Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: second dui offense

Your son is facing a gross misdemeanor, which carries with it a maximum jail sentence of one year and a maximum fine of $3,000.00. However, courts do not sentence people to the maximum penalties. Your son is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 30 days in jail. Depending on the location of the incident, each county has different standards for what they require DWI offenders to complete. Some counties will allow a portion of the jail time to be served on house arrest (with work release), while others will not.

As for his license, he is revoked for 180 days and will be eligible to apply for a work permit after he has finished 90 of those days. Again, depending on which county this occurred in, there might be ways to reduce or at least postpone some of this revocation time.

Those are the two biggest penalties people are normally worried about. As you can see, penalties will vary depending on the county we are dealing with. If you'd like to discuss this further, feel free to contact me at (612) 227-7533. You or your son should definitely speak directly with an experienced DWI attorney before he decides how he wants to handle this offense.

Re: second dui offense

Thank you for the e-mail.

If you had a Blood Alcohol Content over .20, or if you have a second DWI within 10 years of a first, you were charged with a third degree offense. This is very serious and carries with it maximum criminal penalties of a year in jail and a $3000 fine. If convicted there are also mandatory minimum penalties of $1000 and 30 days in jail. Different Judges give different sentences. As a result, 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 third degree offense, you may be revoked for up to six months. This is a separate case even though the challenges are largely the same. In order to challenge you license revocation, you must seek a judicial review by filing a petition within 30 days of the offense.

There are also additional consequences to a conviction including skyrocketing insurance rates, plate impoundments and sometimes vehicle forfeitures.

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.

� 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 fro true Blood Alcohol Concentration. A sufficient variation may result in a reduce charge or no charge.

For a Consultation call us at 952.746.2153.

Maury D. Beaulier

Attorney at Law

HELLMUTH & JOHNSON, PLLC

10400 Viking Drive Suite 500

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Phone: (952) 746-2153 Fax: (952) 941-2337

E-Mail: [email protected]

Visit http://www.MinnesotaLawyers.com

Re: second dui offense

Your son is facing a gross misdemeanor charge. The penalty for a gross misdemeanor is a maximum jail sentence of 30 days and a maximum fine of $ 3,000 or both. Minnesota has a law requiring a second time DWI offender to serve 30 days of jail. Some judges tinker with that jail time so not all of it has to be served, but some order that all of it be served. However, most offenders qualify for work release while in jail and also get �good time� , which is one day for every three served, so long as the jail sentence is ten days or more.

Your son is also facing driver�s license revocation and loss of his license plates.

Your son needs a lawyer. If he can�t afford one, he should ask for a public defender.

I practice in Mankato and the counties surrounding Mankato. If my location is near your location, give me a call.

Herbert C. Kroon

Chesley, Kroon, Chambers, Harvey, and Carpenter

Attorney at Law

75 Teton Lane

P. O. Box 327

Mankato, MN 56002-0327

(507) 625-3000

fax: (507) 625-2002

Re: second dui offense

There is a statutory "mandatory minimum" for a second DWI conviction within 10 years, of 30 days jail. Sometimes, I have been able to get such clients less than that, however, or complete acquittal. In many ways, the more serious punishment is the "implied consent" revocation of the drivers license. In order to challenge that, a "Petition for Judicial Review" must be served and filed in court within 30 days of the revocation.