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Beltrami County deputy arrests 2 on marijuana charges

Two Bemidji residents are in custody after a Beltrami County sheriff’s deputy came to their home to serve one of the residents with civil filings. When the 29-year-old man opened the door to accept services, the deputy claims the smell of marijuana was quite strong. After applying for a search warrant, police officers searched the home and claim to have found 85 marijuana plants.

Minnesota’s Warrantless DWI Tests At Issue in McNeely DWI Case in U.S. Supreme Court

An extremely important DWI case from Missouri was argued before the United States Supreme Court on January 9, 2013 (we previously blogged on this here, here, and here.) Although this McNeely case came from Missouri, based on Missouri law and is being argued in Washington, D.C. before the highest court in the land, it has the potential to destroy the theoretical underpinnings of Minnesota DWI and implied consent case law.

Minnesota law supposedly contributes to insurance fraud

Anyone in St. Paul who has been in a car accident knows that Minnesota is a no fault state, meaning that an insurance company will pay any bill related to an accident, no matter who causes the accident. While this helps to protect people who might otherwise be unable to cover their medical costs following an accident, some people are saying the policy is also contributing to insurance fraud, a felony under Minnesota law.

Briefs filed in Amy Senser’s vehicular homicide appeal

When we last talked about Amy Senser, she had just been convicted of hitting someone with her car and leaving the scene of the accident. She was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for her two convictions of criminal vehicular homicide, but in December, her attorney filed an appeal with the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Now, the assistant Hennepin County attorney has filed his brief supporting the Senser’s conviction and Senser’s attorney has 15 days to file his.

Northfield man sentenced on Lakeville gross misdemeanor DWI charge

Last summer, a Lakeville Police officer says that he drove past a Lakeville sports bar several times while on patrol. The officer says that he noticed a man sitting in a green Jeep parked in the bar’s parking lot on three separate occasions as the cop drove past the bar.

Wright County deputy accused of CVO after fender bender

A deputy from Wright County is accused of driving while impaired and one count of gross-misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation after he was involved in a car accident in Monticello, Minnesota, on August 5. The Minnesota Highway Patrol claims that the deputy was off-duty when he rear-ended another car. Law enforcement says that a person in the other car suffered a small cut to his ear in the crash. Troopers think that the off-duty deputy was impaired at the evening of the accident.

Prosecutors refuse to charge man with vehicular homicide

There is a gut reaction that many people in Minnesota have to fatal pedestrian accidents. When a pedestrian is hit, most people will say the driver is automatically at fault and should face serious criminal charges. In some cases, this is true and the driver will be charged with vehicular homicide. In many other cases, however, it is the pedestrian’s fault that he or she was hit. However regrettable a fatal pedestrian accident is, a driver cannot be held criminally liable for the pedestrian’s death if it is the pedestrian’s fault.