Minnesota Criminal Defense Legal Questions

What would make a difference is having a lawyer to represent you. Your lawyer will communicate with the prosecutor for you. That's usually the only way the prosecutor will take you seriously. Even if the prosecutor won't drop the charges, there are things you can do to make it more difficult for them to prosecute your wife. Your lawyer will help you.... Read Answer

Usually you would appear in court within a certain period of time. Generally speaking, although I'm sure there are exceptions, when you turn yourself in early in the morning, usually they will try to get you before a Judge the same day. At that hearing, you can simply ask the court to "quash" the warrant and give you a new court date to address the charges. A prosecutor may be present at that initial hearing and may want to talk to you about a resolution, as well. If you are represented, which I strongly recommend, make sure your lawyer is present with you on that date. As always, I suggest you contact an attorney. ... Read Answer

With regard to your friend's care, he would have had a right to judicially challenge the forfeiture of his motor vehicle. Under the circumstances, if he has yet to be charged with the Dec 2010 DWI, might have also had an issue in which to challenge the forfeiture. If he did not judicially challenge the forfeiture within the time frame required, the state may have simply forfeited the motor vehicle by default. You present a somewhat complicated case. I would advise your friend to contact an attorney right away and provide that attorney with all the paper work relating to all of the offenses for an informed legal opinion to be rendered. Good Luck.... Read Answer

Bottom line - you need a lawyer to represent you. You may have defenses to this criminal charge. But you won't know until your lawyer reviews all of the reports and evidence in your case. Your lawyer will advise you about how to handle the warrant and bail issues. Your best defense is a strong offense. Get started by making a few calls and getting a lawyer retained.... Read Answer

From what you describe it seems to me likely that you will be charged with felony burglary. If not burglary, then perhaps it could be a charge of trespass or attempted theft. Either way, you should get an experienced attorney retained to represent you. Give me a call if you'd like to discuss options.... Read Answer

First, I would strongly recommend that you sit down for a private consultation with an experienced attorney. It would likely be to your benefit for you to hire a lawyer to represent you - to help you exercise your rights. Generally, Minnesota does have a spousal privilege that prevents one spouse from being compelled to testify against the other. There are exceptions to that privilege however. One of those exceptions applies when it is alleged that a crime was committed by one spouse against the other. That exception may apply here.... Read Answer

No, the police should not be able to do an inventory search under there circumstances. They would need probable cause, and they'd need to use that probable cause to obtain a search warrant from a judge. You should have a lawyer look at all of this for you. Can be the same lawyer that you retain to represent you in your pending criminal case.... Read Answer

It appears that this case will come down to whether the government can prove that you were "in possession" of the gun. Felon in possession is an extremely serious charge. If you're charged with the offense that I assume that you are, it comes along with a mandatory five year prison sentence. I recommend that you get an experienced criminal defense lawyer retained right away.... Read Answer

It's not a petty theft. It's a misdemeanor crime. All thefts start out at a minimum of misdemeanor level. I recommend that you retain a lawyer to help you through this case. Even though you are required to appear in court, your lawyer will still try to do something to keep this crime off of your criminal record and keep you out of jail.... Read Answer

Usually an "A&D" refers to an arrest and detain warrant. Now that he's in jail, the A&D hold usually means that he doesn't have an option for release on bail. If he got 60 days on the last probation violation, they're probably going to want much more on this next one. Make sure your husband is represented by an experienced criminal defense lawyer.... Read Answer

If you don't turn yourself in, then there will be a warrant out for your arrest. The police might just come out and grab you and bring you to jail. What you should do is to retain a lawyer to help you through this. It sounds like they think that you violated the terms of your probation. You can take some steps aimed at improving your outlook on this. Your attorney will help you.... Read Answer

You really need to get a well experienced DWI lawyer retained to represent you. Call around and see if you can find a price and payment arrangement that you can work with. None of the circumstances you describe would render the urine test in admissible. They don't have to arrest you or jail you or read you your rights before taking a urine test. However, the state of the law on blood and urine tests is still up in the air. You need a lawyer that knows what they're doing to raise the right challenges for you. Don't just assume that you have to plead guilty.... Read Answer

The offense called Sale/Possession of a Controlled Substance will appear on her driving record. Yes, it will very likely cause an increase in insurance rates. Yes, it may make it more difficult for her get driving jobs, or even other types of jobs. Drug offenses can also impact a person's ability to obtain federal student loans. There may be a chance to reopen the case and get a deal instead that keeps the offense off of her record. Get help from from an experienced lawyer on this.... Read Answer