Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Trying to get my DWI down to a careless/wreckless driving

As things stand these days, with a .14 test reading, I doubt very much that this could be negotiated to a lower offense.

Don't take my word for this, however. Go consult a lawyer from Mora. He or she will be familiar with the local prosecuting attorneys and judges and will know what's possible. The lawyer may also want to check over the police report for mistakes which may have been made in the arrest.

You want to do this right away. You only have thirty days to petition the court to review the suspension of your driver's license, and that time is already almost up. There is a case on appeal right now where the court is trying to decide if the MN implied consent law is constitutional. If the appeal court comes down on the right side of the question, you win, but only if you got your petition for review filed on time.

Don't face this without representation. Good luck.

Re: Trying to get my DWI down to a careless/wreckless driving

This question brings up a lot of issues that can't all be answered neatly in writing. You should talk to an attorney on the phone or in person about your situation, even if you don't plan on hiring a lawyer for this matter. I have dealt with the prosecutors in Mora, and I know they will not reduce your offense to a careless driving unless there is a major legal issue in your case that they are afraid of losing. You may have an issue like that, depending on how much the police report differs from your version of what happened. The officer might give a different story, but if you have eye witnesses and there are credibility problems with the officer, there is a chance a judge would believe your version over the officer's. Also, if this happened on April 1, you NEED to figure out fast what you are going to do! Getting this charge reduced to careless driving will be meaningless if you do not file a petition to challenge your license revocation before May 1. The license revocation counts the same as a DWI on your record in Minnesota, and the only way to give yourself a chance to get that off your record is by filing a petition (or having a lawyer file one for you). You cannot just count on fighting the criminal case, because even if you win, that will have no effect on your license revocation. Call an experienced DWI defense attorney immediately.

Re: Trying to get my DWI down to a careless/reckless driving

Realistically, this will not happen unless you retain a good criminal defense lawyer to help you, ASAP. Why ASAP? Because you have only 30 days from the date of the "implied consent" drivers license revocation to serve and file a legal challenge to it. You'll need a good criminal defense lawyer to help you with that. If you fail to do so in time, or fail to win that case, you will then have an "implied consent violation" on your drivers license record, with virtually all of the consequences of a DWI conviction other than jail and probation.

As for the criminal-DWI case, prosecutors generally don't just give away favorable settlement offers to the defense without a reason. The reason they do, when they do, is a good defense issue identified by your lawyer, your criminal defense lawyer.

Your mention of how the cop stopped you, and possible bias on his part, might be helpful to your case. But, only a criminal defense lawyer thoroughly reviewing your case will be able to determine if that is your best defense issue, or whether there are other, better ones.