"An appeals court has affirmed an $11 million jury award related to a Minnesota crash that killed three people and resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of a driver.
A Dakota County Judge Order the reinstatement of Client’s driving privileges after finding that driver’s right to obtain an additional test in a DWI case had been denied. According to Minnesota Statute 169A.51 CHEMICAL TESTS FOR INTOXICATION, 7(b), "The person tested has the right to have someone of the person's own choosing administer a chemical […]
Police were investigating an accident and observed the defendant's vehicle parked on the grass behind a private residence. Police ended up entering an old, dilapidated fish house in the yard, where they found the defendant. The Court finds that the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the fish house, which was within the […]
Defendant's vehicle was stopped for an obstructed license plate and the Trooper eventually asked direct questions about drugs and sought to obtain consent to search the vehicle, which consent was not given. The Trooper suspected a drug offense and got a canine to sniff around the vehicle. The canine alerted to drugs at a portion […]
Affirming the defendant’s conviction of refusing to submit to a chemical test, the Court finds that defendant’s statement to the officer that he would not take the test without his attorney present was sufficient to support the verdict. State v. Jason Nelson (Ct. App. Unpublished. 9/17/18)
DRIVER SEIZED WHEN TROOPER ACTIVATES RED LIGHTS Affirming a District Court order granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of DWI, the Court finds no error in the District Court’s finding that the defendant was seized when the trooper activated his emergency lights immediately after the defendant pulled away from the side of the […]
Passenger Search Improper During a traffic stop, the defendant, a passenger, admitted to the officer that he had marijuana. The defendant consented to a pat search, but the officer more thoroughly searched the defendant’s pockets. The Court finds that in spite of justification to conduct a pat frisk, that the search into the defendant’s pockets […]
A commercial vehicle inspector was inspecting the defendant’s commercial vehicle at a weigh station and thought, but was unsure whether he smelled the odor of marijuana in the vehicle. The inspector had only smelled marijuana twice during his training 9 years earlier. A narcotics dog was called to the scene and alerted to drugs. The […]
A divided Minnesota Supreme Court today overturned a Court of Appeals ruling that using a drug-sniffing dog outside a person’s apartment without a warrant is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights. It was an apparent 3-to-2 vote. A divided Minnesota Supreme Court today overturned a Court of Appeals ruling that using a drug-sniffing dog outside […]
Vehicle Search – Backpack Police searched a motor vehicle for missing items stolen from a convenience store and all of the items that were believed to be missing were recovered. After the items were recovered, police searched a backpack found in the vehicle wherein drugs were found. The Court finds that the police lacked probable […]
Brent S. Schafer recently received advanced level training, from the American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys, on Unconstitutional Fees In DUI Cases. Brent received training on a recent Court of Appeals Decision in Tennessee that administrative fees charged on blood draws are unconstitutional and violate due process. Many areas of the Country have similar administrative […]
