If you’re a fan of movies, you probably caught a bit of the Oscars last night. Aside from some confusion when Best Picture was announced, the night was filled with award winners being honored for their work in films. We have a similar tradition here at Appelman Law Firm, only we don’t recognize movie stars, we recognize the best and the worst the criminal world brought us in the past year. Below, you can check out our second annual awards show for the best and worst criminals in this year’s Oscars – Crime Edition.
(View last year’s award winners by clicking here)
2017 Criminal Oscar Winners
Here’s a look at some of the nominees and award winners:
Best Original Piece
The nominees: Avery Gets Reckless Driving Ticket Tossed For Two Clients, I Got A Ticket For Texting and Driving in Minnesota.
A lot of our blogs come from firsthand knowledge, but these two stories stood out from the rest as they provided a firsthand perspective throughout their tale and shared insights you wouldn’t understand unless you were there. Although it was certainly interesting to read about receiving a ticket during the texting while driving crackdown in Minnesota, the award goes to “Avery Gets Reckless Driving Ticket Tossed For Two Clients” because the story details how Avery asserted that his clients’ rights to due process were violated, and that proof is more than a “he said, she said” argument.
Best Historical Piece
The nominees: A History Of Drunk Driving Laws In The United States, Should Past Offenses Affect Future Sentences? U of M Axes Criminal History Questions From Future Applications, and DUI Punishment Over The Years In Minnesota.
Last year we gave out this award to The History of BAC and Drunk Driving in Minnesota, but we’re going a different route this year. Instead of focusing solely on the past, this year’s award winner involves both past and future elements. The award for Best Historical Piece goes to U of M Axes Criminal History Questions From Future Applications because although they will still ask about serious offenses, the move shows that the university does not want minor crimes committed in a person’s youth to derail them from getting into the college of their dreams if they meet the criteria for acceptance. We commended the move at the time, and that’s why it’s taking home the hardware today.
Best Criminal In A Supporting Role
The nominees: We Have Our First Pokemon Go DUI, Michael Floyd Arrested For DUI and Cut By Cardinals, NY Man Fails Miserably At Hiding His DUI From The Public.
Although the story about the man who tried to hide his DUI conviction and in turn made it infinitely more well-known is hilarious, the award for Best Criminal In A Supporting Role goes to “We Have Our First Pokemon Go DUI“. The reason it wins the award is because the blog details how two people earned separate DUIs in a small town in Wisconsin by driving into a tree while playing Pokemon Go in their vehicles. It was very supportive of the second person to drive into a tree while chasing Pokemon only four hours after the first incident so the first person didn’t have to be the only one embarrassed by his actions. For supporting a fellow Pokemon Go-er in his quest to catch ’em all, that blog earns the award for Best Criminal in a Supporting Role.
Best Criminal In a Leading Role
The nominees: Minnesota Man Earns DUI On Frozen Lake, Minnesota Man Earns Extremely Slow DUI, Minnesota DUI Suspect Blames DUI on Jerry Springer, Minnesota Woman Blames DUI on Donald Trump.
As you can see, all of the nominees for Best Criminal in a Leading Role are homegrown from the state of Minnesota this year. There were certainly some strange DUI arrests in Minnesota this year, but considering how turbulent the last year has been, we think it’s pretty clear who wins this award. The award for Best Criminal in a Leading Role goes to “Minnesota Woman Blames DUI on Donald Trump.” Whether you love him or hate him, it’s clear that Trump is a polarizing figure who can have a variety of effects on people. It’s not often that the President gets blamed for a person’s DUI, which is why it’s taking home the award this year.
Best Criminal Picture
The nominees: Do I Need To Show Up For My Court Appearance?, What Does A Criminal Defense Attorney Do?, Another Successful Our Hearts To Your Soles In The Books, Navigating The Law School Application Process, Understanding Domestic Abuse No Contact Orders, Do I Have To Take A Breathalyzer If I Am Pulled Over For A DUI?, What Is The Rising BAC DUI Defense?, What Are My Rights During A Police Encounter?
The final award of the night goes to an original piece that we enjoyed creating that we felt was informative to our readers. We had a lot to sift through, and a number of nominees made strong cases. The winning blog wasn’t packed with as much information as some other nominees, but it stood out from the rest for other reasons. Without further adieu, the winner of Best Criminal Picture goes to “Another Successful Our Hearts To Your Soles In The Books.” We attended Our Hearts To Your Soles 2016 in November and provided free legal advice to homeless and financially burdened individuals in the community. It was very rewarding to give back to those in the community who don’t have the financial means to attain necessary legal advice, and they were very appreciative. I can’t wait to do it again in 2017. Because of the wonderful experience we had, there was little doubt that the recap of that night would take home the Best Criminal Picture award.
Congratulations to all the winners, and we’re already looking for nominees for next year’s awards, so if you come across any stories that would make the cut, send them our way or leave a message in the comments!
