Introduction

This page started out a few years ago as the place where I posted miscellaneous but interesting and useful handouts which I acquired as I went about my business defending drivers in  trouble.  It has evolved over time, however, to a page that mostly discusses the programs which the Twin Cities area counties have set up for folks who have pled guilty to an alcohol-related driving offense.   

Until recently the most viewed items on this page were the ones describing the Anoka County and the Ramsey County first-time offender education and therapy programs. All counties in this state require an evaluation as to whether alcohol treatment or education is required.  As of May 2007, however,  Hennepin County has announced new policies, which you will find discussed below.  I will have to watch the outcomes for a while before I could say for sure, but at the outset it would appear that the new policies in Hennepin County will tend to make that county more like Ramsey and Anoka in how offenders are processed.  To me that is mostly bad news.

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Hennepin County's New Policies

If you were arrested in Hennepin County and your breath test reading was .15 or below, the latest policy is that you will be ordered to attend a a day long class called the Hennepin County One Day Program.  You can use this link to open or download the county's brochure about this program, which I have posted here on this site, along with the form that the probation department uses to order a person to attend.  The program is every Saturday and runs between 7:30am and 7:30 pm, includes a meeting with a counselor who will do an alcohol/chemical use evaluation, and will also include a victim impact presentation.  The victim impact material has traditionally be presented by a crew from Mother's Against Drunk Driving or a similar organization. That part of the program - the victim impart materials - can really upset a person's stomach.

The four locations for the program are the Government Center downtown, the Earle Brown Center in Brooklyn Center, the Ridgedale Library and the Behind Mall of America on Killebrew Drive.  Since the materials posted here were printed, the fees have already gone up.  In a memo dated September 10, 2007, the chief judge announced that the fee is now $275 for most people, or $200 for those who qualify for the public defender.

The new Hennepin County policies are summarized in a memo from Judges Wieland and Porter which is dated April 27, 2007. Click on this link to view a copy of the memo.  Besides setting up the announcing the One Day Program it states that anyone with a reading of higher than .15 on a first offense and "all repeat offenders" will be ordered to probation for a pre-sentence investigation.  The pre-sentence investigation will include a thorough chemical health assessment. 

The memo goes on to say that private assessments will no longer be accepted by the court.  Judge Porter has backed away from that position after receiving numerous objections from defense attorneys.  I have always believed that a private assessment is one of the best ways to prepare to defend one of these cases.  I will continue to recommend that to my clients.  I don't want to wait and see what a probation officer thinks of my client.  I want a professional opinion before we get to the court house.  Where should you go to get such an opinion?  Try one of the places on this list which Hennepin County Probation Department used to use before the new policy.

Since the date of Judge Porter's memo, I have gone to court on several occasions with a private evaluation of my client in my hands; and that document has always helped.  When I meet in the back room with the judge, most of the judges will take the time to read it over.  The very fact that I have it indicates that my client is taking matters seriously.  In addition, I find that most of my clients get favorable reports.  My clients are for the most part good people, without a serious drinking problem, who got into the wrong situation at the wrong time.  Among other things, the private evaluation serves as a tool which helps me make sure my client's story gets fully told.

If your breath test reading was higher than .15, the Hennepin County policy as I said above is that you be referred to a probation officer for a pre-sentence investigation.  If you have a private evaluation, the probation officer will probably go over that with you as part of the "investigation."  You will also be asked to fill out this RIA Self Inventory questionnaire, which is posted here on this site.  Take a good look and think about those questions before you answer.  Be aware that some questions are there for the purpose of seeing how defensive you may be.  Unfortunately, all I have are the questions - not the answers or any kind of a scoring system.  Some of the questions are similar to the Michigan Alcohol Screening test, to which you will find a link on my DWI Test page.  You would be well advised to look at that too.

Besides the RIA Self Inventory, the probation department will have you fill out an Intake Questionnaire.   If you fill out both of these before you get to the courthouse, you might save a lot of time waiting in the probation office.  The probation officers talk with people in the order that people in their lobby turn in the forms.  Turning yours in first could save you anywhere between an hour and half a day. If you are my client, and you are either a repeat offender or have over .15 on a first offense, I will be asking you to come to court with these items already done. 

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The Ramsey County ASUDS and DWC Programs:

Ramsey County as of early 2006 has quit sending offenders to the Anoka County program at Lino Lakes (see below) and has adopted their own two part program.  Part one is  the Adult Substance Use and Driving Survey (ASUDS), which consists of a series of questions which are asked by a probation officer as part of an interview which usually takes place after the entry of a guilty plea.  Part two is an education and treatment program called Driving with care.  After asking a lot of questions about this new program, we received this fax about the Ramsey County program which seems to lay it all out.

Ramsey County is getting tough.  This program appears to be one of the harshest in the state.  The first time offender having a reading of .14 or less is required to attend twelve hours of classes, perhaps more.  The first time offender having a reading of .15 or higher is expected to attend 24 hours of education followed by at least 21 sessions (42 hours) of therapy.    

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The Anoka County Two Day DWI Program:

In Anoka County almost nobody escapes having to attend the overnight program at Lino Lakes.  It is given once in the middle of the week and once on weekends.  Typically a person reports early on Saturday morning and stays their until 6 pm or so on Sunday.  This overnight alcohol information seminar put is on by the Corrections Department in Anoka County.  Click the following lint to see the handout about where it is, when it is and what to bring.

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Requirements for Restoration of Driver's License after Three or More Offenses: 

This is a state program, not a county program; but I am posting this information here in the hope that someone might find it useful.  After three offenses a driver is usually classified as "inimical to public safety."  Once that label is there, getting a license ever again is very difficult.  Many never manage to do it.  For an overview from the Department of Public Safety  of what the requirements are, click here.

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Charging and Sentencing Table:

What's that cheat sheet the prosecutor has at the table in front of the courtroom?  This could be it.  One of the prosecuting law firms has prepared this handout which summarizes, all on one page, what the charge should be, what law it violates, whether there's a mandatory minimum or maximum sentence, and what the bail requirements are if any.  For a look at this handy item, click here.

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Department of Public Safety Impaired Driving Brochure:

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has prepared a two page brochure that breaks down impaired driving offenses by blood alcohol content, criminal penalties and driver's license sanctions.  It contains sections for first, second and third offenses.  For a look at this handout in pdf format, click here:  Impaired Driving Brochure.

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Kelly Law Office represents dwi dui oui drunk driving clients throughout the Twin Cities - Minneapolis area including Bloomington, Edina, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park, St. Paul, Anoka, Shakopee, Hastings, Eagan, Burnsville, Buffalo, Hennepin County, Anoka County, Carver County, Scott County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, and Wright County.

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