Here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about DWI law in Minnesota.
1. Minnesota will punish you for driving drunk . . . even when the alternative is to be beaten and possibly killed by an abuser!
A woman faced with the choice of continuing to be violently assaulted outside of a cabin or driving less than one mile on an isolated rural road to safety will be punished by the State of Minnesota for driving to safety—even after the abuser has hit her, broken the car windshield, and jumped up and down on the car’s roof. Axelberg v. Commissioner of Public Safety, Minnesota Supreme Court (A12-1341) (May 21, 2014).
2. You can be acquitted of DWI and still lose your driver’s license and license plates . . . or even have your vehicle impounded!
Minnesota automatically revokes your driver’s license and sometimes revokes your license plates or forfeits your vehicle (depending on your driving history) when you are charged with DWI.
If you do not file a lawsuit within 30 days suing the State of Minnesota for taking your property, you will lose your license, plates, and / or vehicle regardless of the ultimate outcome of the DWI.
3. The hand-held machine you blow into on the side of the road is not a breathalyzer, and you don’t have to blow into it!
The “breathalyzer” is a generic name for the breath test given at the police station after you have been arrested. It’s a table-top-size machine.
The roadside breath test is a PBT (Preliminary or Portable Breath Test). It’s based on unreliable infrared technology and is not admissible in court. Refusing that test is not the same as refusing a breathalyzer test.
4. You can refuse roadside field sobriety tests!
Roadside field sobriety tests, walk and turn, one leg balance, horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and the Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) are the only roadside field sobriety tests approved by the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). These Field Sobriety Tests are used to establish probable cause to arrest. They are, at best, only 80% accurate in assessing intoxication when performed correctly – and they are not usually performed correctly. You cannot be charged with a crime for refusing to perform these tests and you should not perform them.
5. Minnesota makes it a crime to exercise your Constitutional rights when suspected of DWI!
Minnesota case law (State v. Brooks) and federal case law (Missouri v. McNeely) are clear that testing someone’s breath, urine, and blood are searches under the federal and state constitutions (U.S. Const. 4th Amendment) (Minnesota Constitution, Art. I, sec. 10). Yet Minnesota makes it a crime to refuse to submit to one of these searches without a warrant! Imagine if a police officer asked to search your home without a warrant and arrested you if you refused!
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