principle that where there is any ambiguity in a sentencing statute, the ambiguity should be resolved in favor of the defendant.

. The cost of incarcerating drug offenders in prison, not counting local jail costs, has been projected to be $44,995,784 in 2004 and totals over $463,000,000 through the year 2012. See Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Report to the Legislature on Drug Offender Sentencing Issues 31 (2004). The average cost of incarceration in Minnesota funded by the legislature has been reported to be $80.52 per day or $29,389.80 per inmate per year. Id. at 30. In 2002, 3,424 individuals were sentenced for felony drug convictions in Minnesota, up from 1,830 in 1992. Id. at 14. In 2002, the fifth-degree drug charges amounted to 1,869 of the total. Id. at 15. When federal funding and grants are added in, the annual cost of incarceration may exceed $40,000 per inmate per year.

. See, e.g., Steven Belenko, Research on Drug Courts: A Critical Review, 2001 Update (2001); U.S. Department of Justice, Defining Drug Courts: The Key Components (January 1997), available at http://www.ojp.us-doj.gov/dcpo; John Braithwaite, Restorative Justice and a New Criminal Law of Substance Abuse, 33 Youth & Soc'y 227, 227-248 (2001); Aubrey Fox and Greg Berman, Going to Scale: A Conversation About the Future of Drug Courts, Minnesota Court Review, Fall 2002, at 4. Minnesota currently has 7 drug courts: 5 for adults: (Hennepin, Ramsey, Stearns, Dodge and St. Louis counties) and 2 for juveniles: (Ramsey and Dodge County).