This blog recently discussed that law enforcement is increasing its patrols throughout December, seeking to find drunk drivers. The statewide driving while impaired enforcement effort involves nearly 400 Minnesota law enforcement agencies. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is reportedly helping to coordinate the increased DWI patrols.
Officials say that preliminary reports from roughly 191 Minnesota agencies show that 823 drivers were charged with DWI between Dec. 1 and Dec. 11. Each DWI charge in Minnesota can also have an impact on a person’s driving privilege in the state.
Minnesota’s implied consent law allows the state to revoke a person’s driver’s license after a DWI arrest. The license revocation can be challenged, but the challenge is actually a separate matter from the criminal DWI case.
Many drivers in Minnesota delay bringing a challenge to the implied consent license revocation until after the deadline for perfecting the challenge passes and lose the ability to raise a challenge to the revocation. It is important to speak with and experienced Twin Cities DUI defense and implied consent attorney as soon as possible after a DWI arrest for an assessment and advice about how to proceed in an individual case.
While the preliminary numbers for the December DWI enforcement program include reports from less than half of the agencies participating in the effort, the numbers of DWI arrests are significant. In Minnesota each year, officials say that as many as 30,000 people are charged with a DWI offense. Authorities estimate that one in seven Minnesota drivers has a DWI on his or her driving record.
As this blog has discussed, a DWI conviction can enhance a subsequent DWI charge for ten years. It is important to note that an implied consent license revocation can also be used for ten years to enhance any potential subsequent DWI charge under Minnesota law.
Source: Northfield News, “State DWI campaign: More than 800 arrested in Minnesota,” Dec. 19, 2011