In 2008, 173 DWI arrests were made by Golden Valley officers. In 2009 that figure had climbed to 185. In 2010 it was up to 193. Not big jumps, but a gradual steady climb.

In 2009 there were 32,756 motorists arrested for DWI in the state. That’s about 90 each day, an obvious problem.

Officials with local law enforcement do what they can, developing increased patrols and checkpoints. But, they also want the public’s help. “Whether it’s a drunk driver or even just bad weather, drive defensively, keep your eyes open, call us if you suspect someone is driving impaired,” says a crime analyst with the Golden Valley Police Department.

It’s not that unusual for someone to have multiple DWI’s on their record. Though the penalties increase in severity as your convictions mount, there seems to be some drivers who keep coming back to the courts for similar charges.

First degree DWI is the most serious of all DWI offenses under Minnesota law and it’s a felony. This type of charge can haunt you forever, making it difficult to find employment and even harming your personal relationships.

In some situations, a driver accused of DWI may be eligible to receive alcohol treatment through the resources of the court. In this way, the criminal charges could be a blessing in disguise for someone who wants to stop drinking but can’t seem to do it on their own.

Across the state, law enforcement is beefed up to catch people found driving under the influence. So if you choose to drive drunk, it’s largely a matter of time before you are caught. Having an advocate on your side when you are arrested and charged can be a big relief in a situation where it seems like no one is on your side.

If you are facing DWI charges, contact our offices today to discuss the details of your case. We can talk about the options available to you and any treatment or diversion resources within the jurisdiction of your charges.

Increased DWI enforcement isn’t unique to Labor Day weekend. In fact, it’s not unusual at all for police to heighten enforcement over nearly any extended weekend or holiday. Even Super Bowl weekend gets extra enforcement. But, police are reminding folks that they will be out in force this weekend and to watch out.

Minnesota State Patrol, along with local agencies, are working together to prevent accidents and injuries on the roadways this weekend. According to this article from the Northland News Center, one in seven drivers in Minnesota have a DWI on their record already, with more than 30,000 DWI arrests total every year.

Law enforcement and the public alike see Labor Day as the one last extended weekend of warm weather. This is the chance for last minute vacations and road trips, as well as barbeques and get togethers. The coordinator for Mesaba Safe Community Coalition states “Labor Day weekend is one of the most dangerous weekends on our roads.”

While drunk driving is very dangerous and against the law, most people who get behind the wheel after drinking truly believe they are okay to drive. And when as little as 3 drinks can put you over the legal limit, it’s easy to see why.

In Minnesota, the legal limit for blood alcohol content is .08%. Go over this on a breathalyzer test and you will be arrested. The problem with this is breathalyzers aren’t 100% accurate and infallible. As a matter of fact, they are prone to error.

If this is your first DWI charge, you are facing up to 90 days in jail and fines. Your license will likely be immediately suspended for a minimum of 90 days. As with most crimes, the penalties increase with the number of prior convictions on your record.

For multiple DWI offenders in Minnesota, you can even lose your car. Three or more convictions within ten years can lead to the state permanently taking your vehicle.

The repercussions of a DWI charge are far too serious to not have an aggressive defense attorney on your side. If you are facing charges like this, contact us today for a legal defense consultation.

According to the report from WDAY TV, 1 in 8 Minnesotans have a drunk driving offense on their record, and it is the most preventable cause of death in the state.

Currently, the bills are going through committees and haven’t made it to the Senate or House floors. When they do we will get a better idea of how the IID’s will be used. Most states with ignition interlock requirements have opted to only use it on repeat DWI offenders while others use it more freely, even on first time DWI convictions.

An ignition interlock device is a lock device installed on your vehicle that prevents you being able to start your car until you have taken a breath test. Most IID’s then periodically require a breath test while you are driving. Despite their wide use, the IID’s aren’t without their issues.

Problems frequently occur with the devices. From false positives to malfunctions, the driver is often stuck dealing with the after effects. In most states the installation and maintenance costs of an IID are the responsibility of the driver as well.

DWI laws in the state are fairly strict as it is. A first time drunk driving offense is typically charged as a 4^th degree DWI. This charge is considered a misdemeanor but can carry up to 90 days in jail. If your blood alcohol content is greater than .20% at the time of your arrest, however, the charge is elevated to a 3^rd degree DWI with a potential 1 year in jail.

When facing DWI charges, whether now or after the ignition interlock laws pass, you need a local defense lawyer on your side advocating for your interests. Call today to discuss your charges and how we can work together for a better outcome.

Ramsey County has a DWI Court and Anoka has a similar intensive program, both aimed at helping DWI offenders stop their destructive patterns and keep themselves and the community safer. Both programs involve intense supervision by the court and sobriety. The Anoka County program is only reserved for those people who have at least three DWIs.

Things like mental health counseling, alcoholics anonymous, and even in patient treatment can be requirements of these programs. Difficult, yes. But, they seem to be working. Statistics show that people who participate in these programs are less likely to be caught driving drunk than those who go through the typical court regimen.

In Minnesota, the penalties you face for DWI depend on several factors known as aggravating factors. If you are caught for the first time with no additional aggravating factors, you will likely face 4^th degree DWI and a potential 90 days in jail.

Aggravating factors that can increase your potential penalty include prior DWI convictions, a BAC greater than .20%, or the presence of a child in the car at the time of the DWI.

The most serious of all DWI offenses is 1^st degree DWI. This charge is applicable when there are at least three aggravating factors. This is a felony offense and carries a potential 7 year prison sentence.

When facing charges of DWI, whether it is your first or your fourth, you will have to deal with things like license suspension, plate impoundment, and even potentially losing your vehicle. With consequences like this, you have every right to be worried, no matter which county you are facing charges in.

If you are accused of driving under the influence and are in need of a defense attorney, call today. We can offer you a free consultation and some legal advice.

Currently in use in a Minnesota pilot program, an interlock device requires that a person with a DWI conviction have this rolling breathalyzer system installed in his or her car. The person must blow into the device, which will not allow the ignition to start if any alcohol is detected on his or her breath.

Groups opposed to first time DWI offenders, such as the American Beverage Institute, a trade group for bars and restaurants, promote the view that a requirement for this device on any first offense unfairly equates a one-time mistake of being slightly over the limit, with a serious alcoholic with multiple offenses, or someone who was charged with drunk driving, perhaps at twice over the legal limit of .08%BAC. While clearly biased towards not eliminating potential customers, the ABI generally supports these laws for multiple offenders, or high BAC (“extreme” drunk driving) cases.

Weighing in with the opposite clearly biased view, testimony by Smart Start, one of the manufacturers of these ignition interlock systems, came down strongly in support of this law.

There is a nationwide effort by MADD and other groups to promote 1st offense drunk driving conviction interlock laws. These laws are currently active in Arizona, Illinois, and at least six other states, with many other states like Maryland seriously considering similar proposals.

Our view on this matter is that ignition interlocks on ALL first offense drunk driving cases goes too far. Given that the court system is set up to make it very difficult to fight DWI charges, many people simply plead guilty with cases that are questionable and winnable, just to get their driver’s licenses back quicker.

Those people will now face a more difficult choice of whether to fight the charges in court or plead guilty and have to deal with the hassle and expense of an interlock system.

Counter-intuitively, these harsher laws may actually be good news for DWI defense attorneys. A defendant who barely blows a .08% BAC, or who refuses a breath test, and whose job depends on driving multiple vehicles will be more inclined to fight his DWI charges in court. If a guilty plea will automatically cost him his job, it can make sense to roll the dice for a chance at an acquittal.

On the evening of June 11, 2007 Daryl Fleck was found sleeping in his vehicle parked in his apartment parking lot. The engine was cold and the keys on the console. There was no indication that he had been driving. It was later found, after impoundment, that the car would not start.

When police woke Fleck he admitted to having drunk about 12 beers and his blood alcohol content was .18%. Fleck was arrested and charged with DUI. At trial a jury convicted Fleck, perhaps due in part to his numerous prior DUI convictions.

The state Supreme Court took the case to “expand the precedent to cover the case of mere presence in an undriven– and perhaps undrivable—car into the definition of drunk driving” according to this article from TheNewspaper.com.

The potential for a vehicle to become an extreme danger to both the person behind the wheel and to the public at large is seemingly too great to allow someone to even sleep off their intoxication in their car. Now, if you are found behind the wheel and you are intoxicated, you can be charged regardless of the condition of the vehicle or even your intent.

People don’t always plan to drink too much. A designated driver is a noble idea but not always the reality. Sometimes people underestimate their level of intoxication and think they “can make it home” okay.

Unfortunately, once you are intoxicated, your judgment is impaired and you are not likely fit to determine your ability to drive. Once behind the wheel, whether your car will start or not, the law says you become in immediate danger of not only hurting yourself or someone else, but also of getting arrested.

When facing DWI charges in Minnesota, you need a local defense attorney advocating for your rights. Whether this is your first offense or you’ve been in trouble before, the penalties you face in a DWI case are nothing to take lightly.

Contact our MN lawyers today for a free consultation on your Minnesota DWI case. We look forward to helping you during this stressful time.

Ignition interlock devices can be a win win for the offender and society as a whole. As an alternative to a license suspension, an interlock device is far preferable, because the person can actually drive, function, and keep a job that requires a car to commute or otherwise function.

And the primary goal of the criminal DWI penalty is to keep the person from re-offending. The ignition interlock program achieves that goal.

The only question in devising ignition interlock laws is to determine what the threshold for this penalty might be, and what is the duration. Many states now have an interlock requirement after a single DWI conviction, while some only with a second aggregating factor of a high BAC result on a breath test.

But whatever the underlying conditions, a sensible ignition interlock program appears to be in the works here in Minnesota.

According to WCCO a witness called 911 after seeing the woman and her son in Cub foods. The witness approached the suspect in the frozen foods aisle but the suspect would not speak with her. Instead, the woman is said to have stumbled while the child said “Mommy, I want to go home.”

A short time later the suspect, whose name is not being released, was pulled over on Highway 110, just a short distance from the grocery store. She was transported to a detox center and it isn’t clear what was done with the child.

Perhaps the most disturbing about this story is that the woman was 5 times over the legal limit. One police officer mentioned in the news story stated he had only seen one other person with a BAC this high in his entire career.

Currently, the charges against the mother are simply DUI. However, her extreme BAC could mean gross misdemeanor DUI and the fact that her child was involved could lead to additional charges.

Gross misdemeanor charges apply when you are charged with DUI and there are aggravating circumstances present. Examples of an aggravating circumstance include prior convictions, the presence of a child, or a BAC over .20.

Regardless of the charge against her, it isn’t likely that this woman will see much leniency simply because the presence of a child is hard to ignore even in the eyes of the law.

Facing DUI charges can be a scary experience, whether this is your first offense or one of many. Having an experienced DUI attorney with you, however, can help take some of that stress away.

If you are up against charges like these, we can help. Contact our defense lawyers today for some free legal advice.

The source code is a sort of computer language used in the Intoxilyzer equipment. These machines are manufactured by a Kentucky company that insists the source code is a trade secret and won’t divulge the information. Because of this, many cases hinging on breath test evidence could be jeopardized for the prosecution.

Minnesota isn’t the first state to have issue with obtaining source code. Many states across the country utilize the Intoxilyzers and many have run into the same predicament.

As this article from the Pioneer Press states, there are other methods of processing DUI evidence for blood alcohol levels. Unfortunately the labs responsible for evaluating blood and urine tests are so backlogged, an additional influx of evidence won’t help the matter at all.

The reason defense attorneys are requesting the source code in the first place is to determine if these breath test results are, in fact, accurate measurements of blood alcohol levels. Many experts have stated the machines are flawed and prone to faulty readings.  Establishing their reliability should be the burden of the prosecution and without the source code this proves nearly impossible.

If you have ever been charged with a DWI you know the police and prosecution might give you a field sobriety test followed by a breathalyzer. Up until this point the majority of DUI cases hinge on the results of the breath test. These results, until recently, we almost always assumed accurate. Faulty blood alcohol readings could make DUI cases extremely hard for prosecutors to prove.

If you are currently facing a DUI and need the help of an experienced DUI attorney, call us today to discuss your case.

Every state’s DWI laws are slightly different from one another. How they are applied from county to county can even differ. In Minnesota, you don’t even have to drive to pick up a DWI charge. That’s right a “Driving While Intoxicated” charge without even driving.

According to this story from the Star Tribune Daryl Fleck passed out in his car and was convicted of DWI. According to Fleck’s attorneys he had went out to his vehicle to retrieve something when he decided to take a seat. Being intoxicated, he then passed out.

When the police arrived Fleck was in the vehicle and the keys were in between the seats. Fleck wasn’t even sure initially where he had put the keys. Despite the fact that he was not driving and did not intend to drive, his arrest and subsequent conviction was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The law states that you can be charged with DWI if you have “physical control” over the vehicle when you have a blood alcohol level over the legal limit (.08%). “Physical control” was the term in question here and apparently because the keys were within reach the court found that Fleck was in physical control of the vehicle.

As the Director for Minnesotans for Safe Driving Sharon Gehrman-Driscoll points out, the trouble with determining how to apply the law is not knowing whether or not people like Fleck would awaken and drive off, potentially causing an accident, or simply sleep it off.

No one wants to be involved in an accident and certainly no one wants to face DWI charges. Whether you were sleeping behind the wheel, getting ready to start the car, or pulling into a parking space, you can be arrested for DWI if your blood alcohol is over the legal limit.

Having an experienced defense attorney can help in a myriad of ways when you are facing such charges. If you find yourself facing DWI charges, call me to discuss your case today.