Minnesota DWI Attorney

In Minnesota the terms DWI and DUI are synonymous and generally refer to the same offense (Drive under influence). It is important to remember that a DWI (Drive under influence) offense is really two cases in Minnesota (it’s important to have a good attorney in Minnesota to fight your DWI Cases).

Minnesota DWI Attorney Guide, that are what we are and we are here to help you with your DWI Cases, helping you to find a solution to won you DWI Case in Minnesota, it’s extremely important to know that you have the legal right to refuse any and all field sobriety tests.

There is a criminal case where the accused party faces jail time and fines. There is also a civil case which results in a license revocation or cancellation. This civil revocation is also referred to as an Implied Consent violation under the State's Implied Consent laws. Civil actions may also have additional potential penalties including plate impoundments, and even vehicle forfeitures for repeat offenders. Each part, the civil and criminal cases, has different prosecutors and different court procedures, although the defenses are often very similar. This means that even if you prevail on the criminal part of the case, your driving record may reflect that you have a alcohol related offense that will affect your insurance and/or become an aggravating factor should you have a similar charge in the future.

In Minnesota the DWI laws (Minnesota DWI Attorney) are constantly changing, same around US. Each new year brings new legislation and increasingly harsh consequences for DWI (Drive under influence) offenses. In order to explain why this is significant, a brief overview of the legislature's recent history may be in order.

The degrees of offenses (Minnesota DWI Attorney Law ) are as follows:

• First DWI or Implied Consent license revocation in past ten years: Misdemeanor Fourth Degree DWI
• Second DWI offense or Implied Consent license revocation in past ten years: Gross Misdemeanor Third Degree DWI
• Third DWI offense or Implied Consent license revocation in past ten years: Gross Misdemeanor Second Degree DWI

Fourth or more DWI or Implied Consent license revocation in past ten years: Felony First Degree dwi

License Suspensions/Revocations

As previously stated, a DWI (Drive under influence) may have civil penalties in addition to the criminal penalties. Civil penalties included license revocations. Minnesota Statutes empower the Commissioner of Public Safety to revoke the person's license or permit to drive, or nonresident operating privilege as follows:

For a period of 30 to 90 days for a first offense with a blood alcohol concentration less than .20;
For six months if the driver is under the age of 21 years;
For 180 days if the driver has had a qualified prior impaired driving incident within the previous ten years;
For 180 days for a first offense with a blood alcohol concentration .20 or greater
For 360 days if the driver has had a qualified prior impaired driving incident within the previous ten years and the blood alcohol concentration of the current offense is.20 or greater.
When a nonresident's privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state has been revoked or denied, the commissioner reports the Minnesota license revocation to that driver's home state which usually results in the revocation of driving privileges in the home state as well.

A Minnesota DWI Attorney can help you with the test based on Chapter 4 of the Minnesota Driver's Manual. You should obtain a copy of this manual for review before taking the test.

Copyright Maury D. Beaulier - http://www.dwicounsel.com
Some modifications where made in this document but the owner of all the legal rights is Maury D. Baulier