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A 20-year-old man will likely spend the remainder of his life in prison after a Twin Cities jury convicted him of murder Thursday, despite his protests that police and prosecutors had the wrong man.
Earlier this month the National Transportation Safety Board made a recommendation that states should lower the legal limit to drive to 0.05 percent blood alcohol concentration. Readers of this blog may understand that Minnesota law currently sets the legal limit at 0.08 percent–that is the point at which the law presumes impairment of any driver, regardless of other factors. Generally, Minnesota’s DWI laws allow authorities to seek DWI charges based upon alleged evidence of impairment without the alcohol test, but many cases involve multiple charges as prosecutors hope to cover their bases.
Alleged aggravating factors associated with a drunk driving arrest can increase the level of charge that authorities may seek under Minnesota law. Generally, people may expect that a prior, or several prior, DWI convictions within the 10-years preceding a new DWI arrest will enhance the new charge to a higher level of offense. But, other aggravating factors may be alleged in enhance a charge–even for a first time offender.
Authorities in Hennepin County reportedly obtained a warrant to draw blood in an alleged drunk driving investigation on May 1. Authorities claim that a St. Cloud, Minnesota man led an off-duty Plymouth police officer on a chase that began in Maple Grove near Interstate 94 and Weaver Lake Road. Hennepin County deputies and officers from the Rogers Police Department reportedly were also involved.
Max Keller of Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys recently won the first known victory on the McNeely warrantless DWI testing issue in an Order from Judge Grunke in a Stearns County DWI Implied Consent hearing challenging a Driver’s License Revocation. Two other Judges recently issues similar rulings in a Washington County DWI and a Sibley County DWI. So, as you can see, judges from all over the state are beginning to wake up and realize that the Constitutional applies to DWI defendants as well as to everyone else. Judges in Minnesota and elsewhere are concluding that warrantless DWI tests are illegal and unconstitutional.
In what will likely become a landmark criminal defense case, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling today that allows police to obtain and analyze an arrestee’s DNA as part of routine booking procedures. The majority opinion considered a DNA cheek swab to be similar to fingerprinting or taking booking photographs. The dissent, however, was very vocal that while this may solve some crimes, it is still invasive.
Although many in Minneapolis may not think driving violations are that big of a deal, they can certainly cause drivers considerable trouble. For some of the most serious traffic violations, a driver could lose his or her license, will likely have to pay a fine and may see an enormous increase in insurance prices. There are some traffic violations that also come with criminal charges. Moreover, if police stop a driver for something like speeding and then believe that he or she had been drinking, he or she could find him- or herself in even more trouble.
Residents in certain Minneapolis neighborhoods may be seeing a lot more of the police this summer, as the Minneapolis police chief recently announced the city’s plan to increase the police presence. The two areas that will be most affected will be the North Side and the Warehouse District. This move has not been entirely embraced, however.
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