Possible DUI / DWI Defense Strategies

Fighting your Driving While Impaired charges in Minnesota

There are several possible defenses you can raise to discredit and in some cases beat, your DWI charges. From the methods used by the police officers to gather evidence against you, to the reasons the police gave for the initial stop, the prosecution has the burden of executing every step of the process flawlessly. Any error they make, whether massive or minor, can result in the dismissal of your case.

The following list is not meant to be legal advice, as the only way to get meaningful guidance regarding the specifics of your case is to have it reviewed by an experienced Twin Cities DWI lawyer

1. Initial Pull-Over
Did the police have the right to pull you over? There is a minimum standard of probable cause that the police must meet for the pull-over to be valid. Regardless of the evidence gathered against you, if it was not gathered following strict police procedure, the validity of the evidence may be diminished.

2. Odor of alcohol does not necessarily indicate intoxication
If the police officer was operating under the assumption that you were intoxicated merely based on the smell of alcohol, their evidence gathering process may be questioned.

3. Unfair sobriety testing
The preliminary breath test (PBT) using the hand-held breath test, as well as the intoxilyzer 5000 test that you would have been given back at the station both provide results that can be successfully challenged in court.

4. Test refusal
Under Minnesota's implied consent law, refusing to take the breath, blood or urine test after being pulled over is a crime punishable by a 12 month (1 year) suspension of your Minnesota drivers license. However, there are cases where drivers have been charged with test refusal when they DID actually try to co-operate with the test.