Lawmakers across the country have begun to crack down on cell phone use while driving in recent years. In 2019, Minnesota became the 17th American state to introduce hands-free cell phone legislation. Read More...

FBI statistics estimate that just over one million people were arrested for DUI offenses in the United States in 2019. On the basis of this figure, the average driver has close to a 1 in 200 chance of being arrested for drunk or drugged driving in a given year. Read More...

Plea bargaining has become more and more central to criminal law in America, at both the federal and state levels. 94% of criminal convictions by state courts come from plea deals; at the federal level, that number is 97%. Read More...

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of police reports filed in Minnesota each day. These vary in nature on the basis of the matter in question, as well as on the officer writing the report. Read More...

Statistics report that almost 28,000 drivers were arrested for DWI offenses in Minnesota in 2019. That figure reflects a 4% increase from 2018. Read More...

Despite its designation as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance by the federal government, the regulated market for marijuana continues to grow across the United States. Statistics from 2019 estimate the value of the legal cannabis market at $13.6 billion. Read More...

Around this time last year, AAA reported that a record 115.6 million Americans were set to travel by road over the holiday season. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unlikely to see such volume this year; however, roads will still become busier as we get further into December. Read More...

A first-time DWI conviction with a fairly low blood alcohol concentration (BAC) may not, in and of itself, seem to be too bad, and you may be content to plead guilty, take the minimal punishment, and get on with your life. As many as 90 days in jail, a maximum fine of $1,000, up to two years’ probation, and a 90-day loss of license may seem to be a small price to pay to not have to deal with the legal ins and outs of fighting a DWI. Whereas a first-time offender will usually only serve a fraction of time, pay a smaller fine, and be eligible for community service instead of probation, while these may not seem like too harsh of consequences for a DWI, they are only one piece of a larger puzzle. Read More...

Minnesota commercial DWI laws are different from “regular” DWI laws. Perhaps the most important difference is that for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) holder, state law criminalizes driving, being in control or, or operating any commercial motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or .04 or above. This is an important distinction from the law for non-commercial vehicles where the threshold BAC is .08. Read More...

Back in 2014, we discussed the potential for false positives in ignition interlock devices (IIDs). As mentioned, false positives can occur in several situations. For one, spicy foods that mix with stomach acid can create methane that will oftentimes yield a positive result because the IID sensor confuses it with alcohol. Other items that have caused false positives include mouthwash, mouth sprays, breath mints, liquid oral analgesics, and even chewing tobacco because they contain alcohol. Similarly, with sweet treats, the sugar and yeast can combine to create a low-level alcohol failure in some cases. Even energy drinks can provide a false positive because many of them contain ethanol. Finally, certain diets may also contribute to IID false positives. For example, diabetics and certain dieters oftentimes have higher-than-average levels of acetone in their bodies which can be easily misread as ethanol—or beverage alcohol—thus resulting in a positive result. Read More...