Ambrose Law Attorney, Benjamin Koll, Wins Again! DWI Dismissed Over Faulty Stop
Earlier this month, Ambrose Law Firm secured another major victory when a Beltrami County judge dismissed a case involving a Third-Degree DWI Test Refusal. Senior Associate Attorney Benjamin Koll argued the police’s traffic stop was unlawful, and the court agreed. The prosecutor claimed our client was driving with defective equipment, showed signs of impairment, and refused to test for a DWI. The case seemed stacked against us. Yet the judge agreed with Ben’s argument that the officer’s traffic stop was unconstitutional and dismissed all charges, reminding us all why Ben is quickly becoming one of Minnesota’s top DWI defense attorneys.
This case began one late night in rural Beltrami County when an officer pulled over our client’s vehicle, claiming it had a loud exhaust and a broken taillight. From there, the officer claimed he noticed signs of impairment, including the odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and red eyes. He arrested our client, and prosecutors charged him with test refusal, a serious accusation that carries major consequences. Yet the body-worn camera and pictures told a different story. While the vehicle’s taillight was cracked, it still lit up with red light as the law requires. There was no evidence of a loud exhaust, no tests to back it up, and no citation written for the alleged equipment violation.
Ben’s argument focused on the stop itself. He pointed out that Minnesota law requires mufflers to blend noise into the overall vehicle sound, and nothing in the record showed a violation beyond the subjective opinion of the officer. He also demonstrated that the taillight, while cracked, was not illegal under Minnesota law because it still projected a clearly visible red light. Without an actual equipment violation, the stop lacked reasonable suspicion and thus violated the Fourth Amendment.
The court agreed and ruled that the stop was unconstitutional. In doing so, it cited long-standing precedent: “Evidence obtained through an illegal seizure is inadmissible to support a conviction because it is the fruit of the poisonous tree.” State v. Olson, 634 N.W.2d 224, 229 (Minn. App. 2001) (citing Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 478 (1963)). Because the motion to suppress all evidence from the stop was granted, there was no probable cause to arrest the defendant for DWI. With nothing left to support the charges, the case was dismissed in full.
This outcome highlights how important it is to challenge the validity of weak traffic stops. Officers cannot rely on merely subjective impressions to justify pulling a vehicle over, and when they do, the evidence they obtain will not hold up in court. Careful review of the facts and the law protected our client from a wrongful conviction and secured the right result.
Robert H. Ambrose is a criminal defense attorney and DWI lawyer in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Super Lawyers named him a Super Lawyer for the past four years and a Rising Star in the preceding six years. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. DWI Lawyer Woodbury, OWI Lawyer Wisconsin, DWI Attorney Minnesota.