Minnesota DUI Law & Lawyers: DUI-Web

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Minnesota DWI / DUI law is different than other states in one important respect: when someone is arrested for violating Minnesota DWI law, they have the right to speak to a DWI / DUI defense attorney before taking a chemical test to determine alcohol content. If you do not know a DWI defense lawyer to call, the police are to furnish you with a phone book. It is critical to make the effort to call a Minnesota DWI defense lawyer to protect your rights as soon as possible following your stop for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Minnesota’s DWI laws are among the strongest in the nation. Under Minnesota DWI / DUI laws, refusal to take a chemical test following an arrest for drunk driving is a separate criminal offense.

Minnesota DWI punishment in criminal court is punishable for up to 90 days in jail, plus fines, mandatory DWI alcohol education courses, DWI driver’s license consequences, and more. If a first-offense DWI is considered a gross misdemeanor due to aggravating factors, the punishment and penalties for drunk driving can include up to one year in jail and a fine of $3,000.00.

Minnesota DWI punishment for a second-offense drunk driving conviction is significantly harsher. A second offense DWI conviction within ten years of a prior offense is a gross misdemeanor, and carries DWI punishment and penalties of up to one year in jail, plus a fine of up to $3,000.00.

Minnesota DWI punishment goes up significantly for a third-offense DUI arrest within 10 years. Your car will be immediately impounded. There is significantly increased exposure for jail time on a third-time DWI. It is imperative that an alcohol abuse evaluation be obtained. If you are not an alcoholic, you will have to prove it at this point.

Minnesota DWI laws make a fourth-offense within 10 years a felony. Minnesota DWI law for a felony drunk driving conviction will include three years in prison and a fine of not less than $14,000.00.

If you refuse to take the breath test when you are stopped for a possible DWI, your license will be revoked for at least a year. If you are stopped while driving and your BAC is .08% you will lose your license for:

90 days, or
Six months if you are under age 21, or
180 days if your driver license was revoked in the last ten years for an alcohol related offense; and
If your BAC reading on the breath test was over .20, these periods double.

To get your license reinstated you must:

Take and pass the written DWI / DUI driver's license test.
Pay a reinstatement fee of $680.00.
Reapply for driver's license, and pay the $18.50 reapplication fee.
Comply with all other requirements of Driver and Vehicle Services. These requirements may include attending a seminar on the subject of how alcohol affects your driving; and especially if you have had prior offenses, they may include completion of alcohol treatment.

If you have two or more drunk driving related offenses within five years, or three or more prior drinking and driving related offenses during your life time, your driver's license will be suspended for at least a year and maybe forever. You will have to satisfy the Commissioner of Public Safety that you have been rehabilitated before you can legally drive again.

Before your regular driver's license is reinstated, you may be eligible for a limited license with which you will be allowed to drive to and from work, and perhaps to and from a few other very necessary activities (doctor appointments, alcohol treatment, AA meetings, dropping a child at school, etc.) In order to get a limited license, you must pass the DWI / DUI driver's test, pay the reinstatement fee and the reapplication fee, and interview with a Driver Evaluator. The Evaluator decides if you are eligible and what the limitations will be. There is always a waiting period before you can get the limited license. The minimum wait is fifteen days, and how much longer you have to wait - up to and including forever – will depend upon whether or not there are prior drunk driving convictions, and whether or not your alcohol level was above .20%