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A Burnsville woman reportedly is taking her Minnesota felony DWI case before a jury in April. Anyone facing DWI charges, whether the accused is facing a first-time misdemeanor offense or the person is charged with a higher level of DWI, has the right to take the state’s case before a jury. The right to a jury trial is but one of many vital constitutional rights that defendants have to protect all of our rights under our system of justice.
In the last post, this blog discussed a recent discussion among Minnesota officials who are urging more clarity in Minnesota’s controlled substance crime laws and DWI laws in relation to so-called “bath salts.” The synthetic substances were added to Minnesota statutes last year and on July 1, prosecutors were first able to charge Minnesotans with DWI related to bath salts. Just three days after the new DWI law went into effect, a Hastings man was arrested on suspicion of DWI in relation to bath salts.
This blog has discussed a number of the direct and indirect consequences of a DWI conviction in Minnesota. State laws generally govern many consequences, including sentencing issues and the impact a DWI arrest can have on a driver’s privilege to drive.
A Richfield man is facing two counts of felony DWI after an alleged February 9 hit-and-run car accident at the intersection of Highway 7 and County Road 101. Minnetonka Police responded to a report of the car accident and spoke to witnesses at the scene. The people gave law enforcement a description of a vehicle that the witnesses claim rear-ended a second vehicle and the fled from the scene.
Many drivers in Minnesota understand that charges of driving while impaired are considered enhanceable offenses under state law. A first-time offender may face a fourth-degree DWI charge, if alcohol tests taken within two hours of the alleged drunk driving offense show results falling between 0.08 percent and 0.20 percent alcohol levels.
A Minnesota DWI could result from too many clean glasses: Today’s article on the Star Tribune about Clean Beer Glasses explains how beer experts have started a new Twitter campaign to post pictures of empty pint glasses of beer with only suds remaining. If you had one too many pints at your local watering hole and got tagged with a Minnesota DUI, then you need serious help now!
No one can deny that underage binge drinking is a serious problem in the U.S. The Midwest is especially known for underage drinking on college campuses and among high school students.
Recently, this blog reported on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s opinion issued earlier this week on February 8, 2011 regarding the question of whether DWI urine tests are reliable. Specifically, the court did NOT decide the question of whether DWI urine tests are reliable, but instead chose to sidestep the issue on procedural grounds. The high Court refused to decide whether urine tests require a so-called Frye-Mack Hearing on their reliability.