This question is similar to the age-old philosophical query "if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" But in order to get a DWI, someone would have to see you do something. For example, a citizen bystander could report your driving to the cops, who could come into...
Voluntary intoxication means that a person voluntarily decided to get intoxicated. For example, if a person goes into a bar and consumes enough alcohol to be intoxicated, that person can be said to be voluntarily intoxicated. When it comes to criminal law, voluntary intoxication can be a defense to a crime. However, this defense is only available for certain crimes....
Several factors influence when someone arrested for a Driving While Impaired (DWI) will be released from jail, including the results of their breath test, the presence of aggravating factors, and the time/day of the arrest. If your son has not been arrested for a DWI within the last ten years, didn’t refuse to take a breath test, didn’t have children...
You have a right under the Constitution to refuse all searches of yourself or your property. This isn’t to say the police will not do so anyway under one of the various exceptions to this constitutional prohibition (or with a warrant). However, the police cannot use your refusal to consent to a search as proof of criminal activity. There is...
During an investigatory stop, an officer may order the driver (and any passengers) out of the vehicle. State v. Askerooth, 681 N.W.2d 353, 367 (Minn. 2004); Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 412 (1997). They can also place you in their squad car while investigating without turning the stop into a formal arrest if the situation calls for it. State...
Below are the top criminal law changes in Minnesota in 2018. Misrepresenting an assistance animal is a crime Under Minn. Stat. § 609.833, it is now a petty misdemeanor in Minnesota to intentionally misrepresent an animal as an assistance animal to obtain rights or privileges knowing they are not entitled to such. Subsequent violations are misdemeanors. Property owners are provided...
Once police have stopped you, the stop must be temporary and last no longer than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop (for example, ticket you for the driving violation). From there, the officer need’s independent articulable reasonable suspicion to expand the scope of your stop (for example, asking you to perform field sobriety tests). As a result, when...
So, you’ve been pulled over and the officer is approaching your car. What can you do now? Under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, every person has the right to not answer questions by a government agent (e.g. have you been drinking? Where are you coming from? Where are you going?), and that is a right you should always exercise...
Although we all like to think that we are the best driver and that there is no cause for the police to pull you over, you may be surprised just how little it takes for a police officer to legally conduct a traffic stop. Police may stop you in your car if they have “specific and articulable facts” establishing “reasonable...
Upon an arrest for a subsequent DWI within ten years of the first DWI, the driver almost always is jailed and held for a bail hearing before a judge in court. If the case resolves with a conviction (meaning either the driver pleads guilty or is found guilty by a jury), then the mandatory minimum amount of jail time required...
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