Minnesota Court of Appeals sidesteps enhanceability issue: what you need to know if you want to expunge a domestic assault or DWI within 10 years of conviction
In October of 2025, the Minnesota Court of Appeals was asked a question about an argument that has been utilized by prosecutors and some judges in arguing that records should not be expunged. (State v. J.A.B., A25-0316 (Minn. Ct. App. Oct 13, 2025)). Is it proper to deny an expungement petition because the criminal record is within the enhanceability timeframe? Before we dive into the Court of Appeals decision, first a word about what enhanceability means.
What enhanceability means for convictions in Minnesota.
In Minnesota there are certain offenses that if you commit the same or sometimes similar offense, within ten years of the first conviction, you are subject more onerous penalties on the second conviction. For example, if you are convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault in 2015 and then in 2020 you are convicted of another domestic assault, you are subject to being charged with a gross misdemeanor purely by virtue of you having a prior conviction within 10 years of the first. Not all offenses are enhanceable. But some of the most notable offenses are DWI’s and domestic assault that are enhanceable if you offend within 10 years of the first conviction. This also extends also to any “qualified domestic” which includes related domestic abuse charges such as violation of an order for protection or violation of a harassment restraining order. This list is not exhaustive, and you should contact an attorney if you have questions about if your prior conviction is enhaneable.
The District Court denied the expungement petition because it was within the enhanceable period
In State v. J.A.B., the person petitioning for expungement appealed the case because the District Court denied his expungement petition because it was a domestic assault case within the enhancealbe period and the judge said that was the reason the expungment was being denied. The problem is that there is nothing in the expungement statute saying that being within the enhanceablility period is something to prevent an expungement from happening. See Minnesota Statute 609A.01-609A.03. Instead of deciding whether that was proper, the Minnesota Court of Appeals sidestepped the issue by remanding the case back to the District Court because they failed to analyze the twelve expungment factors. It essentially gave the District Court a do-over without saying it was explicitly wrong.
What does State v. J.A.B. mean for people wanting expungement in the future?
In an ideal world, State v. J.A.B. would have said that the judge at the district court errored by saying that the enhanceability period is a valid reason to deny the expungement. But unfortunately, the Court of Appeals did not go so far. The silver lining is that after the case was remanded to the district court, the judge at the district court reversed course and decided to grant the expungement when she made findings on all twelve expungment factors. Although State v. J.A.B. does not provide clear answers to this enhanceability issue, a skilled expungement attorney reading the tea leaves of the situation can help you navigate your way to an expungment even if it was within the enhanceable period.
Conclusion
Many attorneys offer to do expungement but don’t practice enough in the area of expungment to have experience to be able to handle the obstacles that come up such as arguments about enhanceablilty. If your offense is within the enhanceable period, you want an expungement attorney who has been successful in expunging a case within the enhanceablity period. Peter Lindstrom of Subzero Criminal Defense has done just that with an order for protection violation case in Ramsey County. State v. J.A.B. shows that there are still judges who do deny expungements because of enhanceability periods and that there is still nothing preventing from judges from using that logic because of how the Court of Appeals sidestepped the issue. But with a skilled expungement attorney who knows how to use the best arguments you can still get your expungement even if it is within 10 years of an enhanceable offense. If you want an expungement, contact Subzero Criminal Defense. 651-248-5142.