DWI cases are complex and fast-moving. In addition to criminal court proceedings, a DWI can result in loss of your driver’s license, impoundment of your license plates, and forfeiture of your vehicle. What’s more, these administrative penalties can be finalized before you even go to court.
The severity of criminal charges depends on the number of aggravating factors that are present, including the number of impaired driving incidents in the past 10 years. The penalties for a DWI conviction can include jail, probation, community service, house arrest, alcohol monitoring, and court-ordered treatment or programming. Repeat offenses can carry mandatory minimum sentences, and a conviction for felony DWI can result in a prison sentence.
A DWI arrest can result in significant consequences for your drivers license, including revocation and/or cancellation as inimical to public safety. Usually an order is issued at the time of arrest. You can challenge the order, but only have 60 days to do so.
Under some circumstances, a DWI arrest may result in impoundment of your license plates. Like with your driver’s license, an order is typically issued at the time of arrest, and can be challenged within 60 days.
In some circumstances, the vehicle involved may be seized for forfeiture. Again, you have a limited time (60 days) to challenge the forfeiture.
If you look carefully at Section 169A.20, you will see that it makes it a crime to “drive, operate, or be in physical control of any motor vehicle” while under the influence or over the limit. There are also subdivisions which apply to motorboats, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles and off-road vehicles.
Of these three terms, “physical control” is the most broad. It has been interpreted as “being in a position to exercise dominion or control of the vehicle.” The Minnesota Court of Appeals has said that “a person is in physical control of a vehicle if he has the means to initiate any movement of that vehicle and he is in close proximity to the operating controls of the vehicle, and this is true whether the vehicle can be driving upon the highway at that point or not.”
Section 169A.20 is entitled “Driving While Impaired.” But the title is just a description. If you take a closer look at the statute, you will see that it is possible to violate Minnesota’s DWI law whether or not you are impaired.
A conviction for one of the “under the influence” crimes does require proof of impairment. Minnesota’s appellate courts have concluded that a person is under the influence when the person “does not possess that clearness of intellect and control of himself that he otherwise would have,” so the state must prove that “the driver had drunk enough alcohol so that the driver’s ability or capacity to drive was impaired in some way or to some degree.”
Like most states, Minnesota makes it a crime to drive with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (0.04 or more if it is a commercial vehicle), whether or not you are feeling or demonstrating the effects of the alcohol. It is also a crime to drive while your body contains any amount of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance or its metabolite (except THC), unless you used the substance according to the terms of a valid prescription.
Minnesota also makes it a crime to drive while:
Section 169A.20 is entitled “Driving While Impaired.” But the title is just a description. If you take a closer look at the statute, you will see that it is possible to violate Minnesota’s DWI law whether or not you are impaired.
A conviction for one of the “under the influence” crimes does require proof of impairment. Minnesota’s appellate courts have concluded that a person is under the influence when the person “does not possess that clearness of intellect and control of himself that he otherwise would have,” so the state must prove that “the driver had drunk enough alcohol so that the driver’s ability or capacity to drive was impaired in some way or to some degree.”
Like most states, Minnesota makes it a crime to drive with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (0.04 or more if it is a commercial vehicle), whether or not you are feeling or demonstrating the effects of the alcohol. It is also a crime to drive while your body contains any amount of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance or its metabolite (except THC), unless you used the substance according to the terms of a valid prescription.
Minnesota also makes it a crime to drive while:
Minnesota, like some other states, also makes it a crime to refuse to submit to chemical testing. To make matters worse, the consequences of refusing to take a test can be more severe than the consequences of failing the test.
A DWI or DUI case can be complicated and fast-moving. It may involve hard deadlines that approach quickly. If you were charged with or arrested for impaired driving, you need an attorney who understands the complexities of these cases and give you comprehensive advice. At F. Clayton Tyler, P.A., our attorneys give our clients the Straight Talk and Honest Answers they need to make informed decisions about their cases, and set them up for success. We have the experience to handle your case, and the record to prove it.
Our defense attorneys regularly appear in both state and federal courts around the Twin Cities, including Minneapolis, Edina, Minnetonka, and Brooklyn Center (Hennepin County); St. Paul and Maplewood (Ramsey County); Anoka (Anoka County); Stillwater (Washington County); Shakopee (Scott County); Chaska (Carver County); Hastings, West St. Paul, and Apple Valley (Dakota County).
We also defend felony cases across the state, and have handled cases in many Minnesota counties, including Sherburne County (Elk River), Wright County (Buffalo), Chisago County (Center City), Isanti County (Cambridge), Rice County (Faribault), Goodhue County (Red Wing), Stearns County (St. Cloud), Blue Earth County (Mankato), Olmsted County (Rochester), and St. Louis County (Duluth).
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