Minnesota driver with 20 DWIs still not convicted of felony

Minnesota driver with 20 DWIs still not convicted of felony
On behalf of Keller Law Offices posted in Felony DUI on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A recent Minnesota criminal case opens up an opportunity for us to discuss drunk driving laws throughout Hennepin County and the rest of the state. Specifically, we'd like to explain what it takes to turn a DWI charge into felony status.
To many, it seems like a given that one Minnesota man would have been charged and convicted of felony DWI after being arrested for a 20th drunk driving incident. But he wasn't. In the end, he only pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge. Why?
Minnesota law classifies the following as felony DWI cases:
Someone gets a new DWI after having already been convicted of at least three other DWI charges within the past 10 years;
Someone gets a new DWI after previously having been convicted felony of Criminal Vehicular Operation (CVO), that is causing an accident and serious injury to another person as a result of driving drunk or driving while impaired by by drugs, either street drugs or prescription drugs;
Someone gets a new DWI after previously having been convicted of a felony DWI, even if that felony DWI was more than 10 years ago.
In the case of the 57-year-old St. Paul Park man who now has 20 DWIs on his record, the majority of those convictions occurred more than a decade ago. Only two of the cases have taken place in the relevant time period, securing him a lesser gross misdemeanor DWI conviction.


SOURCE -FROM http://www.minneapolisdwiblog.com/2011/05/minnesota-driver-with-20-dwis-still-not-convicted-of-felony.shtml