Often the best defense starts with whether the DWI stop of the vehicle was legal. The Fourth Amendment guarantees that we are free from unreasonable searches and seizures. This demands that the police first have a legal basis to even stop the vehicle…

Fleeing police in a motor vehicle is a very serious offense in Minnesota and depending on the circumstances can lead to a maximum prison sentence of 40 years. The Minnesota statute specifies that fleeing means increasing speed, extinguish motor vehic…

Thousands of Minnesotans are facing challenges to their everyday life because their criminal record from past mistakes is haunting their every move. A prior conviction or even charge can prevent you from reintegrating into society, but an expungement…

North Star Criminal Defense has had a fantastic month of March. It’s always nice to share our recent victories as it gives us an opportunity to show how our team’s hard work and diligent representation gets results for our clients. State…

Many establishments and retail stores hire private security. Often the private security personnel are the ones that witness an alleged crime and call the cops to the scene. Sometimes, the private security will go so far as detaining the person until…

One of the grounds for a statutory expungement is for certain drug charges. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609A.02, subd. 1, a person may seek an expungement of a drug charges in which the person received a statutory stay of adjudication for 4th or 5th degr…

As has been discussed in this blog previously, the biggest ambiguity in the expungement law is how courts should interpret a stay of imposition expungement petition – specifically, is the conviction a felony as originally adjudicated or a misde…

The entrapment defense is an affirmative defense that may defeat charges against a defendant. It can apply to many kinds of charges, including drug crimes and solicitation of a prostitute. An entrapment defense exists when law enforcement lures a def…