Blog

Even After the Fines and License Suspension, You’re Not Done Paying In the past we have discussed the different penalties (both criminal penalties and the driver’s license suspension) for a DWI conviction. There are four distinct levels or “degrees” to a DWI charge in Minnesota which you can read about at the links below: Fourth Degree DWI Penalties in...

St. Paul DUI & DWI Defense Attorney With the holiday season upon us, there are two things we can count on: parties where drinks will be flowing freely, and increased DWI enforcement.  If you find yourself pulled over after having a few drinks and are arrested for DWI, talk to the St. Paul attorneys at Arechigo & Stokka in a free...

Vehicle Searches Incident to Arrest As previously discussed, police officers need a search warrant anytime they want to search a motor vehicle. Warrantless vehicle searches in Minnesota are presumed to be unconstitutional. However, there are several exceptions to this rule. One exception is known as the search incident to arrest exception. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court Established a...

Wondering About a DWI on an Electric Scooter? Vodka tonic with a lime….scooter?  If you live or work in downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul, you’ve likely seen the Lime scooters or Bird scooters. They started popping up a couple of months ago.  The Lime and Bird scooters have become popular offering quick, easy mobility throughout downtown. Easily accessed by...

In order to lawfully stop a motor vehicle in Minnesota, a police officer must have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is being committed. This rule of law is taken from the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Pike. The police officer must be able to point to and articulate specific facts that support a reasonable suspicion...

Types of Injuries MINNESOTA WORK COMP LAWYER  An injured worker can be entitled to Minnesota work comp benefits if an injury is work-related as the result of work duties.  The employee may be injured on the employer’s property, while at another worksite, when traveling on the job, or doing anything that is work-related while “on the clock.”  With the help of...

An aggravation or acceleration of a previous condition or injury is very common in workers’ compensation cases. It can occur in the context of an employee having a pre-existing condition like arthritis, or a prior injury like an ACL tear, and then a subsequent injury to that same area.  The issue in regard to Minnesota workers’ compensation law is...

The Court of Appeals just declared the Minnesota DWI Refusal law unconstitutional. In State v. Trahan, the Court explained that charging a motorist with refusing to submit to a blood draw for purposes of testing alcohol concentration is unconstitutional if the police did not have a search warrant.  This issue had sort of been addressed by the Court in recent years,...

Are Public Tweets Free Speech Protected By The First Amendment? This is the issue that we will take up in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court later this year. Our client has been charged and convicted of the criminal offenses of Stalking and Harassment for posting a series of public tweets mentioning another Twitter user.  We previously argued the charges...

Minnesota criminal defense lawyer John Arechigo has been named an Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.  John’s selection was based off the State v. Turner case, in which he successfully challenged the constitutionality of Minnesota’s former criminal defamation law. Isanti County charged Turner with criminal defamation stemming from an online post about two individuals.  Recognizing that the Minnesota law infringed on First Amendment protected...