careless driving
no probable cause to be stopped. did not cross center line or shoulder line. complied with officer. field sobriety was .10 spent night in jail. previous dui 15 yrs ago. they have no contest on applied consent. my question is they want to reduce it to careless driving-alcohol related. i could lose my job if it is alcohol related. do i fight this or try to get it reduced to reckless driving or what?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: careless driving
If you submitted a breath sample into the police breath machine and it reported 0.10 or more, you would normally be given a "temporary license and notice or revocation." You must challenge that by requesting a hearing in front of a judge within 30 days, otherwise it will forever be too late. It is worth doing, since drivers win many, though not most, of these "implied consent" revocation challenges. If you win, the implied consent revocation is erased from your driving record.
The "implied consent revocation" for alcohol on your driving record is now treated the same as a DWI or "Driving While Intoxicated," other than jail time. In the other case, the criminal DWI case, even if the criminal charge is reduced to "Careless Driving" this will still be considered alcohol-related unless you first challenge the implied consent revocation in court and win. Again, you must do so within 30 days in Minnesota, or it's just too late.
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Re: careless driving
If the facts you relate are accurate, you may attack the officer's reason for the stop as well as the probable cause to believe that your were intoxicated. The consequences of a second SDWI can be severe. It is very important that you acquire a copy opf the police report to see the officer's version of the facts. I can assure you that the officer - whether probable cause truly existed or not - will relate facts that dsupport the stop.
The key is to punch holes in the officer's credibility.
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