Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

You are charged, you were just released on your own recognizance. You may have already missed court. Better call the courthouse and find out about your court date.

Yes, if they have not charged you then they still can. Please understand that you can be released from jail without attending a court hearing - charged and or pending charges. Did you take a blood or urine test for the allegations of driving while intoxicated? Assuming you did not take a breath test at the police department (i.e., not the PBT breath test on the road side), then they are likely waiting for BAC test results before charging you. In general, the Minnesota BCA is taking anywhere from 8-12 weeks to turn around a test sample. Did they give you a Notice of Revocation for your driving privileges? Do you have any paperwork? Additionally, depending upon the circumstances, 5th Degree drug possession is usually a felony level charge in Minnesota. Contacting the county court administrator is a good idea but I strongly recommend that you exercise your 5th Amendment right to remain silent so as not to self incriminate (e.g., don't talk about the case, don't call the police and or the prosecuting attorney to find out what is happening). To that end, please be very careful as to what you post on a public site as you do not want to give the impression that your comments are an admission of guilt. Ideally, I would suggest that you contact a Minnesota criminal defense lawyer immediately to better understand what is happening. Good luck and please let me know if I can help.

Disclaimer: This communication is not intended as legal advice, and no attorney client relationship results. Please consult your own attorney for legal advice. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Yes. On a felony, the Statute of limitations extends or many years. Even a misdemeanor has a statute that spans a term of years.

You will likely be contacted by police seeking to acquire informatoin about the drugs. They will ultimately charge you and, as a result, it is best to exercise your right to remain silent and make no statements.

A fifth degree possession charge is a serious felony and carries with it imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. If you have a prior conviction the sentence can be even more serious.

Obviously, there are many defenses to the charge. Certainly, a significant issues is whether or not the officer had an articulable, reasonable suspicion of a particularized criminal offense in order to stop your vehicle. if there is no resonable suspicion any evidence seized after the stop would be the product of an unlawful search and maybe suppressed.

A fourth degree DWI is a misdemeanor. This is still serious and carries with it maximum criminal penalties of up to 90 days in jail and a $1000 fine. If convicted any subsequent DWI offense would be much more serious and with four offenses in ten years, you can be charged with a felony. As a result, as strong defense on the first alleged incident can be critical to your future. Different Judges give different sentences. Accordingly, understanding your Judge and knowing how to change Judge's can be an important part of the process.

There is also a civil case that results in the revocation of your driver's license. On a first offense over your lifetime, you may be revoked for 30 to 90 days. This is a separate case even though the challenges are largely the same. In order to challenge your license revocation, you must seek a judicial review by filing a petition within 30 days of the offense. Do not forget this critical time period. All too often people with strong defenses come to me too late to challenge the license revocation. The end result goes well beyond simply having your license revoked. A failure to challenge results in an Implied Consent violation on your record which can also affect employment and may be used to enhance any subsequent DWI offense.

There are many challenges to a DWI. Officers must follow very specific steps as part of the arrest. If any one step is missing, the case may be dismissed.

Other points of a defense anaylsis include:

� Reasonable Suspicion. The officer must have reasonable suspicion to believe a specific crime has been committed in order to stop a person. If that reasonable suspicion is lacking the stop and the ticket may be invalid;

� Probable Cause to arrest and charge. The officer must make sufficient observations to form a basis for probable cause to believe that you were operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Oftentimes, officers perform field sobriety tests incorrectly making the arrest invalid;

� Procedures at the Station. The officer must follow very specific procedures at the station including reading and recording an Implied Consent Advisory that informs you that you have a right to a lawyer. If any of the steps are omitted, the charges may be dismissed;

� Test Procedures. Testing methods to determine blood alcohol concentrations are imperfect at best. Like any scientific method, any test result has a margin of error. If the machinery is not properly maintained and even if it is properly maintained, the test results may vary from true Blood Alcohol Concentration. A sufficient variation may result in a reduce charge or no charge.

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