Prior to the enactment of the new expungement statute, DWI offenses were nearly impossible to expunge. Those that involved convictions did not qualify for a full expungement under the old pre-2015 statute; the court could not reach into executive branch records held by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to expunge the DWI conviction or corresponding driver’s license revocation from...
Whether right or wrong, sometimes victims of domestic assault do not want their assailants to incur criminal charges and consequences. Police investigate these situations and provide their reports to prosecutors. It is prosecutors, and only prosecutors, who make decisions on whether to charge an individual with a crime, and how to resolve, dispose, or try a case. A prosecutor is...
You don’t necessarily have to be driving your vehicle in order to receive a DWI, you can also be in “physical control” of it. But what exactly does being in “physical control” mean? Well that is the same difficult question many courts have faced. Mere presence in or about the vehicle is not enough for physical control; it is the...
Currently, persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are prohibited from possessing firearms for three years from the date of conviction under Minnesota law, but prohibited for life under federal law. What is a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence and what is not? The first is to ensure the offense resulted in an actual conviction. Stays of adjudication,...
Yes, possibly. If you possess or disseminate to others pornographic work involving a minor knowing or with reason to know its content and character, you could be guilty of a felony under Minn. Stat. § 617.247. A minor is any person under the age of 18. A nude picture could be considered pornographic work. This could involve any photo or...
On April 24, 2017, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the definition of “carry” with regards to Minnesota Statute § 624.7142, Carrying While Under Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substance, includes transporting an unloaded pistol in an enclosed case. State v. Larson, No. A16-1538 (Minn. Ct. App. April 24, 2017). Bryan Larson was arrested for the misdemeanor offense of...
Criminal Vehicular Operation convictions carry with them not only the possibility of incarceration, but also mandatory driver’s license revocations. How long that revocation period will be depends on a number of factors. For a typical case: Incidents involving “great bodily harm” require a revocation of not less than six years. Incidents involving “bodily harm” or “substantial bodily harm” require a...
Surprisingly, yes you can. If you are pulled over and blow below the legal limit of .08, you can still be charged with DWI. Here’s how. Minnesota Statute 169A.20 states that a person may not drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle when: they are under the influence of alcohol; they are under the influence of...
The newly added provisions of Minnesota’s expungement law require waiting periods before a petitioner becomes eligible for full statutory expungement of a criminal record, during which the person may not be charged or convicted of a new crime. The expungement statute states in relevant part: A petition may be filed under section 609A.03 to seal all records relating to an...
Who knows?! The constitutionality of license plate readers has yet to be challenged head on. Federal courts have decided that scans by license plate readers are constitutional searches that do not require a warrant because the plates are out in public, plain view and so there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. U.S. v. Diaz-Castaneda, 494 F.3d 1146, (9th Cir....
Blog Categories
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