Minnesota DWI Laws

What Minnesota DWI Laws Should I Know About?

There are a number of various Minnesota DWI laws that are simply hard to categorize among the other pages devoted to the complex DWI laws. So what follows is a list of miscellaneous, yet important, DWI laws.

What Counts as Driving While Impaired in Minnesota?

Under Minnesota’s DWI statute, it is a crime for any person to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle within this state, or on any boundary water of this state, when the person is under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, an intoxicating substance the person knows or has reason to know can cause impairment, or a combination of those substances.

The statute also makes it a crime to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle when the person’s alcohol concentration at the time, or as measured within two hours of the time, is 0.08 or more. For a commercial motor vehicle, the alcohol concentration limit is 0.04 or more. Minnesota law also addresses Schedule I or II controlled substances and specifically includes being under the influence of cannabis flower, a cannabis product, a lower-potency hemp edible, a hemp-derived consumer product, an artificially derived cannabinoid, or tetrahydrocannabinols.

Refusal is its own crime. It is a crime for a person to refuse to submit to a chemical test of the person’s breath under the implied consent laws, or to refuse a blood or urine test when required by a search warrant.

What Are the Different Degrees of DWI in Minnesota?

Minnesota DWI charges are sentenced under the degree of the offense. A fourth-degree DWI is a misdemeanor and applies to a basic violation of the DWI statute. A third-degree DWI is a gross misdemeanor when one aggravating factor was present, or when the charge is based on test refusal. A second-degree DWI is also a gross misdemeanor and applies when two or more aggravating factors were present for a DWI violation, or when one aggravating factor was present for a test refusal.

Those degrees matter because they affect the possible sentence, the mandatory penalties that may apply, and the collateral consequences that can follow. The statute also provides that mandatory penalties and long-term monitoring may be applicable for second- and third-degree DWI offenses.

How Long Can Probation Last in a Minnesota DWI Case?

Courts are authorized to stay execution of a criminal sentence and, instead, place a defendant on probation, subject to terms and conditions. The stayed sentence is available for all levels of crime, including felonies. A statutory-mandated condition, though, is that the defendant must submit to the level of care recommended in a chemical dependency assessment, which is also required by statute.

The length of probation depends on the level of offense: misdemeanor DWIs are up to 2 years, gross misdemeanors are up to 6 years, and felonies are either 4 years or the maximum length of a prison sentence, whichever is longer.

Can the Court Add a Penalty Assessment for a High Alcohol Concentration?

If the defendant is convicted of a DWI with an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or more, the Court may impose a penalty assessment of up to $1,000.00 in addition to any fine. While atypical, this is still an assessment any defendant faced with a high reading should be aware of and should fight if a prosecutor seeks to impose this penalty.

What Evidence Can Be Used at a DWI Trial?

When prosecuting a driving while impaired charge, meaning the charge is not predicated on whether the defendant had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more as measured at the time or within two hours, the Court may admit into evidence the following:

• Evidence that the defendant had an alcohol concentration above 0.04 is relevant in determining whether the defendant was under the influence of alcohol;
• Evidence that the defendant refused to submit to the implied consent test is (perhaps) relevant; and
• Evidence of implied consent tests taken more than two hours after the alleged violation.

Can Someone Be Charged with Aiding and Abetting a DWI?

While rarely seen, any person who attempts to commit, conspires to commit, or aids or abets in any violation of the DWI laws may be prosecuted for that offense. Similarly, any person who causes another person to violate any DWI law may also be prosecuted for that offense.