Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Underage drinking and driving.

Thank you for the post.

There are many challenges to a DWi and to an underage drinking and driving offense. Bothe, if first offense, are misdemeanors punishable by uo to 90 days in jail and a $1000 fine. 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.

For either charge, there is also a civil case that results in the revocation of your driver's license. On an underage drink and drive, you may be revoked for up to six months (if you do not have a prvisional license). 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 many challenges to an underage drink and drive. Many do not become apparent until all police reports are acquired and reviewed. 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 or visit dwicounsel.com.

Re: Underage drinking and driving.

"Where there is a will, there is a way."

As you seem to be aware, they've made it a crime for under 21 people to have any amount of alcohol in their body, when driving. For an under .08 claimed breath sample, there would also be drivers license consequences if convicted.

The reason for the stop might be a defense issue worth exploring, provided the window tint is proven to be legal. There may be other legal issues which could win the case for you. Generally these are uncovered during the representation.

FFI: http://www.liberty-lawyer.com

http://www.liberty-lawyer.com/dwiduidrivingrelated.html