Section 244.16 Day-Fines

MINNESOTA STATUTES AND CODES

244.16 DAY-FINES.

Subdivision 1.Model system.

The Sentencing Guidelines Commission shall develop a model day-fine system. The commission shall report its model system to the legislature by February 1, 1993. Upon request of a judicial district, the commission may establish one pilot project for the development of a day-fine system.

Subd. 2.Components.

A day-fine system adopted under this section must provide for a two-step sentencing procedure for those receiving a fine as part of a probationary felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor sentence. In the first step, the court determines how many punishment points a person will receive, taking into account the severity of the offense and the criminal history of the offender. The second step is to multiply the punishment points by a factor that accounts for the offender's financial circumstances. The goal of the system is to provide a fine that is proportional to the seriousness of the offense and largely equal in impact among offenders with different financial circumstances. The system may provide for community service in lieu of fines for offenders whose means are so limited that the payment of a fine would be unlikely.