Minnesota Court Strikes Assisted Suicide Statute as Unconstitutional

Today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals published its opinion in State v. Final Exit Network.  The appeals of FEN and several individual defendants concern the constitutionality of Minn. Stat. § 609.215, which criminalizes speech that “advises” and “encourages” another in taking the other’s life.  



The district court had determined that criminalizing speech that “advises” suicide violates the First Amendment.  The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Minn. Stat. § 609.215’s criminalization of speech that “advises” and “encourages” another in taking the other’s life infringes on protected speech and is facially overbroad. 



But the Court of Appeals also held that the record contains sufficient evidence to establish a reasonable probability that the defendants violated the constitutional prohibition on "assisting" suicide.