RESULTS ARE WHAT SEPARATE US FROM EVERYONE ELSE
Ramsay Law Firm built its reputation as a DWI defense firm through a track record of success. We don't win every case, but we win most. Whether that means getting the charges reduced, getting a license revocation reduced, getting a forfeited vehicle returned, or getting the entire DWI case thrown out, we go into every case with the motto "Every DWI Case Is Winnable."
Here's a sampling of the types of cases we've won, enough to give a broad overview of how many different types of cases we've succeeded with. It starts with our victories at the district court level, county by county, judge by judge. These are examples of some of the cases we've recently won, including links to redacted copies of actual winning orders, signed by the judges.
Sometimes, we need to win a case on appeal. Whether appealing our own clients cases, or taking up other defense attorney's client's cases for appeal, Ramsay Law Firm is also known for its success on appeal. Below the listing of district court DWI wins, we've included some of our successful DWI appeals.
District Court Victories
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State v. K.D.Y.
Even when law enforcement obtain a search warrant for a driver's blood, don't think that the case cannot be dismissed for lack of probable cause. We fought to dismiss an arrest for DWI-drugs, and in the end, our client's charges were dismissed and the license revocation was rescinded.
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K.L. v. Commissioner of Public Safety, LICENSE REVOCATION OVERTURNED
Our client was stopped by police for failing to come to a complete stop at two stop signs. Police arrested K.L. after administering Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and took him to the jail for a breath test. The datamaster breath test machine reported a result of .10, and the state revoked his license. We got it back.
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C.M. v. Comm’r of Public Safety, LICENSE REVOCATION OVERTURNED
Our client, C.M., tested over the legal limit and lost her driver's license. We challenged the revocation, arguing that she never should have been arrested in the first place -- simply being parked in a parking lot after-hours is no crime, even if the area had recently seen burglaries. We convinced the judge that this seizure of our client was unconstitutional, and the entire revocation was thrown out!
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State v. KB, Felony DWI Dismissed.
Last year the State of Minnesota stopped our client, KB, for speeding, obtained a breath test result of 0.10j, and charged KB with felony DWI. We challenged the felony DWI and successfully argued to the court that the State could not prove that our client had a prior felony DWI (necessary to charge him with another one). The judge agreed with our attack on KB's prior conviction and threw out the felony charges!
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J.E.S. v. Comm’r of Public Safety -- Ignition Interlock Violation Victory – Driver’s License Reinstated
Our client was required to enroll in Minnesota’s Ignition Interlock Program due to multiple DWIs, and was just a few months away from being able to remove the device from his vehicle, when the State alleging that he violated the program with a positive alcohol result. Luckily for our client, we knew exactly how to fight this.
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State v. S.E.P -- NOT GUILTY! Jury Acquits Client of All DWI Charges (Second Degree DWI)
The state charged our client with a Second Degree DWI for having a breath alcohol concentration of .14 with two prior DWI convictions, and the Department of Public Safety revoked and cancelled his driver’s license. In February this year the license revocation was thrown out as a sanction because the State failed to turn over the source code to the breath test machine. Then the jury ruled not guilty in the criminal case.
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State v. A.E.B. -- Gross Misdemeanor Third Degree DWI Reduced to Careless Driving
The state charged our client with a Gross Misdemeanor DWI in 2019 -- enhancing the charges due to a prior DWI license revocation. We pushed it all the way to trial when, on the eve of trial, the state agreed to dismiss all the DWI charges in exchange for a plea to careless driving.
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State v. G.V.M. - Prosecutor Completely Dismissed Gross Misdemeanor DWI
Two weeks we told you about a victory we had in a civil, “implied consent” case where the judge tossed a case for a bad stop, and reinstated our client’s license to drive. We noted that we were off to fight criminal case. Here’s the update: total success
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G.V.M. v. Comm'r of Pub. Safety - License Revocation for Test Refusal Thrown Out
A police officer stopped our client in March for crossing the centerline. The officer claimed that our client nearly struck the officer’s vehicle, and only by taking evasive action did the officer avoid a head-on collision. (Unfortunately, squad video supported the officer’s claim.) Our client refused to submit to testing and lost his license. But we got it back.
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STATE V. M.J.S. and M.J.S V. COMM’R OF PUBLIC SAFETY – Gross Misdemeanor DWI Test Refusal Dismissed; License Revocation Overturned
Last December a young police officer pulled over MJS for speeding. The officer claimed MJS’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, and ordered our client out of his vehicle to perform field sobriety tests and to take a preliminary breath test. The officer ultimately arrested our client and brought him to the local police station where he requested a breath test of our client. MJS refused to take the breath test.
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M.J.H. v. Comm'r of Public Safety - Ignition Interlock Extended for Three Years: Rescinded
The DPS extended our client’s driver’s license cancellation for not providing the minimum of 30 samples in a 30-day period. We obtained a copy of our client’s ignition interlock logs from the interlock company and discovered that our client actually blew 34 times in a 30 day period. We provided these logs to the State, noting the error. Eventually the Interlock company admitted its mistake! We uncovered all the evidence we needed to prove that our client did have over 30 blows in a month. We won
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State v. B.L.L. - Gross Misdemeanor DWI reduced to Petty Misdemeanor
On October 2, 2020, our client crossed a centerline and struck semi-truck at highway speeds. After extracting our client form her vehicle, she was transported to the hospital where her blood was drawn by hospital staff and tested at the hospital. It was later determined that our client had a .189 blood alcohol content. She was ultimately charged with 3rd Degree DWI.
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State v. G.D.G. - Felony Theft of Services: Dismissed
The State charged G.D.G. with Felony Obtaining Services without Payment. He gave a false name at the time he was admitted to the hospital on two different occasions allegedly in an attempt to avoid payment in excess of $30,000 for treatment.
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State v. D.S.C. - Second Degree DWI and Vehicle Forfeiture Returned and Reduced Charges
Our client was stopped for speeding and after the officer administered field sobriety tests, ultimately arrested our client for 2nd Degree DWI. The DataMaster test result was a .17. Because our client had a previous DWI, the state charged him with 2nd Degree DWI. Police forfeited his vehicle. We filed a lawsuit challenging the vehicle forfeiture and sought to have a contested hearing in the criminal case.
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State v. J.V.A.
Our client (JVA) was stopped for speeding last year. The officer administered field sobriety tests and ultimately arrested her for DWI. The DataMaster breath test results were .092 and .087, and the state charged her with 4th degree DWI.
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L.R.D. v. Comm'r of Public Safety
Last year another criminal defense attorney contacted our firm seeking our help. Her client had been arrested and charged with a DWI. Because his breath alcohol concentration was over the legal limit, the state also revoked his license to drive for 90 days. The government was unwilling to voluntarily reinstate his license.
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State v. D.K.M.
Today the prosecutor completely dismissed our client’s Gross Misdemeanor DWI case with a .25 breath test result. Late last year our client was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Officers from multiple agencies arrived on the scene. Following the accident, our client was brought to a local police department where he submitted to a breath test that produced a result of .25. He was subsequently charged with two counts of Gross Misdemeanor, 3rd Degree DWI.
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N.T. v. Comm'r of Public Safety
Today we prevailed in yet another Ignition Interlock Device (IID) case. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) cancelled our client’s driver’s license after he provided two breath samples of 0.034 and 0.032. The cancellation brought harsh consequences, including the following requirements: • Complete a new chemical evaluation and treatment; • Pay $680 reinstatement “fee”; • Take and pass another written test; • Enroll for an additional six years on the ignition interlock program.
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J.V.A. v. Comm'r of Public Safety
Our client was stopped for speeding last year. The officer administered field sobriety tests and ultimately arrested her for DWI. The DataMaster breath test results were .092 and .087, and the state revoked her license for 90 days.
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T.J.C. v. Comm'r of Public Safety
In 2020 T.J.C. was stopped after he fell asleep in a restaurant drive through lane. After blowing a .387 on a PBT, he was arrested and taken to the county jail for alcohol testing. Given the amount of alcohol T.J.C. consumed he politely requested to void his bladder. Instead, officers – citing jail “policy” – told T.J.C. he would have to wait until after he had consulted an attorney, and completed a breath test. “It won’t be long they said.”
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Appellate Court Victories
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T.L.J. v. Commissioner of Public Safety
Ramsay Law Firm is going back to the Minnesota Supreme Court for the driving privileges of not just our client, but many, many drivers who were mislead by an unconstitutional form of the Minnesota Motor Vehicle Implied Consent Advisory. This isn't a "victory" in the traditional sense; it is a victory in that we've earned the right to plead our client's case to the Supreme Court.
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M.E.M. v. Commissioner of Public Safety
Ramsay Law Firm is again going back to the Minnesota Supreme Court for the driving privileges of not just our client, but many, many drivers who were mislead by an unconstitutional form of the Minnesota Motor Vehicle Implied Consent Advisory. This isn't a "victory" in the traditional sense; it is a victory in that we've earned the right to plead our client's case to the Supreme Court.
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D.K.S. v. Commissioner of Public Safety
Another victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals! The appellate court overturned the trial court and held that the police seized our client without a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity (the constitutional standard for stopping a motor vehicle).
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State v. Thompson
At the end of 2015, we persuaded the Minnesota Court of Appeals that Minnesota's DWI Test Refusal Law was unconstitutional. They ruled that the statute was null and void, and that drivers could not be convicted for a crime if they refused to submit to a warrantless urine test.
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Jirik v. Commissioner of Public Safety
Our client had his driver's license revoked after his arrest for DWI. We were hired to appeal his loss of license, and convinced the Minnesota Court of Appeals to give it back.
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Janssen v. Commissioner of Public Safety
Our client was revoked for having an alcohol concentration of twice the legal limit. For years, the State argued that we had no ability to challenge such a revocation in court. We convinced the Court of Appeals that this was wrong, and they re-interpreted Minnesota law to allow scientific challenges to breath tests that are twice the legal limit or more.
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Want to see more? If the above orders didn't convince you, here's a simpler list of additional victories we've obtained over the years:
Breath Test DWI Victories
State v. A.M.H. A Hennepin County judge dismissed all the criminal charges against our client – and fully reinstated her driver’s license, despite a breath test result of .15.
State v. S.G.B. We convinced a Faribault County jury to find our client not guilty of DWI, even though they were presented with a breath test result of .16.
G.L.T. v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety. Our client lost his license for 180 days due to a failed breath test. We convinced the judge that the license revocation was unlawful, his license was fully restored and the revocation was taken off of his driving record.
Blood Test DWI Victories
State v. M.R.S. We convinced a unanimous Sherburn County jury of 6 to find our client not guilty of DWI, even with a blood test result of 0.15.
J.B.M v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety. We used our scientific expertise to convince a Ramsay County judge to throw out a blood test result, resulting in a dismissal of the DWI charge and erasing the license revocation from her record. This was especially important because our client regularly visits Canada, and a DWI conviction would have destroyed her ability to travel.
Urine Test DWI Victories
M.A.W. v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety. A Dakota County judge threw out our client’s urine test result of .13, after we convinced him that Minnesota’s use of urine testing is “novel and experimental in the eyes of the wider relevant scientific community.”
State v. A.N. We convinced a Hennepin County jury to rule “not guilty” to second-degree (gross-misdemeanor) DWI, despite a urine test result over .08.
K.A.O. v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety. We used our experience in handling urine test cases to get our client’s license back in Dakota County Court, and get the prosecutor to dismiss the DWI charges.
DWI Test Refusal Victories
State v. J.A.B. Our client refused to submit to testing in Hennepin County, and lost his license for a year. We went to court, and beat the license revocation outright after convincing the judge his due process rights were violated by law enforcement.
DWI Forfeiture Victories
L.J.R. v. One 2007 Hummer. A Washington County judge ordered the city to return our client's brand-new 2007 Hummer after arresting him for refusing to submit to a breath test. He didn't even have to pay storage costs.
B-Card Violation Victories
Our client had a “B-card” where the presence of any alcohol while driving will result in a license cancellation. Our client tested at .06 – but we used our scientific expertise to convince a Hennepin County judge to throw the case out and restore our client’s license.