Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Summons & Complaint for dui

The most important time frame after a DUI arrest is the 30 day deadline for service and filing with the court, a "Request for Judicial Review" of the administrative "implied consent" (sic) revocation of drivers license. If this is not done within the 30 day deadline, it will forever be too late to get this off of your drivers license record. This can trigger thousands and thousands of dollars in increased insurance costs, among other things. There are similar deadlines in the event of vehicle plate impoundment or forfeiture. These cases are separate and distinct from the DWI-criminal case. The burden is on you to challenge these government actions in court (your lawyer can help you with this).

It is important to seek assistance from a good DWI defense lawyer as soon as possible, in order to get the necessary work done well before the deadline, and try to win the cases.

As you might guess, the government gives the people short, "drop dead" deadlines, but gives itself several long years to file a criminal complaint against a person!

Call me if you'd like to discuss.

Re: Summons of Complaint for dui

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.

It is not unusual to be helod over night or until the court can determine conditions of release. On a second offense, it is not unusual for the court to set a bail at $12,000 or to require your to be placed on an alcohol detection device.

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 is no requirement that you are charged or revoked immediatey.

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 612.240.8005.

Re: Summons of Complaint for dui

You need an attorney to look at this, and the sooner the better. If you received a ticket, and plead guilty or paid the ticket, you may have a defense to the DWI.