Woodard Bill to Fix Sex Offender Appeal Glitch Signed by Governor

Editor's note: Submitted by Rep. Kelby Woodard's office

A bill Rep. Kelby Woodard authored to ensure residents in need of public defense receive representation during a misdemeanor appeal or post-conviction proceeding was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday.

The Belle Plaine Republican’s bill (H.F. 2089) passed the House with broad bi-partisan support. The bill requires the court system to access funds previously available for sex offender classification appeals to provide for a public defense in misdemeanor appeals. Existing state law only provides for a public defense in felony cases, but a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling requires us to provide public defense in misdemeanor cases as well.

"By using the approach outlined in this bill, no additional taxpayer dollars will be used to comply with the Supreme Court ruling," Woodard said. "Under existing law, people convicted of misdemeanors who lack the financial resources to pay for their defense had no way to appeal their conviction. At the same time, sex offenders were filing classification appeals on the taxpayers’ dime. A coalition of county attorneys and public defenders from throughout the state brought this issue to my attention and I am glad that the governor signed this bill in to law."

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