Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that Minnesota’s Test Refusal Statute was unconstitutional as applied to blood and urine test refusals. In the opinions, State v. Thompson and State v. Trahan, the Court followed the holding and logic of Birchfield v. North...
Photo of Amber S. Johnson
A Strong Defense Can Make All The Difference
Photo of Amber S. Johnson
A Strong Defense Can Make All The Difference
Constitutional Rights
Bail: Misuse Leads to Coerced Guilty Pleas
Every person arrested faces the potential that they will have to pay some sort of amount of money in order to gain their freedom during the course of their ciminal case. If a person cannot pay their bail, or cannot come up with the money to pay a bail bondsman to pay...
POSITION OF POWER: Officer v. “Reasonable Person”
Police Officer use of force is an ever-growing topic of discussion in today’s society. The news and social media have allowed people to not only hear about, but actually see, videos where force, even deadly force, is used. The take away, whether you agree with the...
Police Use Coercive Tactics to Secure Drug Informants
A common technique for law enforcement is to use low-level drug offenders as “CIs” or confidential informants to help catch higher level drug dealers and suppliers. Often these cases involve a non-violent offender with little to no criminal history who gets caught...
You hear it on TV and in the movies, “You have the right to remain silent…” But what does it mean?
On more than one occasion, I have spoken to someone who tells me, “ They didn’t read me Miranda when they arrested me.” They think that this means that the arrest was bad and that the case will get thrown out. But, the Miranda warning you hear on TV and in the movies...
Illegal to Refuse a Warrantless Search
State v. Bernard – Much Awaited…VERY Disappointing. This morning, the Minnesota Supreme Court released its opinion in the much anticipated case of State v. Bernard. Many were hoping that the court would finally sort out the mess that has ensued in Minnesota courts...
I Was Pulled Over & I Have Been Drinking – What do I Do? (Part 1)
It depends… It depends because DWI stops vary and so do the people involved. Do you think you are over the limit? Are you close? Do you know you are over? If your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08 or more, you are over the legal limit and will be charged with...
I Was Pulled Over & I Have Been Drinking – What do I Do? (Part 2)
Whether to take a test is like picking the lesser of two evils. Charged if you do, charged if you don’t. To preface this post – I am ONLY TALKING ABOUT whether or not there is a way to avoid being CHARGED with a DWI AFTER BEING ARRESTED. I am NOT DISCUSSING whether or...