Minnesota Legal Blog

According to a study conducted by Siegfried and Jensen, Minnesota has the toughest drunk driving laws in the nation. However, the state ranked 17th in the nation in reducing DUI crashes per 100,000 drivers between 2004 and 2018. In 2004, Minnesota had a DUI crash rate of 5.1, and in 2018, that rate had dropped 39.4% to 3.1 per 100,000 crashes.

The report found that every state except for Connecticut saw a decrease in DUI crashes during the study period. In Connecticut, the DUI crash rate increased by 7.1%. Tennessee led the nation with a 57.1% decline in drunk driving crashes between 2004 and 2018. Individuals are encouraged to use Uber or Lyft to get a ride home when they are drunk or otherwise impaired. If they are not available in a given area, residents are urged to call a friend or family member for a ride home.

More people were detained in Minnesota in 2019 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) than in the previous year. A preliminary report that was released from the Department of Public Safety detailed the number of drivers detained on DWI charges as part of a program to decrease the number of drunk drivers on the road.

The report showed that 26,825 individuals were detained on suspicion of DWI in 2018. In 2019, however, these numbers jumped to 27,975, a 4% increase. Programs to reduce the number of DWI charges began in 2015. These programs focused on the counties in Minnesota that had the largest amount of drunk driving incidents. The program included placing 18 officers on full-time DWI patrol in these counties.

Criminal justice reform advocates in Minnesota have drawn attention to the racial disparities that persist across the country in imprisonment rates and sentencing. According to a study conducted by the Council on Criminal Justice, these racial gaps have decreased over the past 16 years. The council is a non-partisan organization that includes experts from different perspectives on criminal justice, including reform advocates, government officials and police representatives. At the same time that the study highlights positive outcomes, it also raises concerns about the persistence of serious racial gaps.

The report noted that gaps in incarceration rates between black and white Americans have declined between 2000 and 2016 in state and local jails and prisons as well as in the parole and probation systems. While the results showed similar trends over all major categories of crime, the largest decrease in racial disparity was found in terms of drug offenses. Drug crime sentencing has drawn widespread attention due to its massive impact on communities of color for largely nonviolent crimes. The legalization of cannabis and the opioid epidemic have also led to changes in the policing of drug crimes. While black people were 15 times as likely as white people to be imprisoned for drug crimes in 2000, that multiple dropped to five times by 2016.

People assume that judges strive to act in an objective and deliberative manner when presiding over courts in Minnesota. However, neuroscience and trends in judicial decisions suggest otherwise. Unconscious biases held by judges could make them issue unfair rulings even when they believe that they are acting fairly.

Neuroscience researchers have found that brain activity does not consistently correspond with people's consciously held beliefs. Their internal unconscious biases tend to color how they view other people's behaviors or circumstances. In the court room, biases influencing judges have the potential to inflict serious consequences on other people.