Blog – Robert J. Shane

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 [...]

An experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to plea bargain a .08 blood alcohol reading on a DWI charge down to a careless driving offense. Prosecutors are willing to offer to amend the DWI charge in low test cases down to careless driving because they know the defense will question the accuracy of the test result at the time of trial and thereby create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. A jury is duty [...]

Possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21 is a misdemeanor offense. It may be possible for an attorney to negotiate a continuance for dismissal of the charge on the condition that there be no same or similar offenses in the next year and on payent of the costs of prosecution. If the person complies with the conditions of the plea agreement, the charge would be dismissed at the end of one year without [...]

If your criminal lawyer is too busy to devote sufficient time to your case, you should consider hiring a new attorney. Before you dismiss your current lawyer, make sure you have hired a new attorney. Interview as many qualified and experienced canidates as possible. Why should you have to pay them a consultation fee when you may not hire them to defend you? During the interview process, try to determine the lawyers win/loss reccord and current case [...]

If your criminal attorney has taken on too many cases to devote time to your case, you should consider retaining new counsel. Begin the substitution process by personally interviewing as many qualified and experienced defense attorneys as possible. You should not have to pay a fee for a consultation when you are considering hiring them to defend you.

You will need to meet with an experienced expungement attorney to discuss your felony drug case. If you were granted a stay of adjudication at the time of sentencing,you will be able to seal all records regarding your arrest, booking, and criminal case. The expungment order will be sent to the arresting agency, the BCA, the sheriff's department, and clerk of court. If you were not granted a stay of adjudication, the court only has the power [...]

Yes, it is possible for a boxer to defend himself against assault charges in a criminal trial. My advise is to either retain private counsel or apply for the services of a public defender. A bar fight between a professional boxer and a bar patron probably ended with serious bodily harm inflicted upon the bar patron. If this was the case, a felony assault charge is likely. The problem with being your own attorney is that you [...]

The possession of a small amount marijuana received through the mail is a petty misdemeanor offense in Minnesota. A person is subject only to a fine payment of up to $300.00 and no jail time. A small amount of marijuana is defined by law as 42.5 grams or less. If you are cought driving with 1.4 grams of marijuana or more, it becomes a misdemeanor offense. Any amount of marijuana over 42.5 grams is a felony offense. [...]

I would always advise against representing yourself in any criminal case. If you are convicted of a shoplifting offense, you will have a misdemeanor conviction on your record open to public view. The conviction will adversely affect your ability to obtain housing and employment. Please hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect your future. Call attorney Robert J. Shane for a free phone consultation at (612) 339-1024 or visit his website at http://www.criminallawyerminnesota.com.

Police are required to read you your Miranda rights prior to interrogation when you are in police custody. The failure to read you your Miranda rights could help your case. An experienced criminal defense attorney will file a motion to prevent the use of your confession against you at trial. If the defense motion is granted, the prosecution's case against you could be significantly weakened.If the police failed to read you your Miranda rights prior to a [...]

An assault charge is taken more seriously then most crimes by both prosecutors and judges since it is a crime against a person. The goal of the defense in any criminal case is to avoid a conviction and stay out of jail. The best defense, first of all, is to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney. If you represent yourself in court, you will be more likely to be convicted of an assault crime and to do [...]

Police are not required to read the Miranda warning to you at the time of arrest. The failure of police to read the warning does not make the arrest illegal. An arrest is valid as long as police have probable cause to believe you committed a crime. Police are required to read the Miranda warning prior to questioning when a person is in custody. The Miranda warning is required, for example, when you are arrested and brought [...]

The search of your car without consent by the police is illegal. In order for the car search to be legal, the police would need to have either consent to search the car or probable cause to believe the car contained evidence of a crime. If either one of these grounds for a legal car search are missing, the evidence cannot be used against you. I would advise you to challenge the car search by hiring an [...]

The police are not required to provide you with a reason for stopping your car. The police only need to have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to justify the stop. This is not a very high standard. Police stops have been upheld as legal for reasons such as weaving between the lanes, speeding, making a wide turn, failure to make a complete stop, etc. If you obtain a copy of the police report, you [...]

Effective July 1, 2011, it is illegal to possess or sell synthetic pot in Minnesota. Synthetic pot is often sold under the street names of herbal incense, K2 or Spice. Certain chemicals in these drugs have a similar effect on the brain receptors as THC, the ingredient found in marijuana. The new syntheic pot law identifies many of the prohibited chemicals used in the manufacture of "fake pot" including JHW-007, JHW-018 and JHW-073. The synthetic marijuana law [...]

Possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21 is a misdemeanor offense in Minnesota. The penalty is 0 to 90 days jail and/or $0 to a $1,000,00 fine. The prosecution will need to prove that you possessed the alcohol with an intent to consume it. Possession exists where a bottle of alcohol is found on your person or in an area that you consciously exercise control over. Intent to consume the alcohol can be [...]

Yes, you can still be charged with theft even though you fulfilled your agreement with the employer by resigning. Since the prosecution was not a party to the agreement, they cannot be bound by the agreement and are free to charge out the criminal offense. But as long as the employer upholds the agreement and does not report the theft to the police, you should be just fine.If the matter is reported to the police, you will [...]

Yes, you are free to travel anywhere in the State of Minnesota with a pending misdemeanor charge. You are also free to leave the State of Minnesota and travel to any state in the country. The only restriction would be where a judge imposed the specific condition on your release from jail that you remain in the State of Minnesota.If you are interested in hiring an experienced Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer and defending your freedom, call Robert [...]

You may be able to negotiate the dismissal of the charge upon successful completion of certain conditions. A theft conviction would likely affect your ability to obtain employment and housing. The chances for a jail sentence on a first time conviction are slim. The amount of the fine will depend on your economic circumstances but cannot exceed $1,000.00.If you are interested in hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect your future, call Robert J. Shane at [...]

Yes, you can be charged with a DWI for being "in physical control" of the car. This means that you are seated behind the steering wheel and have the ability to put the car in motion. The physical control DWI law is designed to prevent a drunk driver, who has stopped his car and pulled over to the side of the road, from continuing to drive drunk. This will be a 4th degree misdemeanor DWI charge for [...]

A police officer only needs suspicion of criminal activity to justify a traffic stop. This standard is less than probable cause and an observation of an actual traffic violation is not necessary. If you were swerving in the lanes, an officer may be able to justify the stop. It all depends on the circumstances of each case. If the stop was illegal, the evidence obtained as a result of the stop can not be used against you. [...]