How to get an expungement of a DWI in Minnesota
If you have an old DWI on your record, you are not alone. 1 in 7 Minnesotans have a DWI on their record. If your DWI is holding you back when it comes up on background checks for jobs, housing, or other opportunities it’s time to look into expungement.
Determining eligibility
If your offense was a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor, you are eligible for expungement. The biggest hurdle people face as far as eligibility is the timelines. For misdemeanor offenses the waiting period is two years following discharge from probation and for gross misdemeanors it’s three years. What trips people up is that the waiting period does not start at the sentencing date, but once you are discharged from probation. So, if you are convicted of a gross misdemeanor DWI and are sentenced to three years of probation, you need to wait six years from your conviction date, because the three year waiting period for gross misdemeanor does not start until after you have been discharged from probation. Additionally, you need to be crime free during the time period, or else the waiting period starts over. Be sure to contact an expungement attorney if you have questions about your waiting eligibility or waiting period.
Filing the petition for expungement
To get an expungement of a DWI, you need to file an expungement petition with the court. Some people mistakenly believe that their DWI will be automatically expunged because of the new automatic expungement law found in Minnesota Statute 609A.015. But it’s important for you to know that DWI’s are targeted misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors that are NOT eligible for automatic expungement. Expungement needs to go through the same contested court process as before the automatic expungement law. It’s advised to hire an attorney for this. There are complicated court rules and service requirements that cause people without an attorney to not meet the requirements and have the judge throw out the case before you are even able to argue. You don’t want this happening to you as you try and get your DWI expunged.
Using strategy to make the best argument for expungement
Hiring a skilled expungement lawyer is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of getting your DWI expunged and having your record cleared. An expungement attorney can leverage the good in your case and mitigate the bad to make the best possible argument for expungement to the judge. An expungement attorney does this by drafting the best possible petition for expungement, leveraging all the rights facts and law to make the case for expungement. And also by arguing the best case verbally to the judge on the day of the hearing. Having a skilled expungement attorney advocating on your behalf can be the difference between receiving an expungement and having your request denied.
Conclusion
If you want to expunge a DWI from your record, you want an attorney who is knowledgeable, experienced, and well versed in the law on expungements and pardons. There are many attorneys in the state of Minnesota who offer to do expungements, but don’t practice in the area enough to know the intricacies of the law and how to utilize that to their client’s advantage. Contact Jack Rice Defense today for a free consultation. 651-447-7650
Peter Lindstrom
Peter is the head of the appellate and expungement departments at Jack Rice Defense. He has successfully expunged cases involving challenging issues with DWI, felony, and violence against family member cases. At the district court level, he has tried two felony jury trials to verdict, and successfully dismissed a felony gun case on 4th amendment grounds. Peter is particularly known for his intelligence, creativity, and legal acumen.
