DUI Defense: What to Do First?
DWI Defense Attorney in Kansas City
When charged with
DUI in Kansas or Missouri, it is important to take immediate action. Your
initial court date may be four to six weeks away, but the clock starts
ticking immediately on your right to contest the potential suspension
of your Missouri or Kansas Driving Privileges. A DUI conviction can result
in jail time, fines, driver's license suspension and more. Doing the
right things will assist one's DUI attorney in obtaining a favorable
outcome. The first thing at this point is to gather your paperwork, make
notes regarding the incident as you recall it while it is still fresh
in your memory, and then seek the counsel of an experienced Kansas City
DUI Lawyer to provide guidance and answers.
What should your first action be after a DUI/DWI arrest?
During the arrest, it is important to be polite and professional in dealing
with the police officer. During the
field sobriety testing, the Officer may ask you to perform certain physical exercises. The Officer
should have asked you and it is important to communicate any physical
disabilities that would interfere with your performance or balance, i.e.
history of knee or hip surgeries, back or inner ear problems. If wearing
high heels or boots, you should be given the opportunity to take them
off before attempting the 'Walk and Turn' or 'One Leg Stand'
tests. During a
breath test, it is important to communicate to the officer any physical conditions,
i.e Asthma, GERD, etc. that that might interfere with being able to give
a sufficient sample and affect the reading.
When charged with DUI in Missouri or Kansas it is important to take
immediate action to protect your Drivers License and Criminal Record. In Missouri you have fifteen calendar days to request a Drivers License
Hearing; in Kansas only ten business days. The Drivers License Hearing
is a completely separate matter from the Criminal charges filed against
you in Municipal or State Court, and the failure to request the Drivers
License Hearing by the deadline means the loss of your Drivers License,
with no remedy for appeal.
After you have been released, in addition to contacting a Kansas City DUI
attorney you should collect all of the facts as you recall them and write
them down.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What were you doing in the hours leading up to your arrest?
- How much and what exactly did you have to drink, what did you have to eat
during that same time? Do you have a receipt from a restaurant or bar
that would confirm this?
-
What did the officer say was the
reason you were stopped, and did you receive a ticket for that? Do you feel the stop was justified?
-
What
Field Sobriety Tests were you asked to perform and how do you feel you did?
Perform the following actions:
- List all potential witnesses present when you were stopped and where you
were prior to the arrest.
- Organize all of your paperwork including tickets, Notice of Suspension
Form (Pink in Kansas, White in Missouri), Bond receipts, bar/restaurant
receipts, and any other documentation given to you by the arresting officer.
-
Contact the Law Offices of Charles R. Green for a
free consultation on our website.
DUI Lawyer in the Kansas City Metro Area
The Law Offices of Charles R. Green aggressively defend individuals charged
with DUI and other alcohol-related criminal offenses. We work to protect
your Drivers License, your Criminal Record, and your dignity in an ever-increasing
impersonal court system. Mr. Green is licensed to practice law in both
Kansas and Missouri, and has been representing individuals charged with
DUI in State Court and the more than fifty Municipal Courts in the area
since 1993.
Contact a Kansas City DUI attorney
for guidance on what to do first in your defense against DUI charges.