# Sentencing Guidelines Commission *Minnesota state agency; the body that sets the sentencing guidelines under which felony sentences are imposed.* The **Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission** is a state agency whose composition and the appointment of whose members are governed by Minn. Stat. § 244.09.[^1] It reports to the Legislature. Its *2024 Report to the Legislature* is part of the documentary record.[^2] It acts by recorded vote on guideline motions. Its approved minutes of October 26, 2016 record a permissive-consecutive sentencing motion carried 5–4.[^3] The record centers on the Commission's county-attorney seat, Position 183 in the [[Minnesota Secretary of State]]'s appointment register. Washington County Attorney Peter Orput held that seat from October 12, 2016 until August 1, 2020.[^4] He was appointed under Governor Dayton in 2016 and reappointed under Governor Walz in 2019. When he left, the Minnesota County Attorneys Association recommended Kyra Ladd as his successor.[^5] In its *2024 Report to the Legislature*, the Commission states that its staff training is delivered at "the Minnesota County Attorneys Association monthly CLE series."[^2] In 2019, a *Star Tribune* advocacy commentary reported prison and charge-reduction figures for Washington County. It described its county attorney as representing the state's prosecutors on the Commission.[^6] The register confirms Orput held the seat during that period.[^4] The record does not establish the reasons for any appointment to the seat. ## Who Peter Orput, Washington County Attorney, held the county-attorney position for two consecutive terms. The register records them as October 12, 2016 – April 22, 2019 and April 23, 2019 – August 1, 2020. The second term is entered as "Resigned – Unscheduled Vacancy."[^4] The Commission's approved minutes of October 26, 2016 record his introduction: "Chair Dietzen introduced Peter Orput who is the newly appointed county attorney member. Mr. Orput has served as Washington County Attorney since January 2011." The same minutes record Orput describing himself as "privileged and honored" and "interested in victim issues."[^3] *Minnesota Lawyer* reported that his 2016 appointment came under Governor Dayton and his 2019 reappointment under Governor Walz.[^5] Kyra Ladd is the Wadena County Attorney. *Minnesota Lawyer* reported in July 2020 that the Minnesota County Attorneys Association had recommended her to succeed Orput.[^5] The project's dossier notes state that she was appointed by Governor Walz in September 2023 under § 244.09. They describe her as "a gubernatorial appointee, not an MCAA designee."[^1] The record thus carries both the association's recommendation and the statutory appointment route. ## What The Commission's *2024 Report to the Legislature* places its staff training at "the Minnesota County Attorneys Association monthly CLE series."[^2] The association maintains its own Sentencing Guidelines page.[^7] The county-attorney member sits on the Commission by gubernatorial appointment under § 244.09.[^1] The association recommended the 2020 successor to the seat.[^5] At the October 26, 2016 meeting where Orput was introduced, the Commission took up a permissive-consecutive sentencing motion. Orput seconded it, and it carried 5–4.[^3] ## When - October 12, 2016: Orput's first term in Position 183 begins.[^4] - October 26, 2016: the Commission's minutes record his introduction and the 5–4 permissive-consecutive vote.[^3] - April 23, 2019: his second term begins, following reappointment under Governor Walz.[^4][^5] - July 31, 2020: *Minnesota Lawyer* reports his departure from the Commission.[^5] - August 1, 2020: the register records the end of his term as "Resigned – Unscheduled Vacancy."[^4] - September 2023: Ladd's gubernatorial appointment, according to the project's dossier notes.[^1] ## Where The county-attorney seat was held from the Washington County Attorney's office from 2016 to 2020.[^4] The record next places it with the Wadena County Attorney.[^1][^5] ## Why *Minnesota Lawyer* reported that Orput left the Commission because of Parkinson's disease. It quoted him: "The problem with Parkinson's is it doesn't affect my thinking, but it does affect my physical being."[^5] The record does not establish why any appointment to the seat was made. It also does not show what weight the appointing governor gave to the association's recommendation. ## How Members are appointed under Minn. Stat. § 244.09. The county-attorney member reaches the Commission by gubernatorial appointment rather than by association designation.[^1] The Secretary of State's register records each term's start and end dates and the manner of vacancy.[^4] ## How many The register records two terms for Orput in the county-attorney position.[^4] The 2016 permissive-consecutive motion carried by five votes to four.[^3] ## In the at-issue record Grier Weeks of a national child-protection organization wrote a commentary published in the *Star Tribune* around May 2019. It stated that in Washington County "less than 3% of child sexual exploitation cases resulted in prison, and 81% of the rest had charges reduced to misdemeanors." It added that Orput "represents Minnesota's prosecutors on the state's Sentencing Guidelines Commission."[^6] These figures are the commentary's own and are not independently established here. The Secretary of State's register shows Orput holding the county-attorney seat continuously from October 12, 2016 to August 1, 2020, which includes the commentary's date.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes § 244.09* (2025) — Commission composition and appointment of members; cited in the project's dossier notes for the September 2023 gubernatorial appointment of Kyra Ladd and for county-attorney representation running through gubernatorial appointment rather than MCAA designation. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/244.09 [^2]: Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, *2024 Report to the Legislature* (2024) — the Commission's report to the Legislature; staff training delivered at "the Minnesota County Attorneys Association monthly CLE series." https://mn.gov/sentencing-guidelines/assets/2024MinnSentencingGuidelinesCommReportLegislature_tcm30-606537.pdf [^3]: Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, *Approved Meeting Minutes* (Oct. 26, 2016) — introduction of Orput as the newly appointed county-attorney member; his remarks; his second of the permissive-consecutive motion, carried 5–4. https://mn.gov/msgc-stat/documents/meeting%20materials/October2016/Approved_MSGC_Minutes_26_Oct_2016.pdf [^4]: Minnesota Secretary of State, *Commissions and Appointments — Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, County Attorney seat (Position 183)* — Orput's terms (Oct. 12, 2016 – Apr. 22, 2019; Apr. 23, 2019 – Aug. 1, 2020, "Resigned – Unscheduled Vacancy"). https://commissionsandappointments.sos.mn.gov/Position/Details/183 [^5]: *Minnesota Lawyer*, *Orput leaves Sentencing Guidelines Commission* (July 31, 2020) — legal trade press; reports the resignation, the Parkinson's quotation, the Dayton 2016 and Walz 2019 appointments, and the MCAA's recommendation of Kyra Ladd. https://minnlawyer.com/2020/07/31/orput-leaves-sentencing-guidelines-commission/ [^6]: *Star Tribune*, Grier Weeks, *How well are Minnesota prosecutors responding to sexual violence?* (c. May 2019) — advocacy commentary; publishes the Washington County figures and the description of Orput's Commission role. https://www.startribune.com/how-well-are-minnesota-prosecutors-responding-to-sexual-violence/510240712 [^7]: Minnesota County Attorneys Association, *Sentencing Guidelines* (web page) — the association's page on the sentencing guidelines. https://mcaa-mn.org/page/SentencingGuideline