Hopefully you had a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend – but if you had too much fun and need a lawyer, give us a call at 952 224-2277. The Independence Day holiday means we’re halfway through 2017, and it also means that new laws went into effect. Below, we take a look at three criminal laws that went into effect on July 1, and we explain how they may have an impact on your life.
DUI Search Warrants
We’ll start with the criminal law that is most relevant to our practice. A couple years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to force suspected drunk drivers to submit to a blood or urine test without their consent. The Minnesota Supreme Court later affirmed this decision in two cases involving involuntary blood and urine test submissions.
Based on the ruling of the higher courts, lawmakers decided to rewrite the state’s law regarding the involuntary submission of blood or urine in suspected DUI cases. Under the new law, it is illegal for police to force a suspected drunk driver to submit to a blood or urine test without a warrant from the court. However, Minnesota’s Implied Consent Law is still on the books, which means it is a crime to refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test if an officer asks you to take one, even if they don’t have a warrant. The reason being is that the higher courts felt that blood or urine tests were much more invasive than breath tests, and authorities felt that a warrant should be obtained before requiring a person to submit bodily fluids for evidence.
McKenna’s Law
The second law that went into effect on July 1 ensures that children as young as 10 years old will understand that they have a right to an attorney at no cost to them in child protection or domestic dispute cases. The law applies to children who have been removed from their homes. Social service agencies will be required to ensure that these children understand that they can have free access to a lawyer if they have any questions or concerns.
GPS Tracking on Ignition Interlock Devices
The final law that impacts criminal law proceedings is one that we’ve been covering for months now. Thanks in part to some quality research by the folks at KSTP, it was uncovered that the new ignition interlock systems had GPS tracking capabilities. The state and the company who developed the devices said the GPS tracking software was simply stored and not being used to track or target drivers, but there was clearly some concerns about invasion of privacy and our unalienable 4th Amendment rights, especially when you consider that drivers were not told that the devices had GPS capabilities.
Under the new law, no ignition interlock devices will have GPS tracking capabilities unless ordered by the court.
