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Minnesota Drunk Driving Articles
DWI Library: Minnesota
Motorized Chair from Minnesota DWI Case Sells on eBay
Police make over $10,000 on sale.
A motorized chair built by Dennis LeRoy Anderson gained notoriety after he was busted for driving while intoxicated in Minnesota last year. The recliner is powered by a lawnmower engine and features a stereo, cup holders, headlights a nitrous oxide power boost system and a parachute.
Anderson had a blood alcohol content more than three and a half times the legal limit for intoxication when he struck a parked car in August 2008 on his way home from a bar. The 62-year old man from near Duluth eventually pleaded guilty to MN DWI, and the Proctor Police Department impounded his special chair. As allowed under Minnesota DWI law, the police placed the chair on eBay, with all proceeds going to the police department. They had received bids over $43,000 before it was revealed that the chair was not a 'La-Z-Boy' brand as initially advertised, so the bidding started again.
The new winning bid was for $10,099.99.
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Arrests for DWI in Minnesota Higher in July
Month records most drunk driving arrests for year.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has issued a report showing that more arrests for suspicion of driving while intoxicated were made during July than in any other month of the year. A total of 196 arrests for MN DWI were made.
During a special initiative against drunk driving in Minnesota called NightCAP, law enforcement officers stopped 3,961 vehicles and issued 1,354 citations for traffic violations such as DWI, speeding, reckless driving and failure to wear seat belts. The program targets 13 counties in Minnesota and since it inception in the fall of 2008, more than 1000 motorists have been charged with driving while intoxicated or impairment of drugs.
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Minnesota High Court Issues Opinion on Access to Breathalyzer Code
Court outlines defense access to code in cases of Minnesota DWI.
For years, DWI defense attorneys in Minnesota have been requesting access to the computer source code used in breath testing equipment during drunk driving arrests. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court issued an opinion on whether the code could become evidence in a DWI case.
The high court empowered judges to decide if access to the code was relevant to the defense in a specific MN DWI case. Defense lawyers must provide information showing the software’s relevance before the judge can rule.
Questions have frequently risen as to how the software calculates blood alcohol content in suspected drunk drivers, and whether it shows bias to gender or race. The manufacturer of the equipment says the software is proprietary and has refused to provide access in under court order.
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Legislation Would Put Hold on Minnesota DWI Penalties
Motorists accused of drunk driving in MN would not lose license until actually found guilty.
In an effort to restore due process and a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, a state lawmaker has introduced a bill calling for motorists to be convicted of driving while intoxicated in Minnesota before losing their driver's licenses.
Under current Minnesota DWI law, drivers have their licenses suspended or revoked shortly after an arrest for suspicion of drunk driving. The revocation process can begin within 7 days of an arrest, and it is a separate civil case that occurs before defendants appear in court to resolve their criminal DWI offenses. The minimum suspension for registering a blood-alcohol content over the legal limit of .08% is 90 days. Refusal to submit to a breath or blood test will result in a one year suspension.
Under the proposed legislation, motorists would lose their licenses for a minimum of 30 days if the failed a breath test and at least 60 days if they refused to take a test.
Opponents of the measure have been quick to denounce it. Minnesota has an implied consent law which makes it mandatory for a motorist to provide a breath or blood sample if a law enforcement officer suspects a case of DWI. It is under that provision that licenses are suspended rapidly. Supporters of the bill say that drivers are penalized well before they even have the opportunity to defend themselves. They cite that not all motorists who drink are drunk. The public perception of an intoxicated driver is that of the chronic drunk who usually registers a BAC over twice the legal limit. In contrast, an arrest for MN DWI can be initiated by an officer based on the presence of alcohol and an assumption of impairment. The Breathalyzer equipment used in Minnesota has come under repeated legal challenges across the country for software glitches, and improperly maintained or calibrated equipment can lead to a false positive BAC readings. There are physical limitations that may influence a field sobriety test. It is those types of situations that are resolved in the court system with an impartial judge or jury.
The bill would also stop the seizure of license plates and vehicles until a person is convicted of DWI in Minnesota. In addition to re-asserting civil liberties, the legislation's author has criticized the current system as having fostered a costly, unwieldy bureaucracy.
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Another Minnesota DWI for Man Not Driving Car
Defendant was sitting in his car in a hotel parking lot when arrested fro drunk driving in MN.
A Rochester man was charged with driving while intoxicated in Minnesota after police found him in his car. However the man’s car was parked on the street in front of a Holiday Inn and he was simply sitting in the driver’s seat at the time.
Justin Allen Stock was arrested around 2:50 in the morning after a Holiday Inn security guard saw him around the property and alerted police. Stock was found in his vehicle though he denied having operated the car while intoxicated. The police said it did not matter and charged him with drunk driving.
A spokesperson with the Rochester Police Department said that a motorist is in control of a vehicle if they have the keys with them. The keys don’t even have to be in the driver’s possession; they just have to be in the vehicle.
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Asleep in Vehicle Earns Minnesota DWI
Vehicle was parked but owner still arrested for drunk driving in MN.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld DWI charges against a man arrested by police for sitting in his vehicle. Daryl Dean Fleck had been convicted on two counts of driving while intoxicated in Minnesota after being found asleep in his SUV with the door open. The keys were in the center console and the vehicle was in Fleck's assigned parking space. Fleck told police that he went to get something from his Chevy Blazer and then decided to sit in it for awhile. Investigating officers found three cans of beer under a blanket on the passenger seat. A breath test registered a blood alcohol content of .18%.
In the Appeals Court ruling, the judges said that there was sufficient evidence that Fleck was in 'physical control' of his vehicle and thus the DWI arrest was warranted. They went on to say that Fleck may have, without too much difficulty, started the vehicle and become a danger to others. Fleck denies any intent to drive the vehicle and he even told police he did not know where his keys were at the time of the arrest, though the court ruled that intent was 'immaterial'.
The courts have undertaken the question of physical control in incidents of MN drunk driving before. In a 1984 case involving a man who slept in his vehicle after having an argument with his girlfriend, his case was won on appeal, as he showed no intent to drive. In 2006, police responded to an intoxicated man arguing with another guest at a wedding reception. The man was observed walking to his vehicle, unlocking the door and placing his foot in the car. He then turned and threw the keys to his wife but he was still charged with DWI for being in control of a vehicle. That case was eventually dismissed.
Those rulings leave open legal options to Fleck and his Minnesota DWI defense lawyer.
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Bus Driver Charged with Minnesota DWI
Driver was on his route when passengers notified police of drunk driving.
A Minneapolis area Metro Transit driver was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Minnesota while operating a bus with a blood alcohol content six times the legal limit. Alonzo V. Martin was stopped around 9:40 pm after passengers and a motorist called police to report erratic driving.
Police officers say that Martin exhibited slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and an aroma of alcohol. Martin denied drinking though an open container of alcohol was found on the bus. He failed a field sobriety test and a breath test revealed a blood alcohol content of .24%. According to Minnesota DWI laws, a driver is legally intoxicated with a BAC of .08%. For a commercial driver, however, the threshold for drunk driving in MN is .04%.
Martin is expected to be charged with third degree Minnesota DWI. He has a history of driving offenses, including several speeding tickets, no proof of insurance, inattentive driving and having an open container. Two tickets were issued within 12 months of his hire by Metro Transit, a violation of company employment policy.
Martin has been placed on leave pending the filing of formal charges. This is the first incident of driver receiving a DWI while on duty in the history of the transit agency.
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American Idol Contestant Has Previous Minnesota DWI
Jessica Langseth is one of top 36 in current Idol 8 competition.
It has been revealed that American Idol contestant Jessica Langseth has been arrested for driving while intoxicated in Minnesota two years ago. Langseth made it to the top 36 finalists in American Idol 8 last week.
Langseth pled guilty to drunk driving in Minneapolis, her home town, and was sentenced to four days in jail and put on probation. She completed that probation term last December.
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Judge Throws Out Minnesota Intoxilyzer Settlement
Federal judge turns down agreement between state and the manufacturer of the breath test equipment.
A federal judge ordered that a settlement reached between CMI, the maker of the Intoxilyzer, and the state of Minnesota be turned aside. The breath test equipment is used to establish blood alcohol content in Minnesota DWI cases. Drunk driving defense lawyers have argued for access to the source code of the equipment to ensure that any charges filed against their clients are accurate. No one outside of the manufacturer, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, knows how the program works, so there is no way to independently ensure correct results. It has also been revealed that CMI has changed the source code without the state’s knowledge.
Last September the State of Minnesota sued CMI, and in an ensuing agreement the manufacturer agreed to allow access to the code. However, the terms of the settlement called for travel to CMI’s headquarters in Kentucky to review the software and there were restrictions on who could view the code and in what format. That led the federal judge to rule that the agreement would not make “the source code reasonably and readily available to Minnesota (DWI) litigants.”
MN DWI defense attorneys are calling the ruling a success. The inability to verify the results of the equipment has resulted in dozens of DWI cases to be dismissed in Minnesota state courts. Each year the Intoxilyzer is used in approximately 35,000 suspected cases of driving while intoxicated in Minnesota.
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Woman Tased Twice During Minnesota DWI Arrest
Police say she resisted arrest for drunk driving.
Wadena police stopped a woman on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Minnesota and ended up tasing her twice to complete an arrest. Marie Buchta, 33, of Detroit Lakes, was stopped around 3:30 am and when asked if she had been drinking, she replied yes but was “all right to drive back (home)”.
Buchta reportedly failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit to a breath test. When officers attempted to take her into custody, she resisted, so the arresting officers tased her twice. Court records show that Buchta had a prior Minnesota drunk driving case from January 2008.
Buchta was charged with second degree Minnesota DWI, third degree DWI, violation of an open bottle law and obstructing the legal process. She will be arraigned February 23.
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