DUI Law in Minnesota is one among the strict and severest in the nation. An arrest under the DUI would give rise to two legal cases namely a court case on punishment for drunk driving and a public safety case by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that might call for a suspension of your license.
The law gives the right to the person arrested under DUI to speak to the DUI defense lawyer immediately after the arrest and before taking any chemical test for alcohol content. Talking to a defense lawyer is very critical in order to save the license. Refusing a chemical test without defense would amount to a criminal offence under the law. Minnesota’s legal limit for Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is .10. You can be arrested even if it is less where it is proved that the driving errors are because of DUI.
The penalties for drunk driving are very severe from misdemeanor fines, felony convictions and serving a jail term, in addition to suspension of license for an indefinite period of time. Reinstatement of license involves heavy reinstatement fee in addition to knowledge test, license application and chemical assessment fee.
Revocation of license will be for a period of 30 days to 90 days where it is a first time offence and for a period of six months if the driver is below 21 years of age. Where the person convicted is a commercial driver he will be subjected to the above penalties if his BAC is .04 or above. Presence of any amount of alcohol content in the body of a driver who is less than 21 years of age, amounts to revocation of license as specified above and applicability of criminal penalties as applicable to adults. Concept of limited license is also used in this process where you are allowed to drive to and from work. All temporary licenses are valid only for seven days.
Originally posted 2016-12-11 13:52:20.