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....
A source of confusion in Expungement cases has been how to classify felony drug possession cases resolved with a statutory stay of adjudication pursuant to Minn. Stat. §152.18. If the court considers the case eligible for expungement pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 609A.02, Subd. 1, which explicitly allows for expungement of 152.18 cases, the petitioner is immediately eligible for statutory...
In addition to facing felony charges, fleeing a Peace Officer in a motor vehicle can also result in your driver’s license getting revoked for a period of up to ten years depending on the circumstances. Fleeing means to increase speed, extinguish motor vehicle headlights or taillights, refuse to stop the vehicle, or use other means with intent to attempt to...
If your spouse received a notice of plate impoundment, then you will probably need W plates. W plates are a special category of license plates in Minnesota. They are required to drive with a valid driver’s license, or limited license, during a period of license plate impoundment usually stemming from a DWI incident. You may not need W plates if...
First of all, bail is an amount of money that a judge may set on a criminal case. If bail is set, then the bail amount must be posted to the jail before the accused can be released from custody. As long as the accused makes all of his or her court dates and abides by all conditions of release,...
Yes. First of all, vehicles can be forfeited for a number of non-DWI-related crimes, but that’s a subject for another time. Under the Minnesota DWI forfeiture statute, a motor vehicle is subject to forfeiture if used in the commission of a designated DWI offense, which requires a conviction, or was used in conduct resulting in a designated-license revocation. There are...
In Minnesota, persons convicted of a Felony “Crime of Violence” are subject to a lifetime firearms prohibition. In order for the prohibition to apply, the conviction must be for a felony, including a stay of imposition where the conviction is a felony conviction while on probation and then reduces to a misdemeanor conviction following successful completion of probation. See State...
Yes. The police can question children without parental permission. Children can be questioned about something they may have witnessed or their involvement in criminal activity. However, no one, neither adults nor children, can be forced to speak with the police. Just as adults can decline to speak with police, so can children. And if a child requests a parent, lawyer,...
Police in several major cities have been trying out a new form of surveillance that calls into question our perceived sense of privacy. One of the pioneers in this field, Persistent Surveillance Systems (PSS), has created a method for providing constant, real-time aerial surveillance of entire swaths of major metropolitan areas. Using high-powered cameras mounted under aircraft and sophisticated processing...
Questions have arisen as to how to classify felony drug possession cases resolved with a statutory stay of adjudication pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 152.18. If the court considers the case eligible for expungement pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 609A.02, Subd. 1, which explicitly allows for expungement of § 152.18 cases, the petitioner is immediately eligible for statutory expungement upon...