Legal Question in DUI Law in Minnesota

Re: Stay of Adjudication

First of all, I commend your attorney for getting the prosecutor to agree to a Stay of Adjudication on a DUI/Refusal case. This is very rare. My guess is that when you pull your record, you're talking about your driving record. The unfortunate thing you are facing is that the license revocation for refusing the test is probably still showing on your record. The only way to get that off your record is to file a petition with the court within 30 days of your revocation notice, and then challenge the refusal in court. Obviously, your deadline has passed long ago, so this is not an option for you anymore. While the prosecutor gave you a sweet deal by keeping the criminal conviction off your record, that has no bearing on the license revocation. If your criminal conviction is still showing up on your record, then you should call the county clerk and find out why.

Re: Stay of Adjudication

In my opinion, you that three things that need to be addressed. I would note your lawyer did a great job for you; I suggest that you go back to him/her. First, your arrest is showing up on your driving record; that probably shouldn't happen. Second, you need to file a petition to expunge and (third) seal the record. Good luck!

Re: Stay of Adjudication - DWI case

Most people do not realize, until educated by their lawyer, that in a DWI case in Minnesota, the government in effect prosecutes the driver twice for the same thing. First, the state administratively revokes your driver's license (or "driving privilege" in a non-resident) -- generally by the law enforcement officer handing you a Notice of Revocation. You then have thirty days to challenge that in court, or it is forever too late. This the government claims is a "civil case," and so the double jeopardy clause does not prevent this double prosecution, they say. Most people don't ever learn of this, and so never do so. Only those with a good DWI defense lawyer (such as my clients) generally do so.

Second, the government charges you with a DWI crime. A "crime" cannot result in an adjudication of guilt, conviction or sentence without a trial first, or a guilty plea. A "Stay of Adjudication" is a disposition where the defendant pleads guilty but the court delays ("stays") adjudication of guilt or "conviction" conditionally, for a period of time. At the end of the period of the "stay" if the defendant has not violated any condition, the charge is dismissed without adjudication of guilt, without conviction.

Under Minnesota's current expungment statute, Chapter 609A, a public criminal record cannot be expunged if the person pled guilty, except for certain first time drug offenders. Another lawyer's response to this question was therefore a bit misleading or misinformed.

I don't have all the relevant information about your case. It could be that you did not challenge the "implied consent" violation, and so it is still on your drivers license record - a public record. If so, there is likely nothing that could change that. An "implied consent" violation on your drivers license record is a clear indication of a DWI arrest, but it is not a criminal "conviction," and so may or may not hurt your employment prospects. If your DWI case was resolved with a Stay of Adjudication, and the stay period has passed without a violation, then the charge should have been dismissed without conviction. There would still, however, be public court, law enforcement and other public records of the arrest, charge, guilty plea, and final disposition. You may want to get a certified copy of a court record showing the ultimate dismissal of the charge, to show potential employers who find it from a background check.