Mr. Arneson’s client was pulled over for a traffic violation and was arrested for DWI.  However, the officer made a mistake and issued a citation to the client for open bottle in a motor vehicle and then sent the blood test to the BCA to be tested.  The mistake was the officer forgot to include a charge of under the influence on the citation.  Mr. Arneson had his client pay the citation.  When the test results came back at over the legal limit, the officer sent another citation for 4th Degree DWI.  However, Mr. Arneson filed a motion to dismissed on the grounds the second citation violated Minnesota Statute 609.035 which prohibits serialized prosecution.  The prosecutor agreed and dismissed the charge.

Mark Arneson’s client was found not guilty of Assault, Obstructing Legal Process and Disorderly conduct on Wednesday April 7, 2010 after a two day trial.  The facts were as follows: Client was involved in a motor vehicle accident in St. Paul.  The driver of the other vehicle attempted to leave the scene and was restrained by client. The first officer on scene claimed that client, who was 4’11 and approximately 100 pounds, had assaulted the other woman with the pencil she had in her hand and ignored his orders to drop the pencil.  Officer then proceeded to tackle client and arrest her.  At trial, officer testified that client did not speak any English and could not understand him.  Furthermore, the driver of the other vehicle who claim to have been assaulted never showed up to testify.  With this verdict, the City of St. Paul has been exposed to a potential lawsuit for excessive force given the injuries client sustain as a result of the arrest.

On March 9, 2010, Morrison County Judge Douglas Anderson  granted Mark Arneson’s motion for discovery of the Intoxilyzer 5000 source code.  With this ruling, Mr. Arneson’s client now will be able to contest the reliability of the machine at a hearing currently scheduled for September 27, 2010.  This is one of the first cases in Morrison County where discovery has been granted.