Criminal Defense

ANOTHER EXCEPTION TO THE SEARCH WARRANT REQUIREMENT IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE CONTEXT IS KNOWN AS A WEAPONS SEARCH EXCEPTION. The weapons search exception allows a police officer to conduct a limited pat-down search of a suspect’s outer clothing without a search warrant in order to find dangerous weapons that might be used against the officer during the traffic stop. There...

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that police need a search warrant to test a driver’s blood alcohol content following a DUI arrest. Missouri v. McNeely refuted the state’s argument that the body’s natural elimination of alcohol creates an automatic exception to the warrant requirement.   Before this decision, police officers got around the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement by arguing...

WHETHER YOU NEED A ST. PAUL CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER FOLLOWING A RECENT ARREST MAY DEPEND ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE POLICE ENCOUNTER. Minnesota police officers have a limited right to approach a stopped vehicle in public. An officer does not seize a driver under the law if the officer approaches an already stopped vehicle and simply asks the driver for his...

VEHICLE SEARCHES IN PLAIN VIEW EXCEPTION Continuing the discussion on warrantless vehicle searches, the plain view exception also allows police officers to seize evidence of a crime that is in plain view or plain sight. As long as the police officer has a right to be in the position he is in when he views the contraband, the officer...

As noted in our earlier post, Minnesota police officers need reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before they can lawfully stop a motor vehicle within their jurisdiction. This is a very low standard. Police officers can stop a motor vehicle for the simplest of offenses, including driving on the shoulder and crossing the center line. But what if an officer conducts a...

WHAT EXACTLY IS A PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE? Every criminal defendant is entitled to a presumption of innocence. But what does this really mean? It sure doesn’t seem like an accused is presumed innocent if he’s sitting in jail on a massive bail.  Or sitting in front of a jury with a criminal defense lawyer listening to a judge read off the...

WHY SHOULD I HIRE AN ATTORNEY FOR MY MINNESOTA DUI CASE? This is a very common question.  Many people think a DUI is pretty straightforward and there isn’t much a DUI attorney will be able to do for their case.  This is true in some cases.  DUI attorneys aren’t magicians.  We can’t inject facts into a case that would...

Our firm recently represented an employee who was hired by a waste management company.  During the initial consultation, the client disclosed that he had a previous right shoulder injury but his employer never asked specific questions regarding the nature of his work restrictions.  A few months into the new job, he injured his left shoulder while throwing garbage.  The employer denied the...

SELF DEFENSE IN MINNESOTA IS AVAILABLE UNDER A NUMBER OF SITUATIONS. The most common of these occurs when a person is resisting an offense against that person.  If a person is being assaulted or robbed, for example, the person is within their right to use a reasonable amount of force to prevent the assault or robbery. Self-defense is also available when...

MAJOR MINNESOTA DWI NEWS In separate opinions released today, the Minnesota Supreme Court has said that portions of the Minnesota DWI law is unconstitutional. Specifically, these cases addressed the issue of whether a driver can be charged with a DWI in Minnesota for refusing to provide a blood or urine sample when the arresting officer does not have a search warrant. RECENT LEGAL...