Blog – Robert J. Shane

You will want to immediately retain experienced defense counsel to defend your freedom and reputation. While the case is being investigated, you should not interview with any police officer or investigator. You are at risk for being charged with malicious punishment of a child and domestic assault. By hiring an attorney early on in the case, you may be able to prevent criminal charges. If you, or someone you know, has been charged with child abuse, you [...]

Yes, you can be charged with a DWI for drunk driving on private property. Minnesota DWI laws apply to operating a vehicle while under the influence on private property, lawns, parking lots, lakes and rivers. The courts always interpret the DWI laws liberally in favor of public safety. The DWI charge could still be dismissed if the police did not have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify the stop of your car or lacked probable cause [...]

Yes, you can be recharged with a felony after the charge has been dismissed. Often times a prosecutor will dismiss a felony charge on his own motion for lack of evidence or due to missing witnesses making the case more difficult to prove at trial. A criminal case can also be dismissed on a defense motion based on lack of probable cause to believe an offense was committed by the defendant. After the dismissal, police investigators may [...]

Yes, you can be recharged with a felony after the charge has been dismissed. Often times a prosecutor will dismiss a felony charge on his own motion for lack of evidence or due to missing witnesses making the case more difficult to prove at trial. A criminal case can also be dismissed on a defense motion based on lack of probable cause to believe an offense was committed by the defendant. After the dismissal, police investigators may [...]

Yes, minors are entitled to have legal representation in juvenile court. If they are indigent, the court will appoint an attorney to represent them. Minors are entitled to many of the same rights as adults including the right to remain silent and to confront and cross-examine witnesses at trial. These rights are guaranteed to juveniles by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to counsel in a criminal case is guaranteed to adults by [...]

If a person is acquitted of a criminal assault charge, he can still be sued for a civil assault arising out of the same set of facts. This is true because the parties are different in both cases. In the criminal case the parties are the State of Minnesota verses the defendant. In the civil case the parties are the victim of the assault verses the defendant. Since the victim of the assault did not have an [...]

Yes, you can fight a minor consumption ticket. You would be wise not to submit to a preliminary breath test. You are under no legal obligation to submit to any field sobriety testing. The PBT test result is admissible evidence in court and can be used against you in a minor consumption prosecution. If you agree to submit to the pen test tracking your eye movements, the officer will be allowed to testify at trial regarding the [...]

The best advice would be for you to contact the prosecuting attorney and tell him that you do not wish to cooperate in the prosecution of your friend. No prosecutor wants to have an uncooperative witness at trial. Let the prosecutor know if you were the one who started the fight. The defendant may be able to assert self-defense and the state may learn that they no longer have a slam dunk case. Some prosecutors will tell [...]

The best defense in a shoplifting case is to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney. If you represent yourself, you will have no bargaining power with the prosecutor and will only be offered unfavorable plea agreements that result in a conviction and jail time. An experienced criminal defense attorney will know the prosecutor and may be able to negotiate a continuance for dismissal, a stay of adjudication, or a stay of imposition of sentence with dismissal of [...]

If evidence favorable to the defense of a criminal case has been destroyed by the prosecution, you may be able to have the charges against you dismissed. The willful and intentional destruction of exculpatory evidence by the prosecution will provide you with favorable grounds for filing the motion for dismissal. The Due Process Clause the United States Constitution guarantees all criminal defendants the right to present a vigorous defense against criminal charges. Without the evidence, due process [...]

It may be possible to keep a theft charge off your record given the dollar amount of the theft and a clean record. My advice would be to enroll in a theft offender treatment program now and complete the program before your first court appearance. A proactive defense is the best defense against a criminal charge. Secondly, I would hire an experienced theft defense attorney to guide you through the court system. You do not want to [...]

The attorney you hired is required to continue legal representation in your case even though you are unable to pay the balance of the retainer fee. Attorneys are required to file a Certificate of Representation with the Court in any criminal case. Once the certificate is filed with the court, the criminal defense lawyer may only withdraw from legal representation after filing a formal motion to withdraw with the court and securing a court order allowing the [...]

The store's attorney has a right under a statute to demand payment of the $250.00 fee in a shoplifting case. The fee is separate from any restitution payment that may be owed to the victim. The odds of the employer suing you to collect the statutory fee are slim and payment of the fee will not erase the arrest record for this offense. You will need to negotiate a continuance for dismissal of the criminal case without [...]

You should meet with an experienced criminal defense attorney first. If you meet with the police first, you will be interrogated and may incriminate yourself. The officer could then testify at your trial as to any incriminating statements you made to him. Most attorneys will advise you never to make any statements to the police under any circumstance. The sooner your retain counsel and turn yourself in on the warrant, the better the outcome will be in [...]

Minnesota law requires that your case be brought to trial within sixty (60) days from the date of the demand for a speedy trial. This is a constitutional right. The time period does not begin to run until after the entry of a not guilty plea. A defendant can make the demand for a speedy trial either orally on the record at a court appearance or by filing a written demand for a speedy trial with the [...]

An investment property is only subject to forfeiture under Minnesota state law where (1) the retail value of the controlled substance seized from the property during a search or arrest has a retail value of $2,000.00 or more; and (2) the owner has knowledge that the property was used to store or manufacture illegal drugs. If the property is a homestead, the Minnesota Constitution prohibits the sale of the home in a drug forfeiture proceeding. If you [...]

The case against you could be dropped if your confession is the only evidence available to prove you committed the the crime. Police are required to read you the Miranda warning before questioning if you are in police custody and being interrogated about the offense. If police fail to comply with the Miranda warning, the prosecution is not allowed to use your confession against you at trial. The case may still be prosecuted if there is sufficient [...]

Why should the size of water pipe a person uses matter to law enforcement? It matters because if the bong water contains 4 fluid ounces or more of a mixture containing a controlled substance, the weight of the bong water can be used to increase the severity of the drug charge against you. Instead of being charged with a 5th degree controlled substance offense for residue found in a bowl, you could be looking at a prison [...]

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The majority of crimes require the prosecution to prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt before you can be convicted. If you were under the influence of medication at the time of an alleged offense, you may be able to establish the defense of lack of intent to commit the crime. You will need to retain a medical expert to testify regarding the effects of the medication on your ability to think rationally and intend the consequences [...]

Yes, a warrant can issue even when you have never been previously arrested or cited for a criminal offense. The issuance of a warrant for your arrest is one way of quickly bringing you before the court to face criminal charges. The decision to request a warrant is made by the prosecuting attorney and is reserved for more serious criminal offenses such as aggravated assault, burglary and high level drug offenses. Whenever there is a perceived threat [...]

If you were found in possession of a pound of methamphetamine and are convicted of the offense, the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines call for a prison sentence of 86 months. If the case goes federal, the prison consequences are even worse. My advice is to immediately hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to search for loopholes in the prosecution's case. There may have been an illegal search and seizure of the evidence by the police. If your constitutional [...]

If you are completely innocent, my advice would be to submit to polygraph testing. The odds favor that you will pass the test and be eliminated as a suspect in the criminal case. If for some reason you fail the polygraph test, the results are inadmissible in court. If you are involved in any way with the criminal case, you should refuse to submit to polygraph testing and assert your constitutional right to remain silent. The police [...]

Your license to drive will be revoked by the commissioner for a period of 90 days where a test result indicates a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more. If your test result is more than twice the legal limit of .08, your license to drive will be revoked by the commissioner for not less than one year. If you plead guilty to a first time DWI offense, the license revocation period will be reduced automatically down [...]

If police found a small amount of meth in the trunk of your car, you are facing a felony fifth degree controlled substance charge. If the search of the trunk was illegal, the prosecution cannot use the evidence obtained during the search against you at trial. As a consequence, the criminal charge will be dismissed for lack of probable cause. In order to justify the search of your trunk, police will need to obtain either your consent [...]