Issuing a Worthless Check For A Service or Good Already Received Exempt From The Issuing Dishonored Check Statute

State v. Schouweiler, Minn.S.Ct., 11/16/2016.  Ms. Schouweiler sent a worthless check to the Wabasha County Treasurer to pay for her past year's property tax obligation.  When the treasurer invited her to make good on the check she ignored the request.  As a result, the state charged her with felony issuance of a dishonored check. Here's what the statute says:

Whoever issues a check which, at the time of issuance, the issuer intends shall not be paid, is guilty of issuing a dishonored check.

Ms. Schouweiler moved to dismiss the Complaint, invoking an exception to this statute that says that it does not apply to either a postdated check or to a check given "for a past consideration."  She said that the bill for her previous year's property taxes was "a past consideration" exempted from the grasp of the statute.

Justice Chutich agrees, with Chief Justice Gildea dissenting. Justice Chutich hauls out multiple dictionaries to define what a "past consideration" is, and reverses Ms. Schouweiler's conviction.  The court says that a "past consideration" includes checks given either for services already performed or for goods already received.  The statute is for the K-Mart crowd passing paper to some teenage cashier to buy some blue light special.  If that same person goes home and writes a bad check to pay for last month's Verizon cell phone calls, well, the money is still owed for that "past consideration," but there's been no crime.  Or, at least not this crime.