It sounds like you were pulled over on suspicion of a DUI and the police officer searched the car and allegedly discovered a controlled substance in the vehicle. It is pretty atypical for someone to be charged separately for alleged offenses arising from the same incident, but it is permissible and... View More

You can carry your firearm in your vehicle as long as it is unloaded and in the closed trunk of your vehicle. If you want immediate access to the firearm, you need a permit to carry. The law does not regard self-defense as an excuse to not not have a permit to carry.

You can apply for a... View More

You can be charged with assault if the police have probable cause to believe you assaulted the person. Probable cause is not very high standard. If the alleged victim had a visible injury and claimed that you were the attacker, that's pretty much all that is needed for probable cause to charge... View More

You are correct that there is a new aiding and abetting law in the context of felony murder in Minnesota, but whether the new law is applicable to your fiancé's situation requires additional information. With that said, the new law dictates that a person cannot be charged under the... View More

In Minnesota, they do not actually have to charge you to arrest and hold you in jail. If the police officer believes they have probable cause to make an arrest (probable cause is a very low standard), they can hold you in jail for up to 48 hours without charging you. If they do not charge you... View More

I am sorry to hear that your public defender is not responsive to you. The Sixth Amendment guarantees every person charged with a crime competent legal counsel, so if your lawyer is not answering your questions or providing you with information about your case, then they might be violating your... View More

Based on the facts that you provided (that you are a 1-time offender charged with a petty misdemeanor) you won't face jail time. You can just state you plead guilty to take accountability for your, establish a factual basis for the guilty plea (explain to the judge why you what happened and... View More

It is imperative that you maintain no contact with your mother while the no-contact order is in effect. Only the judge can lift the no contact order through a motion or request by the victim's advocate. Typically, a hearing will be held on the matter. Sometimes that judge will just issue an... View More

You should definitely appear at your remote hearing so a bench warrant is not issued. Get a lawyer as soon as reasonably possible, or if eligible, apply for a public defender. Tell your lawyer that you want access to the video. Most lawyers will file a discovery request to obtain the video, and if... View More

Technically, they can violate you for it (depending on the county) but you could overcome this by seeking a court order from a judge permitting you to use marijuana for legitimate medical reasons. In an ideal system, you would not be violated for taking your prescribed medication, but laws can... View More

In my opinion, a documented lie by a city attorney that is unrelated to the factual basis for a criminal charge probably would not directly result in the dismissal of that charge. This is especially true if if there is probable cause and corroborating evidence to support the charge (a city... View More

This is a good question.

Based on the information you provided, I will answer this under the assumption that Minnesota is the jurisdiction that is using the California conviction to enhance the sentence, and the California conviction was recent (i.e. less than 15 years old). In this case,... View More

There is no form or petition for this. A DANCO can only be lifted by a judge.

If you wish to have the DANCO lifted or modified, I would start by reaching out to the victim's advocate assigned to the defendant's case. In almost all domestic violence cases, there is a... View More

Unfortunately, neither one of these offenses (felony assault & terroristic threats are expungable offenses in the State of Minnesota at this time. You can find a full list of expungable felony offenses here: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A/full#stat.609A.01.

If you... View More

No judgments here. We all make mistakes and we as defense lawyers are here to help mitigate the fallout from your mistakes so that you are not defined by them. With that said-

The answer to your question is: it depends. The police officer who took the report and issued the citation will... View More

Unlikely that Buddy #2 would be charged.

If Buddy #2 was some sort of accomplice to the crime that Buddy #1 turned himself in for or was part of a conspiracy with Buddy #2, or the two were part of a drug conspiracy, then yeah, possibly. It also depends on how old the videos are (statute of... View More

This is a great question. As a general matter, a person who is walking down the street minding their own business is entitled to Fourth Amendment protection, which protects people from "unreasonable searches and seizures" by the government. What you are describing sounds like a Terry... View More

There is not enough information to answer your question fully. If the items were seized pursuant to a warrant, then perhaps they could be admissible. But it would depend on what the scope of the warrant, the "totality of circumstances," whether you had a reasonable expectation of privacy... View More

If your girlfriend is a first time offender, there is a good possibility that the prosecutor would offer a stay of adjudication which would mean that she would be sentenced to a period of supervision, and it would prevent the offense from going on her record, provided she does not commit another... View More

Surprisingly, yes you can. As a general rule: if you find a tangible object anywhere (public or private) and you know that object does not belong to you and you take it with the intent of keeping it, thereby depriving the rightful owner of their property, that is prima facie theft. It does not... View More