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1st DUI, 1st offense in Minnesota

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Alfador

Junior Member
Hello everyone thanks for taking for time to read this post.

Last night my girlfriend of 5 years received her first DUI which is also her first offense since receiving a speeding ticket ~5years ago. What happened was she met some friends at a local bar after work and had something to drink. Upon leaving the bar none of her friends were in any condition to drive so she insisted on driving. She was then pulled over and consequently blew a .133 and then 1.5 hours later blew a .137 BAC.

Getting to the point, she is 99% of the time an incredibly responsible and caring human being. She works 2 jobs at which she is held in very high regard by both of her bosses. As I had stated before the only other time she has ever been in any sort of trouble was ~5 years ago before we were 18 years old when she received a speeding ticket, otherwise her record has been spotless.

Is there any benefit in possibly having her bosses write letters to bring to her court date as a sort of character witness? I was thinking perhaps we would be able to get her DUI, which is a misdemeanor in the state of minnesota, possibly dropped to a careless or reckless driving by making it crystal clear that this was a totally out of character act. Is this possible?

Is getting a lawyer absolutely necessary in order to have some degree of success and how much do they typically run for a case such as this. I do not believe she will qualify for a public defender as she makes pretty good money serving food etc.
 


ErinGoBragh

Senior Member
I am not sure how much the lawyer would cost, having never have driven under the influence myself, but she definitely needs one if she has any shot of getting the charges lowered. I would think it would be at least several thousand dollars.

However, driving under the influence is driving under the influence, no matter how good a person she is 99% of the time. She was .05 over the limit, which is more than one drink over (the state has a limit of .08). I HIGHLY doubt they would drop these charges any lower.

She may want to get the attorney just to see if she can get something on the lower end of the punishment range for DUI. She will most certainly have her license suspended, but in MN it can be as low as thirty days or as great at 90. She could also receive up to 90 days in jail and up to $1,000 fine.

Trust me, she's gonna need a lawyer for this one. Hope it helps.
 

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