State v. Guminga

Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1986 · Criminal Law

Criminal LawDue ProcessVicarious Criminal LiabilityLiquor Lawdue processMinnesota Constitutionvicarious liabilityemployer liability

Facts

During an undercover operation, two investigators entered Lindee's Restaurant with a 17-year-old woman, and all three ordered alcoholic beverages. The waitress did not ask the minor's age or request identification, returned with the drinks, and the minor paid for them; officers then arrested the waitress for serving liquor to a minor in violation of Minn. Stat. § 340.73. The restaurant owner, George Joseph Guminga, was charged under Minn. Stat. § 340.941, which makes an employer vicariously criminally liable for an employee's unlawful liquor sale. The state did not contend that Guminga knew of or ratified the waitress's actions.

Issue

Does Minn. Stat. § 340.941, which imposes vicarious criminal liability on an employer for an employee's sale of liquor to a minor, violate due process on its face? More specifically, may Minnesota impose criminal punishment for an act the defendant did not commit, know of, or consent to?

Rule

Under the Minnesota Constitution's due process clause, the state may not convict a person of a crime punishable by imprisonment for an act the person did not commit, did not have knowledge of, and did not expressly or impliedly consent to. Vicarious liability in this context may constitutionally support only civil penalties, not criminal penalties carrying the legal and social consequences of a criminal conviction.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Duluth, Nora Vance owns a neighborhood tavern. A server employed there sells beer to a 20-year-old patron without asking for identification, despite Nora's standing rule that all youthful customers must be carded; prosecutors charge Nora under a statute making employers criminally liable for employees' unlawful liquor sales, punishable by up to 11 months in jail.

If the state offers no evidence that Nora knew of, committed, or consented to the sale, which is the strongest argument under the controlling doctrine?

Explanation. The majority held that, under the Minnesota Constitution, no one may be convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for an act the person did not commit, did not know of, and did not expressly or impliedly consent to. The problem is the criminal conviction itself in a scheme authorizing imprisonment, not merely the actual sentence imposed. Heavy regulation of liquor does not override that due process limit.