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.