3rd DWI in Minnesota

Most people don’t know that you should not drive a vehicle for at least 12 hours after you have had your last drink. If you do so, you are committing the criminal offense called DWI (Driving While Intoxicated).

If you are first-time offender, i.e. it’s your first DWI case; you may be able to get off a little easily. But, the same is not true if it is your 2nd DWI. It will be worse in the case of 3rd DWI. Almost all developed countries of the world, especially America, are facing a serious crisis of skyrocketing drunk driving cases. Minnesota is not an exception to this. Combating this issue has been the prime concern in all American States. They have made strict rules and laws relating to Driving While Intoxicated and these laws are also competently enforced by the law enforcement officers. These rules keep changing between the states and even between the counties. Let us see the situation of how sad DWI in Minnesota would affect the offender.

Minnesota has the strictest and harsh DWI laws as compared to the entire country.

1. First DWI: In case of first offense, the offender has to spend up to 90 days in jail, pay fines, attend compulsory alcohol education classes and face a suspension of driving license. If there are certain aggravating factors also present, then the punishment can go up to even one year in jail and the amount of fine can be up to $3000.
2. Second DWI: If you commit a second drunk driving offense within 10 years of committing the first, then it is considered as a gross misdemeanor. You may face a jail sentence of up to one year and fine up to $ 3000.
3. Third DWI: The punishment for a third dunk driving offense within 10 years shoots up significantly. You will face an increased jail sentence and your car will also be impounded immediately. You also have to prove that you are not an alcoholic. You have to get an alcohol abuse evaluation done.
4. Fourth DWI: A fourth drunk driving offense within ten years is considered as a felony. You not only have to face a jail sentence of up to 3 years but also pay a fine of not less than $14,000.

This is the reason why Minnesota has got the reputation of having the toughest DWI law in the country. Once charged with drunk driving here, you only have a limited amount of time to act if you want to save your driving license. If you fail to take some action within that time, you have to bid goodbye to your license at least for some time. So, as soon as you are charged for DWI in Minnesota, hire a Minnesota DWI defense attorney immediately. This is highly critical as only he will be abreast with all the latest legal developments and will be able to guide you better.