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OF YOUR STOP AND ARREST
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BEFORE AND DURING

YOUR STOP AND ARREST

DID THE OFFICER(S) HAVE A VALID REASON FOR THE INITIAL STOP?
If you have sufficient evidence against the reason for the stop and
arrest, you may be able to have your DWI dropped.
♦ For example, did an officer pull you over for failing to maintain your
lane but dashcam footage shows you drove between the lines.
Did reasonable cause exist for the officer to request a portable breath
test (PBT)?
♦ To request a preliminary breath test, the state must show reasonable
suspicion existed at the time of the request. State v. Vievering, 383
N.W.2d 729, 730.
If you underwent a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST), did that
test meet the standards set forth by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA)?
♦ For example, did the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (HGN) test take
longer than 90 seconds?
Did the officer narrative in your police report contain bland or
overgeneralized references to things such as “bloodshot and watery
eyes” or “emanating odor of alcohol beverage”?
♦ If officers have the same observations in every report, their credibility
could be in question.
Did you have an adequate opportunity to get in contact with an
attorney before submitting to the chemical test at the police station?
♦ Police must allow you a reasonable amount of time to get in
contact with an attorney. However, if you say you’re finished, your
time will be up.
♦ Police must allow you—if requested—to have privacy to speak with
your attorney unless doing so would create a security concern
♦ You may meet with your attorney in person if he or she arrives within
a reasonable amount of time
THE LEGAL STANDARD
TO FIND YOU GUILTY OF DWI
The state must prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that probable cause existed for the
arrest and request for a chemical test. State
v. Koppi, 798 N.W.2d 358, 362 (Minn. 2011).
- The question comes down to whether
there was objective probable cause, not
whether an officer subjectively thought
there was probable cause. State v. Horner,
617 N.W.2d 789, 798 (Minn. 2000).
- Probable cause to arrest for a DWI
refers to “’whenever there are facts and
circumstances known to the officer which
would warrant a prudent man in believing
that the individual was driving or was
operating’ or was in physical control of
a motor vehicle while impaired.” State v.
Koppi, 798 N.W.2d 358, 362 (Minn. 2011).
- If the majority of probable cause is
generated by a single police officer who
has a poor reporting history, the state’s
case may be too weak to proceed.
Let me investigate the background(s) of
the arresting officer(s) in your case.