Twin Cities DUI lawyer disciplined by state board in part for causing crash while BAC was 0.32%

A Twin Cities attorney who specializes in drunken driving cases has been disciplined by a state oversight board in part because he was convicted of causing a two-car crash while driving with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit.

The state Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility this week reprimanded Lonny Lyn Johnson and placed him on probation until March 2026 in connection with the head-on collision in June 2022 at an intersection in Savage, where he lives and works.

The board’s action also stems from Johnson making financial and information disclosure missteps while representing a client.

Johnson, 57, declined Wednesday to comment to the Star Tribune about the board’s discipline.

According to the longtime attorney’s website, Johnson focuses on clients charged with drunken driving and other crimes. Before entering private practice, he was a city administrator in Gaylord, southwest of the Twin Cities, and he was a police officer in the Atlanta area.

Johnson’s conviction for gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation in March 2023 led to a one-month sentence split between jail and electronic home monitoring. His probation imposed by the board matches what he’s serving as part of his criminal sentence.

According to the charges and related court documents:

The crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. on June 4, 2022, at Boone Avenue and Woodhill Drive. Johnson said he was driving home from work at the time. The other driver suffered a fractured sternum and has had heart troubles as well.

Johnson told an officer at the scene that he was unsure what happened, had not been drinking and didn’t have his driver’s license or proof of insurance with him.

Given the “overwhelming odor” of alcohol, the officer gave Johnson a preliminary breath test. It measured his blood alcohol content at 0.31%. A later test of his blood came back with a 0.32% reading.