Criminal Defense Blog
Posted on May 17, 2013
Being pulled over and placed under arrest for a suspected DWI, especially if it is a first time DWI charge, can be an extremely frightening and traumatic experience. There you are on the side of the ...
Continue reading "What To Do When Facing a First Time DWI Charge" »
Posted on May 15, 2013
Being arrested or charged with a criminal offense can be an extremely frightening and emotionally stressful experience. Unfortunately, there are some types of crimes, such as sex offenses, crimes ...
Continue reading "Defense Against Domestic Violence Accusations" »
Posted on May 13, 2013
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, more than 13,000 thefts were reported within city limits during 2012. That breaks down to almost 36 reported thefts per day. While the different types ...
Continue reading "More Than 13,000 Thefts Were Reported in Minneapolis During 2012" »
Posted on Aug 17, 2012
Many drivers who cause fatal drunk driving accidents end up having more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in their blood stream. The legal blood alcohol content for drivers is.08% and most ...
Continue reading "Repeat DWI Offenders Must Install Ignition Interlock Device" »
Posted on Jun 12, 2012
Concerns are beginning to rise as to the reliability of the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) results from the newly deployed DataMaster DMT-G devices in DWI cases. These new concerns come as the ...
Continue reading "The BAC Accuracy Issues Rise Again" »
Posted on Mar 29, 2012
A man was recently charged with Indecent Exposure in the twin cities metro area. The man is accused of unzipping his pants on a public street and exposing his genitalia to a woman after leaving a bar. ...
Continue reading "Guess What? - It's a Crime to Expose Yourself in Public" »
Posted on Mar 27, 2012
A man north of Minneapolis recently pled guilty to providing a false name to a police officer, a Gross Misdemeanor, and fleeing on foot, a misdemeanor. The man was under 21 years of age and attempting ...
Continue reading "Don't Provide a Cop a False Name And Then Try to Get Away - It's a Crime!" »
Posted on Mar 23, 2012
Eastern metro counties increased the number of felony prosecutions involving prescription drugs. Dakota County alone saw an almost 40% increase in felony prosecutions involving prescription drugs. As ...
Continue reading "Large Increase In Felony Prosecution For Crimes Involving Prescription Drugs" »
Posted on Mar 14, 2012
A Wisconsin Appeals Court ruled that drunken driving laws apply even to people driving on a frozen lake. Todd Anderson was arrested and charged with drunk driving after he was found to have a blood ...
Continue reading "Court Considers Challenge to Drunken Driving on Frozen Lake" »
Posted on Mar 2, 2012
Earlier this week a man from the Minneapolis / Saint Paul area was sentenced for more than 33 months in prison and a fine of $1,000 for DWI and drug possession. The man pled guilty to DWI and Second ...
Continue reading "DWIs - They Don't Just Mean Drinking & Driving" »
Posted on Feb 29, 2012
An unpublished Minnesota Court of Appeals case filed February 21, 2012 that resulted in a reversal and remand because the record surrounding the Defendant's plea wasn't properly developed ...
Continue reading "Predatory Reqistration May Not be Required for Out-of State Conviction" »
Posted on Feb 27, 2012
Why is Ignition Interlock Important? Effective July 1, 2011 the Minnesota Legislature modified the driver's license penalties associated with alcohol offenses. The duration of time that a ...
Continue reading "What is Ignition Interlock?" »
Posted on Feb 15, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late January that police attachments of GPS-tracking devices to automobiles are considered searches under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the ...
Continue reading "Police GPS Tracking Device Constitutes Search Says U.S. Supreme Court" »
Posted on Feb 14, 2012
The Dakota County attorney's office recently released a report detailing the number and type of charges that were filed for 2011. The report showed that the number of adults charged by Dakota ...
Continue reading "Watch Out - More People Are Being Charged With Felonies" »
Posted on Feb 9, 2012
A felony conviction for violation of a harassment restraining order (HRO) has to be based on conduct that was intentional. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a jury's finding ...
Continue reading "Felony HRO Violation Must be Intentional" »
Posted on Jan 27, 2012
Nobody wants to see their money go to waste, particularly in a tough economy. If you have been arrested for DWI, you may be asking yourself if it worth spending the money to hire an attorney? Even if ...
Continue reading "I Was Arrested for DWI - Do I Need a Lawyer?" »
Posted on Jan 25, 2012
On Monday, the US Supreme Court decided a case that reinforced the importance of the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution. The Court ruled that the police must have a search warrant to use a GPS ...
Continue reading "The Fourth Amendment Wins" »
Posted on Jan 17, 2012
Earlier this month South Dakota law enforcement officials arrested a man for possession of nearly 980 pounds of marijuana. The man has been charged with Felony Possession of Marijuana, Felony ...
Continue reading "Speeding and Possessing a Large Amount of Marijuana" »
Posted on Jan 13, 2012
Earlier last week a woman in a western suburb of Minneapolis, Anna Nyenhuis, briefly attempted to evade police with her young daughter in the vehicle. Ms. Nyenhuis has been charged with Felony Fleeing ...
Continue reading "Don't Flee The Police - It's a Felony" »
Posted on Jan 8, 2012
Recently, north of Minneapolis, Mr. Steven Johnson was charged with 3rd Degree DWI and 5th Degree Drug Possession in connection with a motor vehicle accident. According to reports, Mr. Johnson had not ...
Continue reading "You Don't Have to Drink to Get a DWI" »
Posted on Dec 31, 2011
Early yesterday morning a player for the Minnesota Vikings, Benny Sapp, was cited for Misdemeanor 5th Degree Assault and Careless Driving in Minneapolis. Mr. Sapp allegedly was engaged in two ...
Continue reading "Even Simple Confrontations Can Be an Assault" »
Posted on Dec 29, 2011
Be careful this holiday weekend. Roughly 400 Minnesota law enforcement agencies are conducting increased DWI patrols during the month of December. In the first 11 days of this month, with less than ...
Continue reading "Watch Out - Police Increase Patrols and Arrests for DWI" »
Posted on Dec 27, 2011
In my last blog post I discussed a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision dealing with what police conduct constitutes a stop or seizure. The Court of Appeals in that case did not discuss what ...
Continue reading "The Police Need Probable Cause to Stop You" »
Posted on Dec 18, 2011
There is hope that the 4th Amendment still has meaning. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled recently in the matter of the State of Minnesota vs. Michael Anthony Clark that a seizure has not occurred ...
Continue reading "The Fourth Amendment Still Has Meaning" »
Posted on Nov 29, 2011
Last week, a Minnesota woman with 2 prior DWI convictions was stopped for driving without her headlights on just south of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol. The ...
Continue reading "Arrested for Driving While Under the Influence (DWI) and Charged with DWI Test Refusal" »