State v. Schwartz
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals determining that Minn. Stat. 169A.20, subd. 1(7) is a strict liability offense that does not require the State to prove knowledge as an element of the crime, holding that Defendant's conviction was valid.
Defendant pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle with a schedule I or schedule II controlled substance in his body. Defendant subsequently sought to withdraw his guilty plea under Minn. R. Crim. P. 15.05, subd. 1, arguing that his guilty plea was invalid because he did not admit that he knew or had reason to know that amphetamine was present in his body at the time he was operating his vehicle. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that strict liability was appropriate because there was a clear legislative intent to dispense with a mens rea requirement.
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