Mike Brandt’s client was charged with Felony Criminal Vehicular Operation from an incident occurring in February of 2017 in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. The state alleged that Mike’s client was grossly negligent in failing to yield to a red light, causing an accident which caused very serious injuries to another driver. Any sort of felony conviction would have had dire consequences for Mike’s client as this would have caused him to lose his license for one year and be a convicted felon.
In evaluating the case, Mike consulted with an accident reconstruction expert, provided various documents noting that Mike’s client was not acting grossly negligent, and convinced the prosecuting attorney that they would have problems proving gross negligence.
Because of all of this information, the prosecuting attorney agreed to reduce the charges to one of Careless Driving—a misdemeanor. By negotiating this matter down to a misdemeanor, Mike’s client avoided any sort of felony conviction, and was placed on probation for one year with minimal conditions.