Apart from facing driver’s license cancellation and vehicle forfeiture, an individual convicted with a Minnesota felony DWI may have to face a hefty $14,000 fine, imprisonment of anywhere from three to seven years, or both a fine and time behind bars.
The Minnesota sentencing guidelines determine the sentence for a felony conviction in the state after taking into account the convicted individual’s criminal history and the seriousness of the offense. These guidelines advise a sentence respectively of 36, 42, and 48 months for a felony DWI conviction for individuals with zero, one, or two criminal history points. For those with prior criminal history points or prior felony DWI convictions, these advisable sentences would include a “presumptive” or mandatory prison time. The judges, however, have discretion to reduce sentencing options to less than the required minimums, but would have to find a basis for downward departure, if mandatory prison is required.
An individual who is sentenced to imprisonment for felony DWI is not entitled to early release unless he or she has completed a chemical dependency treatment program while incarcerated.
Once a felony DWI offender is released from prison, the court must also order that he or she should be placed on five-year conditional release. This includes an intensive probation program for repeat offenders. If the offender does not comply with the release conditions, then the commissioner may revoke it and return the individual to prison.