DWI/ DUI Defense Attorney in Oakdale, MN
A DWI or DUI charge (driving while impaired or driving under the influence) in Oakdale, Minnesota can move fast. Within hours of an arrest, administrative penalties may already be in motion, including the potential loss of your driving privileges. That clock does not pause while you figure out what to do next.
Coodin Law Office serves people in Oakdale and the surrounding Washington County area who are facing drunk driving and impaired driving charges at every level. Whether you are dealing with a first-time misdemeanor, a felony charge, or a situation involving a commercial driver’s license or a firearm, our attorneys understand what is at stake and how these cases move through the local court system.
In Minnesota, the terms “DUI” and “DWI” refer to the same offense: operating or controlling a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or an intoxicating substance. Both terms appear throughout this page, and both refer to the same legal situation.
What Are the Real Costs of a DWI Charge in Oakdale?
People often underestimate how much a DWI can cost. The fines you see listed are only part of the picture.
After a first DWI arrest, you may face license revocation ranging from 90 days to one year, criminal misdemeanor charges, a chemical dependency assessment requirement, and total costs of $7,000 to $15,000.
That range accounts for court fines, attorney fees, increased insurance premiums, chemical assessment costs, and ignition interlock device expenses. And that is for a first offense with no aggravating factors.
Beyond the financial hit, a conviction can affect your job, your housing applications, your professional licenses, and your ability to travel internationally. Employment opportunities may be limited, especially for positions involving driving, public trust, or professional licensing. A DWI conviction creates a criminal record that can appear on background checks and impact housing, education, and certification eligibility.
Timing matters in these cases. There are very strict deadlines within which to file challenges to your license revocation, license plate impoundment, and vehicle forfeiture if you want to have an opportunity to affect those civil penalties. Waiting too long to act can close off options that would otherwise have been available.
What Happens After a DWI Arrest in Oakdale?
Oakdale sits in Washington County, and DWI cases arising here are generally processed through the Washington County District Court in Stillwater. The Washington County 10th District Court processes filings for civil, criminal, traffic, family, probate, and juvenile matters in Washington County.
Criminal and traffic cases are scheduled for court at the Washington County Courthouse in Stillwater.
The Oakdale Police Department handles traffic enforcement within city limits. The Police Department provides the core services of crime prevention, proactive patrol, criminal investigation, emergency response, community engagement, animal control, and traffic enforcement. Officers patrol major routes through the city, including Interstate 694 along Oakdale’s northern boundary, Interstate 94 along the south, and State Highway 36, which cuts through the community.
After an arrest, two separate cases typically begin at the same time. DWI cases in Minnesota have a civil component and a criminal component. The civil component is the implied consent hearing, the proceeding in which you can contest the legitimacy of a license revocation, suspension, or cancellation. The criminal component can result in a criminal record, jail time, fines, and court costs.
You receive a 14-day temporary permit after arrest. License revocation begins on day 15 unless you request an administrative hearing. At arrest, the officer confiscates your physical license and issues a notice of intent to revoke with a temporary driving permit valid for 14 days.
That two-week window is often where critical decisions get made. Acting quickly with an attorney can preserve options that simply are not available once deadlines pass.
What Are the Degrees of DWI in Minnesota?
Minnesota law organizes DWI offenses into four levels based on aggravating factors. An aggravating factor (meaning a fact that makes the offense more serious) can include a prior DWI within a certain look-back period, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 or higher, or the presence of a child under 16 in the vehicle.
Minnesota DWI degrees and their maximum penalties generally work as follows: no aggravating factors results in a fourth-degree DWI misdemeanor; one aggravating factor results in a third-degree DWI gross misdemeanor; two aggravating factors result in a second-degree DWI gross misdemeanor; and having three or more DWI convictions or alcohol-related license revocations within ten years results in a first-degree DWI felony (or having a prior first-degree DWI conviction results in another first-degree DWI charge).
For ignition interlock purposes, Minnesota now counts prior DWI convictions or alcohol-related loss of license within the past 20 years, increased from 10 years in 2025. A DWI from 2006 still counts against you in 2026 when it comes to ignition interlock requirements.
What To Do If You Are Charged With a Felony DWI
A first-degree DWI is a felony charge. That distinction matters enormously. Felony convictions carry consequences that reach far beyond the courtroom, including the potential loss of voting rights, firearm rights, and professional licensing.
The most serious DWIs are felonies with punishments of up to seven years in prison and fines of up to $14,000. These cases often involve multiple prior incidents or particularly serious circumstances at the time of the arrest.
Felony DWI cases in Washington County are handled differently than misdemeanor cases. The prosecution’s resources are greater, the stakes are higher, and the procedural steps are more complex. Our law office takes these cases seriously from the first consultation. We look at the stop, the chemical testing procedures, the prior record, and every other relevant factor that may affect how the case can be defended or resolved.
If you are facing a felony DWI charge in the Oakdale area, reaching out to an attorney as early as possible may significantly affect what options remain available.
What to do for Underage DWI/DUI Defense
Minnesota applies a zero-tolerance standard to drivers under the age of 21. Minnesota has a zero-tolerance law for underage drinking and driving. This law provides misdemeanor penalties and driver’s license suspension for any driver under age 21 who is convicted of driving a motor vehicle while consuming alcohol or while there is physical evidence of such consumption present in the person’s body.
This means a young driver can face charges even at a very low blood alcohol level. Even a small amount of alcohol in an underage driver’s system can result in a DWI charge.
The consequences for a young person can extend well beyond the immediate penalties. A conviction may affect college financial aid, housing applications, professional licensing, and future employment. These are not abstract concerns. They can shape the next decade of a person’s life.
Drivers aged 16 and 17 years old who violate the DWI laws are under the jurisdiction of the adult court, not the juvenile court. That means the record and the process are treated with the same seriousness as an adult case.
We approach underage DWI cases with an understanding of both the legal and personal stakes involved. A thorough review of the stop, the testing, and the circumstances of the arrest may reveal issues that could affect the outcome.
Can Field Sobriety Tests Be Challenged?
Many people assume that if they performed field sobriety tests at the roadside, the results are locked in. That is not necessarily true.
The administration of field sobriety tests often presents opportunities for challenge, as these tests must follow strict, standardized procedures and account for various physical conditions that might affect performance.
Officers are trained to administer these tests in a specific way. When instructions are unclear, conditions are poor, or the officer scores the test improperly, those problems may become part of a defense strategy. Physical conditions unrelated to alcohol, including inner ear issues, fatigue, footwear, and uneven road surfaces, can affect performance on balance and coordination tests.
You can legally refuse field sobriety tests in Minnesota without facing criminal charges or losing your license. Unlike chemical breath tests at the police station, roadside field sobriety tests are entirely voluntary and not covered by the state’s implied consent law. That said, refusal does not prevent arrest and can be mentioned in court as evidence of “consciousness of guilt.”
Chemical testing faces its own set of challenges. Chemical testing procedures face rigid requirements: breath testing machines require proper calibration and maintenance, blood draws must follow chain of custody protocols, and testing staff must hold current certifications.
Our attorneys review all of these details. A breath test result that appears straightforward on paper may have been produced by equipment that was improperly maintained or administered by someone whose certification had lapsed. These are the kinds of issues that a careful review of the case file may uncover.
What Is License Plate Impoundment, and Can It Be Challenged?
License plate impoundment is one of the less-discussed consequences of a DWI in Minnesota, but it can be one of the most immediately disruptive.
If you are convicted of DWI in Minnesota, you may face plate impoundment if you have prior DWI convictions, your BAC was 0.16% or higher, or a child under 16 was in your vehicle during the offense.
When plates are impounded, the vehicle may be issued what are commonly called “whiskey plates.” These unique whiskey plates are a type of restricted license plate found only on vehicles that are subject to license plate impoundment and that are owned or co-owned by a DWI offender who legally retained driving privileges during the impoundment period.
They often begin with the letter “W” and in the NATO/military phonetic alphabet, the letter “W” stands for “whiskey.” The plates make the vehicle immediately identifiable to law enforcement, which many people find deeply embarrassing and practically burdensome.
Plate impoundment applies to the vehicle used to trigger the plate impoundment violation as well as any vehicle owned, registered, or leased in the name of the violator, whether alone or jointly.
Challenging plate impoundment requires prompt action. Any challenge of a license plate impoundment requires the owner to complete an Implied Consent Petition within 60 days of receiving the impoundment notice. Missing that window typically forfeits the right to contest the action.
If you or a household member is facing plate impoundment, we can review whether a challenge is appropriate and what the realistic options may be.
What You Should Know About Commercial Driver DWI/DUI (CDL)
For commercial drivers, a DWI is not just a legal problem. It is a career threat.
Commercial drivers in Minnesota operate under far stricter alcohol and controlled substance rules than non-commercial drivers. A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is required for a wide range of vehicles, including freight trucks, buses, delivery trucks, tankers, tow trucks, and other heavy commercial vehicles. Because these vehicles present heightened public safety risks, Minnesota holds CDL drivers to a much higher legal and professional standard.
Regular drivers face arrest at 0.08% blood alcohol concentration, but the limit drops to just 0.04% for CDL holders while driving a commercial vehicle.
And here is something many commercial drivers do not realize until it is too late: a single DWI in a personal vehicle can still result in CDL disqualification, even though the 0.04 standard is not used. This is a critical distinction that many commercial drivers do not realize until it is too late.
Federal and state regulations impose strict disqualification periods, including one year of CDL disqualification for a first-time DWI, three years of CDL disqualification if transporting hazardous materials, and lifetime disqualification for a second DWI or another major offense.
For many Minnesotans, a CDL represents financial stability, with long-haul truck drivers often earning $70,000 to $100,000 annually, while specialized drivers can command even higher salaries. Losing that license, even temporarily, can be financially devastating.
Our law office understands the dual-track nature of CDL DWI cases. There are both criminal penalties and separate administrative CDL consequences that must be addressed, often on different timelines. We work to address both tracks as strategically as the facts of each case allow.
Is Expungement of a DWI or DUI Record Possible?
A DWI conviction does not always have to follow you forever. In some situations, Minnesota law may allow for expungement of a criminal record. Expungement means sealing the record so that it does not appear on most background checks.
DWI convictions appear on the Minnesota BCA criminal history indefinitely unless expunged. Minnesota law allows expungement of misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor DWI convictions under certain conditions.
You may expunge criminal court records after waiting periods of two years for misdemeanors and four years for gross misdemeanors.
There are important limits to understand. Expungement does not remove a DWI from your driving record.
After expungement, most employer background checks will not show the conviction. However, a driving record check will always show a DWI on your Minnesota driving record permanently, and employers checking your driving history will see it indefinitely.
Expungement eligibility depends on the level of the offense, how much time has passed, and whether all sentencing requirements have been completed. Not every DWI qualifies, and the process requires careful preparation. Our attorneys can evaluate whether expungement may be an option in your situation and walk you through what the process involves.
What To Do For Weapons Charges and DWI
A DWI stop sometimes turns into something more complicated. If a firearm is discovered in the vehicle during a DWI investigation, the driver may face weapons charges in addition to the impaired driving charge.
If you are carrying while impaired and you are in a vehicle, you will face both the gun charge as well as DWI charges. If convicted of both charges, your sentence will likely include penalties for both charges, making the matter far more serious than the stand-alone weapons offense.
Minnesota law prohibits carrying a pistol when under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a combination of these, or when the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.
The location of the firearm in the vehicle matters. If you were behind the wheel of a car and a pistol was in the center console or even on the passenger seat, it could be considered to be on or about your person and subject you to charges if you are under the influence.
A DWI conviction at the felony level can also affect your right to possess firearms going forward. A first-degree DWI offense can see defendants imprisoned for as long as seven years, which satisfies the threshold for firearms disqualification. A first-degree DWI is handed down in cases with aggravating factors, such as previous felonies or impaired driving incidents.
Cases involving both DWI and weapons charges require an attorney who understands how these two areas of law interact. The stakes in these situations are particularly high, and the defense strategy needs to account for both sets of charges simultaneously.
Why Does Timing Matter So Much in a DWI Case?
Actually, this is one of the questions we hear most often, and it deserves a direct answer.
The short version: multiple deadlines begin running at the moment of arrest. Missing them can permanently eliminate options that would otherwise be available to you.
Some of the time-sensitive issues in a DWI case include:
License revocation challenges. 60 days after receving a notice of revocation of your driver’s license to request a hearing to contest the revocation of your driving privileges.
Plate impoundment petitions. Challenging an impoundment order requires filing within 60 days of receiving notice.
Evidence preservation. Dashcam footage, body camera recordings, breath test calibration records, and other evidence may be deleted or overwritten if not requested promptly.
Vehicle forfeiture. If the state moves to keep your vehicle, there are strict procedural deadlines for contesting that action.
You also want to ensure that all of the evidence against you is being preserved and collected, including video and audio recordings, lab test records, and witness statements.
Waiting to see how things develop is rarely a good strategy in a DWI case. The earlier an attorney gets involved, the more options typically remain on the table.
What Can a Defense Attorney Actually Do in a DWI Case?
DWI cases involve more moving parts than most people expect. An attorney who focuses on this area can evaluate the case from multiple angles, including:
Whether the initial traffic stop was legally justified
Whether field sobriety tests were administered correctly
Whether chemical testing equipment was properly maintained and calibrated
Whether implied consent rights were properly explained
Whether any constitutional issues affect the admissibility of evidence
Whether the facts support a reduction in charges or a favorable resolution short of trial
Contact us today to find out all of your options.