About Charles Ramsay

EDUCATION 1995 J.D., William Mitchell College of Law 2005 Graduate, Robert F. Borkenstein Course on Alcohol and Highway Safety at the University of Indiana MILITARY EXPERIENCE 1985-1989 Sergeant U.S. Army (Honorable Discharge) 1989-1992 R.O.T.C. Scholarship, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Distinguished Military Graduate) 1992-2000 Lieutenant U.S. Army Reserve (Honorable Discharge) Starting in 1995, when Chuck Ramsay founded the Ramsay Law Firm he has been practicing criminal defense ever since. Chuck has built a nation-wide reputation as the “go-to” guy for defending DWI cases, and along the way gained acquittals in every type of case imaginable (and in non-DWI cases, up to and including First Degree Murder). While he still handles the occasional non-DWI case, Chuck’s passion rests in defending anyone charged with a DWI. A well-known trial attorney, Chuck has brought more DWI cases to trial than most defense attorneys have even taken on. And his passion extends beyond trial; Chuck has appeared before the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in more than 100 cases. Chuck has pioneered number of defenses in Minnesota, including now-established challenges to faulty eyewitness identification, false confessions, and the right of a defendant to present alternative suspects to a jury. Chuck was also the driving force behind challenges to Minnesota’s old breath test machine (the Intoxilyer 5000EN) and even went to federal court to force the manufacturer to release their software’s source code. Chuck’s efforts as a member of the Source Code Trial Team and his personal efforts in federal court finally led Minnesota to abandon the Intoxilyzer entirely and admit that their machine erroneously treated valid breath samples as “refusals” due to errors in the source code. HONORS & AWARDS 1999 First of many selections as Super Lawyer as recognized by Super Lawyers 2007 First of several selections as Top 40 Criminal Defense Attorneys as recognized by Minnesota Law & Politics 2011 Attorney of the Year as recognized by Minnesota Lawyer 2015 Designated “Forensic Lawyer-Scientist,” American Chemical Society’s Chemistry & Law Division 2016 Attorney of the Year with Circle of Excellence as recognized by Minnesota Lawyer 2018 Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist, Minnesota State Bar Association 2022 Board Certified DWI Law, by the NCDD as recognized by the ABA (not by the MSBA) PUBLICATIONS Minnesota DWI Deskbook, 4th Ed., Minnesota CLE, 2013-17. Touted as the complete and authoritative resource for DWI practice in Minnesota. Understanding DUI Scientific Evidence, 2014 ed.: Leading Lawyers & Scientists on Recent Developments in Forensic Science, Understanding Chemical and Field Sobriety Testing Procedures, & Analyzing the Validity of Test Results, Aspatore (Thomson Reuters business), 2014. Understanding DUI Scientific Evidence, 2015-2016 ed.: Leading Lawyers & Scientists on Recent Developments in Forensic Science, Understanding Chemical & Field Sobriety Testing Procedures & Analyzing the Validity of Test Results. 2015

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