Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Aiding and Abetting DWI

Yes, though conceivable, I've have not seen or heard of this in my 20 years of defense work. Sometimes "aiding and abetting" charges are a strategy by the government to pressure someone into becoming a "cooperating witness" (with them).

I think for a person with no prior convictions the most serious consequence is likely to be the effect of having a criminal conviction public-record. That is serious, and worth avoiding.

I don't know the facts of your case, but it is difficult to imagine a fact pattern where a person could be guilty of "aiding and abetting DWI" since the underlying crime, DWI, is itself a crime with a minimal intent element -- really it amounts to Gross Negligence rather than a knowing, intentional doing of an illegal act. Therefore, how could a person "knowingly" and "intentionally" aid something that even police can't arrest for without numerous examinations and procedures?

I hope you fight it. Call me if you wish to discuss.

Re: Aiding and Abetting DWI

It is extraordinartily unusual for a person who was not operating a motor vehicle to be charged with aiding and abetting a DWI. Without knowing the particular facts of the case, I can only assume that the events leading to the arrest were unusual as well.

It would be a very difficult case for a prosecutor without some evidence of a specific and substantial act in furtherance of the crime.

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