MN DUI Penalties

A long list of intricate penalties, and variables exist among the Minnesota DUI violations, which occur in the state. Both a criminal court, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Court hear all DUI violations. The DPS is charged with protecting citizens through activities that promote prevention, preparedness, recovery, education, response, and enforcement. The objectives which are outlined in the mission statement of the agency, works to achieve their goals through focusing on saving lives, and building public trust. Many different boards work under the heading of the DPA, including the Pardons Board, Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Social Work Board, Office of Traffic Safety, Mental Health Practice Council, and the Corrections Department, all of which can play into the sentencing, and conditional release programs associated with a DUI charge. Various forms of alternative enforcement, and compliance check programs exist under the guidelines of this agency.

The DPA considers impaired driving to be present when a blood alcohol level is .08 or higher in a personal vehicle, or .04 or higher in a commercial vehicle. An individual in Minnesota can be arrest for a DUI offense is they are deemed to be in control or either a parked, or moving vehicle. If any law enforcement officer can prove to the court that a person commits driving errors while under the influence of alcohol, or drugs, a person can be convicted of DUI with even lower blood alcohol levels.

Minnesota averages more than 30,000 DUI arrests annually. Each arrested driver may experience unique, and specific criminal penalties in addition to administrative license sanctions, depending on the arrest situation and previous driving violations and criminal records. Additional laws, penalties and sanctions have been enacted for individuals under the age of 21 who commit DUI violations.

All DUI related convictions carry a $680 reinstatement fee, passage of a DUI knowledge test, a driver’s license re- application fee, and a chemical assessment. Any individual convicted of felony level DUI violation, who has seven qualified prior impaired driving incidents within the past ten years, but no other criminal convictions, would likely reach the threshold for a presumptive commit-to-prison. Such sentences typically include the following penalties in a Minnesota criminal court: three prior offenses are used to establish the basis for enhancing the current DWI offense to a felony-level crime. But these can’t also be used to determine the person’s criminal history score, the other four prior offenses, provided they involved DWI convictions, count as one-half criminal history point each, for a total of two points, one criminal history point or a custody status point, would result from the current impaired driving incident occurring while the person is on probation for a prior impaired driving incident, and would almost always be the case in such a charge.

A driver would be guilty of a first degree felony is three or more similar charges have been present within a ten year period, or the person has been convicted or a felony DUI ever before in their driving history.
Misdemeanor convictions begin with a jail sentence of up to 90 days, and can include a fine of $3,000. A second misdemeanor offense, when it occurs within a ten-year period is considered a gross misdemeanor. Sentences upon conviction can include up to a year in jail, and a fine of up to $3,000. A fourth DUI offense within a ten-year period is considered a felony in Minnesota. A felony conviction can include up to three years in prison, and a fine of up to $14,000.