On a Friday night in August 2017 I attended a wedding for a colleague in a suburb of Minneapolis. As a new arrival to the Twin Cities, I was not fully familiar with the area. Celebrations ended near midnight and I made a choice that was easy and unfortunate. I chose to drive my car home with my wife rather than leave it overnight and bear the likely $40 cost of a rideshare home. In the short and long term, this was a dumb and costly decision.

There was nearly no traffic as I pulled out of the parking lot through a construction zone adjacent to the wedding space, and I missed seeing a temporary stop sign mounted within the gravel repaving area. I was pulled over immediately by the local police and peacefully provided a 0.9 blood alcohol concentration / content (BAC) test result. Based on the probable cause of the failure to stop and the breath sample, I was arrested and charged with a DWI. If you’re reading this, you’ve likely experienced this recently as well. This was my first and only criminal charge.

This site is meant to provide others with experience to help them navigate the process and better understand what to expect.

This was one of the worst nights of my life. My vehicle was towed to an impound lot for storage and I was booked into the local city holding where several things happened simultaneously. My Minnesota driver’s license was clipped, which removes the corner of the document and makes it easier to visually identify it. I went through a secondary breathalyzer test which recorded a 0.83 BAC. My mugshot photos and fingerprints were taken, and I was provided with a temporary driver’s license and an 90 day order of revocation for my driving privileges effective in seven days.

I was processed quickly and within an hour I was released from custody. My wife and I rode home with a friend, though I didn’t sleep that night. I felt crushed by the possibility of sacrificing my wife’s life or safety and the real possibility that I had destroyed my own present and future. I felt alone and worthless and utterly lost.

Retrieving my vehicle from the tow lot cost just shy of $200 and I had a valid license for only seven days to seek, interview, and select a defender. Among many things I’d never experienced and knew nothing about were lawyers and seeking legal representation for a criminal charge.

I looked online and found an attorney that was available to meet. He had over a decade of experience as a former prosecutor and briefly walked me through my options and next steps. Looking back, I felt lucky to find someone that could tell me what to realistically expect and understood that I had so many more questions than knowledge. Throughout this process, I’ve learned how critical it is to have a legal representative. Your outcome can be dramatically affected by their actions.

Beyond the $2000 representation fee, there was an optional $800 cost to file a challenge to revocation of my license that must be filed within 30 days. This would allow me to retain my driving privileges until the settlement of my case. Work travel is a major element of my employment and this was an incredibly necessary step. My Minnesota license was reinstated quickly without replacement and retained the clipped corner.

I received a letter of the criminal charges the following week with the scheduled date for my arraignment at the local District Court in mid-September. My attorney was able to attend this without my presence required and a date for the pre-trial was set for January 2018. I was able to retain the ability to drive throughout this lengthy process due to the revocation challenge.

My attorney also spoke with the Prosecutor and was able to confirm details about a plea agreement for sentencing. I was offered the opportunity to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge of failure to stop at a stop sign and pay an increased fine plus attend a one day DWI program in exchange for dropping the original charge.

The trial date was set for February 2018, six months after my arrest. In court I saw many others plead guilty to DWI charges, which I now understand to be a tremendous future cost. The actual court appearance moved quickly and I was sentenced under the following conditions:

• Sentenced to 30 days in a Correctional facility which was stayed for 29 days
• Ordered to serve 1 day with credit for 1 day (this meant no actual confinement)
• Ordered to pay a $1000 fine plus court fees of $75
• Ordered to complete a one day DWI program for $385
• Complete my previous 90 day “hard” license revocation

I learned that Minnesota requires 15 days of “hard” license revocation of driving privileges after a DWI before a limited work license is permitted. This allows driving to and from work between specified hours.

During the 75 days of a limited license, I was able to preemptively fulfill a few of the steps involved in regaining my license. I first needed to pay a $680 reinstatement fee, pass the DWI program, successfully pass an alcohol specific written driver’s test, pay a $25 application fee and a $40 license replacement cost.

In June 2018 after 10 months, I finally received a letter of reinstatement with my replacement license.

Does not include increased automobile insurance costs.

Put simply, this was a major concern. My job involves substantial travel including flights and car rental. I experienced several issues on both fronts.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents frequently asked about the clipped corner of my Minnesota driver’s license. Frequently I had to speak with their managers regarding my license despite it being temporarily reinstated during the process. In Minnesota, expired or voided licenses are punched through with VOID marks but many other states are unfamiliar with physically altered licenses that are valid and not expired.

Renting vehicles was also a challenging experience. Many companies only require a valid license and credit card but were similarly challenged by the clipped license. I found the best odds of success by printing my driver’s license status the morning I was renting from the Driver and Vehicle Services website of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

During the limited work license period I was able to rent vehicles without as much issue using the printed limited driver’s license document.

I was incredibly relieved to receive my replacement license, as even hotels will occasionally question the validity of a clipped or altered license. Traveling with a US Passport card as identification is likely a great way to avoid more than a few uncomfortable encounters.

DUI or DWI does not seem to be a disqualifying offense for TSA Pre✓ but Global Entry is another story.

This was my biggest unknown. Canada makes clear that travelers with an alcohol conviction may not be allowed to enter. Many websites provide anecdotes about travelers with even misdemeanor “wet” convictions for other criminal pleas being denied entry. My experience has been mixed.

With my TSA Pre✓ expiring, I applied for Global Entry, a Trusted Traveler program from the US Customs and Border patrol that includes Precheck for five years for $100. The application process requires a scheduled in-person interview. I was truthful about my arrest and misdemeanor plea with the CBP agent. After a tense and surprisingly aggressive interview, I was approved.

My approved status lasted until I entered Canada by air, which seems likely to have triggered another background check that surfaced the misdemeanor plea for Failure to Stop. My Global Entry membership was revoked during the first day of my trip. Thankfully, Global Entry does not impact standard US passport services. CBP seems to consider DUI / DWI disqualifying if they occur less than 10 years ago.

My experience with my two most recent trips to Canada seems to indicate that not pleading guilty to a DWI is potentially a crucial key to retaining Canadian entry privileges.

Great update – after my Global Entry was revoked, I wasn’t sure if renewing my soon-to-expire older Known Traveler Number (KTN) would be successful. The FAQ on TSA.gov makes no mention of alcohol-related reasons for disqualification or suspension. The renewal process was straightforward and didn’t require any extra time or additional steps.

Unrelated to any involvement with the concerns of life recovery after a DWI, I checked with my insurance provider this week regarding an umbrella policy for coverage over and above vehicular coverage for things like personal litigation and liability. I discovered that this is not offered or available until five years after the date of arrest.