Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Possible DUI/DWI

Thank you for your question regarding a DWI, and the curious circumstances of your release.

Actually, what you have described makes perfect sense, and is very normal. Since you did not take a breath test, the police did not have anything upon which they could charge you at the time of your arrest. A breath test yields an immediate result. Most municipalities use the Intoxilizer 5000, which produces a print out immediately after you give two breath samples. The print out reports the amount of alcohol detected in your breath sample, and if it is over .08, they will summarily charge you.

Few municipalities have the capacity to immediately test a urine sample, however. Those are sent to a crime lab (the BCA, for example) for analysis. It will take the lab a few days or weeks to report the results back to the police. At that time, if the result shows an alcohol concentration in your urine greater than .08, they will charge you. You will probably have a ticket sent to you in the mail.

Whether you were given a Miranda warning has nothing to do with whether they will charge you, now or later. All the Miranda warning does (in many cases, although there are other issues involved here) is to prevent the use at trial of statements taken from you while you were in custody. There is a good chance you did not an actual "custodial interrogation," and it is quite possible you received a Miranda warning and were unaware of it, although I would need to discuss the issue with you in more detail and, if you are charged, examine the police reports describing the circumstances of your stop. That is clearly an issue that should be examined. The police do make mistakes.

You can certainly contact me for additional information if you have futher questions. My contact information is below.

Good luck, and thank you for your question.

Re: Possible DUI/DWI

You will probably be charged after the test results come back.

Meanwhile, read up on DWI by going to my web site at http://www.mn-dwi.com.

The charges will be based on the urine test, not anything you said. That's why they didn't give Miranda warnings. They aren't going to use things you said against you; they are going to use bodily fluids.

DWI charges stay on your record forever. You should not go anywhere near the courthouse without a lawyer.