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An extremely important DWI case from Missouri dealing with warrantless DWI testing was argued before the United States Supreme Court on January 9, 2013. 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.
The individual at the center of the case had lived in the United States since he was just three years old. He came to this country in 1984 with his parents. Throughout the time he lived in the U.S., he was a legal resident. Then, in 2007, the man was stopped by a law enforcement officer in Georgia. The officer conducted a search of his vehicle, which uncovered a small quantity of marijuana. The amount of marijuana found could have made just two to three cigarettes.
A St. Paul resident was recently arrested for allegedly driving with a large amount of marijuana in his car. However, the man was released without having any formal charges filed against him.
If Minneapolis police arrest you after you are involved in a fatal accident, there is a very real possibility that you could face vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide charges. When faced with these kinds of charges, it is important to remember that a strong criminal defense attorney can help clear your name or have your charges reduced. Trying to handle such serious charges alone is not only extremely difficult, but a mistake could cost years of your freedom.
As we have mentioned previously in this blog, for someone in St. Paul to be convicted of a crime, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual did what he or she was charged with doing. If the prosecutor can’t prove this, then the jury must acquit the defendant of the charges. If it is clear that the prosecutor doesn’t have any evidence or not nearly enough evidence, the prosecutor may drop the charges altogether.
It is a common misconception that the role of a criminal defense attorney is to acquit an individual of the charge with which he or she has been charged. Yes, at times criminal defense attorneys can clear their clients’ names and reputations, getting charges thrown out, but just as often the role of a lawyer is to mitigate a sentence and protect his or her client’s rights during a trial. So, when Minneapolis residents read cases of a defendant pleading guilty or being sentenced to prison, it is not necessarily because the attorney failed in his or her job.
Many people in Minneapolis may not have a problem with a company or organization doing their own internal investigations into individuals’ behaviors, but questions may be raised when that information is turned over to police for criminal prosecution. What may start as an investigation into the possibility of missing money can quickly turn into an accusation of a white-collar crime. But because company officials are not restricted to the evidence rules that limit what police officers can do, individuals’ privacy may be violated.
Many people in Minneapolis are likely aware that the number of rapes reported within the city are much higher than any other city in the country. What they may not know, however, is that the Minneapolis Police Department has been reporting far more crimes than just rapes to the FBI. For at least the past eight years, the Minneapolis Police Department has been operating under a much broader definition of rape than what has been requested by the FBI for its statistical comparisons.
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