Get an attorney to represent you. Do not make further contact with law enforcement. Let the attorney handle things from here on out. Your attorney can handle any contact with law enforcement and also can provide any exculpatory evidence to the prosecutor.

Let's start with the DWI. Did you plead guilty to the charge? If so, it is too late at this point to go back and challenge the conviction as violating the cooperation agreement. The time to do that was back in 2018, not seven years later in 2025. I'm confused as to why an extension of... View More

They do not need to read your rights unless they are going to perform custodial interrogation. The fact that they did not locate stolen good does not mean that you get a free pass on any other illegal items that you might have been in possession of. You should get an attorney on board who can... View More

A defense lawyer will look at two separate stages of a police encounter: 1. Was evidence collected unlawfully, so that the defense can ask a judge to suppress the evidence? 2. Given the evidence that has survived any defense motions to suppress, does the evidence support probable cause for the... View More

Unfortunately yes, it is perfectly lawful and happens during any arrest. When you are arrested for any offense, police officers are permitted to do what's called a search incident to arrest. Whatever they find on you during the search incident to arrest is fair game for charging purposes. In... View More

You need an attorney who can review all the information, not just your recitation, about what occurred to advise you whether the search was valid or not. It is unclear from the question what you are charged with, buy you need an attorney on board if you are going to challenge that search that... View More

A defense lawyer will need more facts, all available evidence and information, in order to make a determination about whether a good Fourth Amendment search & seizure issue exists. The only lawyer who will have access to that will be the lawyer representing you, or who will be. Given the... View More

Would it be lawful for a police officer to arrest a person simply for requesting their badge number and identification in Minnesota? No, because a lawful arrest would require either an arrest warrant or sufficient "arrest probable cause" of criminal activity. A related question might be:... View More

Dropping a no contact order is not up to the alleged victim. It is a decision that is up to the Court. But the alleged victim can certainly contact the Court and request that the no contact order be dropped. A copy of that request would need to go to the prosecutor as well as the defense... View More

It should be possible to get a lab to retest a substance the state claims to be illegal drugs, either at the same lab or a different one. The Defendant might be required to pay for that, unless a judge were to order otherwise. Retesting would take time to complete, either way. The defense... View More

Individuals don't "file" charges. The decision to charge comes from the prosecuting attorney in the county where the offense occurred. The allegations can be reported to law enforcement. The allegations would be investigated and a determination would be made by the prosecuting... View More

Best practice for a person with a Harassment Restraining Order prohibiting contact with anothe rperson would be to avoid contact, whether direct or indirect. In practice, such a person may end up in the same courtroom during or waiting for a court hearing, for example. And that would not be... View More

Picking up a new criminal charge of DWI while on probation for misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct could be a violation of conditions of the stayed sentence. But entering and completing chemical health treatment would be viewed as a mitigating factor. Keeping to Probation Officer informed is a good... View More

Probation would only be notified if you signed a release of information allowing Intoxalock to provide information to probation. You should make sure to read the entirety of the handbook that Intoxalock provides regarding what substances will cause a failure. It is unlikely that probation will... View More

Under the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, the state may add new charges to a complaint if the case is in pretrial proceedings. Minn. R. Crim. P. 3.04, subd. 2. The state may also amend a complaint "at any time before verdict or finding if no additional or different offense is charged... View More

If someone alleges an assault, either to police or in family court for example, that could qualify as "trouble" for the person accused. If facing a criminal assault charge in court, the defendant can raise the defense of self-defense, if he or she has some evidence to support that... View More

The stay of imposition meant that if you successfully completed probation, that the matter would've become a misdemeanor. However, if you violated probation, the stay of imposition could be vacated and there would be a stayed sentence of one year and one day on a lower level felony like a... View More

The right of the search warrant authorizes law enforcement to be in the location to search and seize items of evidentiary value. I don't know that there would need to be a specific authorization for additional people present, for example the alleged victim, if they have the alleged victim... View More

People are often discharged from probation early once they have completed the terms and conditions of their probation. I can't say for Ramsey County, but in many counties you would be transferred to unsupervised probation or discharged early after you have completed your community service and... View More

Arson doesn’t require that you entirely burn down a building. Arson is intentionally setting the building on fire. Whether it burns down or not is immaterial.

The cops aren’t generally going to track down and verify every alleged alibi that a suspect tells them about. I’m not sure... View More