The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed with Anders Erickson’s argument that Minnesota law does not require that privately made firearms include serial numbers and dismissed client’s felony charge.

Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota Statutes section 609.667(3) does not prohibit the possession of privately made firearms that are not federally required to include serial numbers.

Prosecutors charged Mr. Vagle under Minnesota Statutes § 609.667(3), which criminalizes possession of a firearm “not identified by a serial number.” Mr. Vagle moved to dismiss the charge, arguing that his firearm, which was privately made, was not federally required to have a serial number and therefore not required to have a serial number under state law.

The district court agreed and dismissed the charge, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed. The Minnesota Supreme Court granted review and , after 14 months of deliberation, issued its ruling today.

The Court held: “Because federal law does not require a serial number on the firearm that Vagle possessed, we reverse.” The Court emphasized that Minnesota has not established an independent firearm serialization regime. Instead, the state statute relies on federal law to define which firearms must be serialized. Since federal law exempts privately made firearms from serialization requirements, the court concluded that Vagle’s possession was not criminal under Minnesota law and dismissed the charge.