• A DWI DUI attorney in Minnesota can help explain what is happening procedurally and help guide you through the necessary steps. 
• A lawyer familiar with DWI and DUI in Minnesota can help explain the criminal charges and severe penalties.  For instance, in Minnesota a Misdemeanor DWI can result in 90 days in jail and $1000 fine, a gross misdemeanor DWI DUI in Minnesota can result in 365 days in jail and a $3000 fine, and a felony DWI in Minnesota can result in up to 7 years in prison and a $14,000 fine.  There are also collateral consequences from a DWI DUI criminal charge in Minnesota, such as driver’s license revocations, license reinstatement fees, court fees, increased insurance premiums, and potential restricted access to foreign countries based on your criminal record.
• In Minnesota, a DWI or DUI charge generally triggers a criminal case and a civil revocation of your driver’s license.  Timely responses are required for both.  In fact, if you fail to respond to the revocation of your driving privileges, the uncontested revocation can essentially act as a criminal DWI or DUI conviction for purposes of enhanceability in subsequent DUI or DWI cases.
• DWI and DUI charges in Minnesota are enhanceable, meaning that subsequent charges can become more sever depending upon the disposition of a past DWI or DUI case. 
• A Minnesota DWI DUI lawyer can look at the evidence in your case and discuss potential defenses and evidentiary arguments.  Remember, police are human and occasionally make mistakes.
• A lawyer can help alleviate the stress and worry surrounding a DWI DUI charge in Minnesota, which allows you to get your life back on track.

A general misconception is that speaking to a Minnesota lawyer about your DWI or DUI charge means that you are somehow avoiding responsibility from what allegedly occurred.  Not True! 

You have constitutional rights and as a citizen of the United States and a resident of Minnesota, you owe it to yourself and your peers to make sure that these rights are not violated or unjustly eroded by neglect or mistake.  A criminal defense attorney can help explain as well as aggressively protect those rights. 

Click here for more information on “What are my Rights” 

In Minnesota, speaking to a DWI or DUI lawyer is not too expensive or a waste time.  In fact, most DWI and DUI criminal lawyers in Minnesota offer free consultations and some DWI lawyers are even available 24 hours a day.  Make sure to use these free consultations to better understand what is happening and plan your next step. 

I hope you found this information to be useful.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Remember, if you are ever stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance make sure you do the following:

(1) Give the police officer your driver’s license and proof of insurance,

(2) DO NOT admit to anything,

(3) Politely refuse to answer any questions,

(4) Politely refuse to conduct any field sobriety tests,

(5) Contact a lawyer before you test at the police station or hospital, and

(6) Continue to politely refuse to make any statements.

Best wishes, and enjoy the summer!

Generally, the term expungement refers to the sealing of an individual’s criminal records.  For instance, let’s assume you were previously charged in Minnesota with violating a criminal law but the State subsequently dismissed those charges.  Now assume that you have been applying for new employment and your potential employers are questioning you in regards to your criminal record.  In this case, you may want to seek a court order sealing your Minnesota criminal record and prohibiting disclosure of their existence or their opening except under court order or statutory authority.

What does this mean if you obtain a court order sealing your criminal record?

Simply stated, it means that your criminal record will not be available to the general public.  However, please keep in mind that it does not mean that the records are destroyed or that a law enforcement agency, prosecution or correctional authority may not be able to later access that record. 

How do I qualify for an expungement in Minnesota?

In general, an individual in Minnesota has two primary methods for seeking a court order sealing criminal records. 

First, an individual may qualify under statutory authority, whereby Minnesota Statute section 609A states that an expungement of criminal records may be permissible if:

(1)   the charges were dismissed, your were found not guilty, or the case did not otherwise result in a conviction,

(2)   you were charged with a controlled substance offense and the proceedings have been dismissed and discharged,

(3)   you were a juvenile prosecuted as an adult, or

(4)   the Board of Pardons has granted you a pardon extraordinary.

Alternatively, if you do not qualify under Minn. Stat. section 609A, then you may ask the court to exercise its inherent authority and issue a court order sealing your criminal records.  It is important to note that this option is seldom granted and usually only applies to lower level crimes (i.e., not murder, sex crimes, or DWIs).  Moreover, the individual seeking this type of expungement in Minnesota must also persuade the court that the individual has undergone rehabilitation and that his or her personal benefit outweighs the disadvantage to the public and the burden on the court. 

Other important information to consider before seeking an expungement in Minnesota?

1. An order expunging (sealing) a conviction may only provide for expungement of the record held by state courts and may not expunge records held by state or local law enforcement and prosecution agencies
2. The expungement process can take several months and will likely require the preparation of documents, filing a petition with the court and copying all relevant agencies, and attendance at a court hearing.
3. You should also anticipate a filing fee in the county that you are seeking the court order.  Generally, civil filing fees are several hundred dollars (e.g., Hennepin County civil filing fee as of today is $322).  Please note that you may however qualify for a fee waiver commonly referred to as an In Forma Pauperis request.
4. Remember that even if you are successful, old information held by outside entities will not instantly vanish as a Minnesota court order may not persuade an out of state private organization to seal its information (e.g., the internet holds and disseminates massive amounts of old information).

I hope this brief overview has helped explain a few questions.  If you are considering an expungement of your criminal record in Minnesota, then you may want to start at www.mncourts.gov under Self-Help.  However, if you have additional questions or concerns, please make sure you seek out legal counsel to assist you in your endeavor to seal Minnesota criminal records.

If you have ever considered seeking an expungement (sealing) of your criminal record in Minnesota or have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office!

Why the extra attention from law enforcement regarding traffic violations? 

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety estimates that 130 deaths per year are attributable to speeding on our Minnesota roads.  As such, law enforcement agencies in Minnesota have begun cracking down on speeders.

Nearly 28,000 speeding tickets were issued to Minnesota drivers last month!  More than 200 of those traffic violations were for driving between 90-100 miles per hour.  More importantly, an estimated 25 traffic violations were issued last month for driving in excess of 100 miles per hour.  The highlights include, a driver stopped in Wadena County, Minnesota for allegedly travelling 178 miles per hour and another driver stopped in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota for travelling 128 miles per hour.

What if I get stopped for speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour? 

Under Minnesota Statute 169.14, subd.1a, a licensed Minnesota driver may loose his or her driving privileges for six months or more as a result of the traffic violation.   

If you have a heavy foot, then it is important for you to understand the potential consequences and risks associated with your conduct.  Remember that even minor traffic violations can lead to consequences unforeseen.  For instance, revocation of your driving privileges can potentially put your employment status at risk.  Speeding is also a common basis for Minnesota law enforcement agencies to effectuate a stop of your vehicle for suspicion of driving under the influence (DWI / DUI) of alcohol and or a controlled substance.  Plus, there is a greater chance for significant fines, fees, as well as increasing insurance premiums. 

If you have received a citation for a traffic violation or have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office!

National Patent Analytical Systems of Mansfield, Ohio will be providing Minnesota the NEW Datamaster DMT breath-testing machine, replacing CMI’s Intoxilyzer 5000EN. 

As previously discussed, Minnesota criminal defense lawyers have been seeking the source code of CMI’s Intoxilyzer 5000EN since 2006.  The basis of that litigation stems from a question of accuracy and reliability of the evidence produced by the equipment (i.e., test results of a defendant’s blood alcohol concentrate or BAC).  Currently, more than 3,000 DWI cases await defense expert’s analysis of the source code which will likely be used to argue against the validity of the machine.  A massive consolidated calendar is set for this fall in Scott County in front of Honorable Jerome Abrams. 

Minnesota law enforcement agencies plan to start testing the new Datamaster DMT machines shortly as well as preparing their nearly 4,000 representatives to begin using them this fall.  They anticipate a more streamlined approach to governance, maintenance, and data sharing.  In turn, Minnesota DWI criminal defendant’s can likely anticipate a more streamline revocation of their individual driving privileges.

If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office!

Additionally, please feel free to contact us directly if you have questions, concerns or merely want to discuss anything that you read on this site.  It is our desire to provide you with the highest quality, latest breaking, and most relevant criminal defense news from around the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.

Because this Blog is just getting started, we felt in necessary to start our Blog by covering a few Hot Topics that you may have missed, relevant to DWI / DUI charges in Minnesota.

Intoxilyzer 5000EN Litigation (Minnesota DWI Source Code Litigation).

Minnesota criminal defense lawyers, on behalf of their clients, are motioning the court to grant them access to the Intoxilyzer source code.  These motions began as far back as 2006 and continue today.  These motions are based on the idea that if a breath test result is to be used as evidence, then a defendant should be afforded the opportunity to challenge the validity of such evidence.  In order to test the validity on this evidence, defense experts must be allowed access to the source code in order to assess the accuracy and reliability of the code.  Source code refers to the computer programming language that instructs the machine (i.e., Intoxilyzer 5000EN) how to interpret the physical data it receives when someone blows into the device.

In response to these motions, Minnesota judges began ordering the release of the source code to the defendants.  However, subsequent attempts to obtain the code and questions of who had the code, triggered a federal lawsuit to compel CMI, the codes’ author and manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN, to turn over or make available the code to defense experts.  In July 2009, a settlement was approved that provided a process for defendants to obtain the source code. 

Pursuant to the federal settlement, defense attorneys began the long process of analyzing the source code for the Intoxilyzer 5000EN.  Despite numerous delays and improper information, defense experts continue to analyze the code.

As a result, many law enforcement agencies rely heavily upon blood and urine tests over that of the breath test.  In turn, the number of blood and urine test submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) laboratory for testing has likely doubled or tripled.  Why is that a problem?  For the same reasons criminal defense lawyers in Minneapolis questioned the accuracy and reliability of the breath tests. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Anyone recently convicted of DWI in Anoka, Wright or Sherburne County should continue reading the Tri-County post below.   

Tri-County Regional Forensic Laboratory – Flawed Minnesota DWI Urine Tests.

Last month, the Minnesota BCA confirmed that the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office tri-county crime lab made a crucial error in the testing of DWI evidence.  The tri-county lab began testing urine samples for Anoka, Sherburne and Wright counties in 2010.  These counties use the laboratory results to report the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels in driving while impaired (DWI) criminal cases.  Ironically, the BCA used to analyze this evidence before these counties partnered to operate the tri-county crime lab at the new Anoka County Sheriff’s Office. 

What Happened?  The tri-county crime lab incorrectly calculated the BAC on more than 100 cases in 2010!  Those miscalculations increased the BAC test result. 

Why is this important?  Because a defendant that should have tested lower than a 0.08 BAC or 0.20 BAC, each an important threshold for purposes of criminal charges in Minnesota, may have received a test result above those limits and consequently suffered unjustly.  For instance, a criminal DWI charge level in Minnesota may be increased by an aggravating factor such as a BAC over 0.20.  Such an aggravating factor can elevate a Misdemeanor DWI to a Gross Misdemeanor DWI.  Such a change would increase the potential jail time, pursuant to MN Statue, from 90 days to 365 days and the potential fine, which can be imposed in addition to the jail time, from $1,000 to $3,000.  Additionally, that same defendant would also suffer under the hands of the Commissioner of Public Safety from an increased revocation timeline on his or her driver’s license.

Unfortunately, the DWI defendants that have already paid their fines, suffered through their driver’s license revocation and or served tine in jail, have little recourse.

If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office!

Martin Law Offices, PLLC is please to announce the relocation of our office to Butler Square effective July 1, 2010. We are across the lobby from Roy Smalley’s (formerly Champps Downtown). Check out our Contact page for more information and feel free to stop by on your way to a Twins game.