State v. Lala

Minnesota Supreme Court
State v. Lala, 351 N.W.2d 15 (Minn. 1984)
1984 Minn. LEXIS 1397
Simonett

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State v. Lala

Opinion of the Court

SIMONETT, Justice.

Defendant was found guilty in district court of violating Minn.Stat. § 169.121, subd. 3 (1982), which converts a misdemeanor DWI offense into a gross misdemeanor DWI offense when the current violation was within 5 years of a “prior conviction” under section 169.121. The “prior conviction” on which the prosecutor relied was a prior juvenile adjudication as a major traffic offender on the basis of a violation of section 169.121. In State v. Leonard, 336 N.W.2d 271, 272 (Minn. 1983), we held “that a prior juvenile adjudication as a ‘major traffic offender’ on the basis of a violation of section 169.121 does not constitute a prior ‘conviction’ within the meaning of section 169.121, subd. 3.” Based on our decision in Leonard, we reduce defendant’s conviction from a gross misdemeanor to a misdemeanor and remand for sentencing, which was stayed pending this appeal.

Affirmed as modified; remanded for sentencing.

Reference

Full Case Name
STATE of Minnesota v. Nicholas Edward LALA
Cited By
1 case
Status
Published