Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court released its decisions in State v. Trahan and State v. Thompson, striking down the Minnesota test refusal statute as it applies to refusing to submit to blood and urine tests in the context of a DWI arrest. In Trahan, the driver was charged with gross misdemeanor test refusal when he refused to consent to giving...
Thankfully, no. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) that Constitutional rights are violated if a prosecutor withholds evidence that is favorable to the innocence of the person accused. To withhold such evidence has been termed a “Brady violation.” A Brady violation could result in a new trial for someone who had been...
Did you know you can get a DWI for driving while/after huffing a hazardous substance? Consuming hazardous materials and getting behind the wheel can land you with a DWI. That includes inhaling substances like Dust-Off. Yes, the stuff you use to clean off your computer keyboard. In Minnesota, it is a crime for any person to drive, operate, or be...
Last night during the Presidential debate, moderator Lester Holt raised the subject of “stop and frisk.” What is “stop and frisk?” “Stop and frisk” was a police procedure implemented by the New York City Police Department with the hopes that it would help reduce crime and get weapons off of the street. The police were frisking, or “patting down,” anyone...
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,...
The short answer is “it depends.” Minnesota DWI law, complex as it is, is even more so when you throw recreational vehicles into the mix. First-time ATV DWI violators do not lose their driving privileges. They are also not subject to a host of other conditions and sanctions that a first-time motor vehicle DWI violator would face. Minn. Stat. §...
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...
Rolling Re-test There are a couple types of “failures” on an Ignition Interlock. One of them is failing a “rolling re-test.” A “rolling re-test” is where the Interlock requires you to re-test some minutes after you initially start the vehicle. If you do not submit the re-test, this is considered a failed re-test. If you miss three of these re-tests...
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...