Rebecca Pirius

Attorney · Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Rebecca Pirius is a Legal Editor at Nolo with a focus on criminal law. She has worked in the area of criminal law since 2003, most recently as a senior policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). For 12 years, Rebecca was a legislative analyst and an attorney in the Minnesota House of Representatives, providing nonpartisan legal research and drafting services to the 134 members. Right out of law school, she clerked for a judge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rebecca earned her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota, where she graduated magna cum laude and served as a law review member. She is a member of the Minnesota State Bar.

Nolo. In 2017, Rebecca began freelancing with Nolo and writing articles on criminal law, traffic laws, and impaired driving. She started full time at Nolo in 2019 as a Legal Editor. She writes primarily for CriminalDefenseLawyer.com and Nolo.com.

Prior career. Working at the Minnesota Legislature and NCSL, Rebecca conducted extensive research and analysis of laws and legislation on criminal law, public safety, corrections, and courts. Her roles required her to break down complex legal concepts for a broad audience, including policymakers and constituents, and allowed her to work with both sides of the political aisle. At NCSL, her policy work took her around the country to work with local and state policymakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, former offenders, young adult offenders, crime victims, and criminal justice experts.  


Articles By Rebecca Pirius

Minnesota's Cell Phone and Texting While Driving Law and Penalties
Read about Minnesota’s distracted driving laws and the penalties for a violation.
Minnesota's Vehicular Homicide Laws and Penalties
When grossly negligent or impaired driving results in the death of person or unborn child, the driver can face felony vehicular homicide charges. In Minnesota, a driver can be convicted of felony criminal vehicular homicide for causing the death of a person or unborn child as a result of operating a vehicle:
Minnesota's Speeding Laws and Penalties
Read about Minnesota’s speeding laws and the consequences of getting a speeding ticket.
Driving Without a Valid (or on a Suspended) License in Minnesota
Read about fines and other penalties you'll face if caught driving without a valid driver's license in Minnesota.