Lawrence DUI Lawyer | Charles R. Green

Arrested for DUI in Lawrence, KS? Protect your license, freedom and avoid jail. Free Consult 24/7.

An arrest for DUI in Lawrence, Kansas can  threaten your freedom, your livelihood, and your driver's license. At The Law Offices of Charles R. Green we have more than 30 years experience in representing our clients in Lawrence Municipal Court.

 DUI Procedure in Lawrence Municipal Court 

The Lawrence Municipal Court handles traffic and DUI  violations, local ordinance infractions, and misdemeanor offenses within city limits. If you were pulled over by the Lawrence Police Department or University of Kansas (KU) Public Safety officers within city limits, your case will most likely be heard here. If you were arrested by the Douglas County Sheriff or Kansas Highway Patrol your case will be adjudicated at the nearby Douglas County District Courthouse.

Court Address: The Lawrence Municipal Court has a new location for 2026 at : City Hall, 6 E. 6th St.,  Lawrence, KS 66044

Jurisdiction: City of Lawrence and University of Kansas local ordinances and misdemeanor traffic offenses in Lawrence and the University of Kansas.

Prosecution: Lawrence employs one full-time Judge and one full-time Prosecutor. No Jury Trials are held in Municipal Court,

Penalties: A Guilty plea or Conviction for DUI can result in potential jail time and mandatory driver's license suspension.

Aggressive DUI Defense in Lawrence Municipal Court

Municipal court cases can move quickly. Immediate action by your attorney including preserving video of the arrest and booking area and Intoxilyzer video  can affect the trajectory of your case. Attorney Charles R. Green prioritizes five critical target areas when building your defense:

We Challenge the Initial Traffic Stop

We analyze dashcam and body camera footage to examine  whether the officer had probable cause to make a stop for a traffic violation or to initiate contact with you if your vehicle was not moving.

Field Sobriety Testing

Field Sobriety Testing in Lawrence can include reciting the alphabet , counting backwards, walking a straight line and standing on one leg while counting out loud. Some of these tests are non-standardized meaning they don't have strict guidelines. Some, such as the Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) and Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) tests have limited value and may in fact be inadmissible in Court. Some Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) such as the Walk and Turn test (WAT) and One Leg Stand Test (OLS) have strict guidelines set by NHTSA  as to how they are to be instructed, administered and scored.  We examine what the Officer says in the police report versus your actual performance on the  body camera and dashcam videos. Field Sobriety Tests can be challenged as the  results can be impacted by improper instructions, uneven testing surfaces, weather, passing traffic, or medical conditions.

Reviewing the Intoxilyzer 9000

We request and examine  the machine's maintenance logs, calibration records, and operational histories to discover protocol inaccuracies, history of  maintenance,  or deviations from KDHE state standards.

Protecting Your Driving Privileges

We immediately request your Kansas Driver License Hearing with the Kansas Department of Revenue  (KDOR) in Topeka. This allows you to continue driving while the administrative process is pending. We subpoena the Officer to appear at the Hearing and represent you throughout this process. We advise you of the potential implications a breath test failure or refusal may have  including   license suspension and ignition interlock requirements. Kansas is now one of several states that have mandatory suspension and ignition interlock requirements for DUI, even on a first DUI offense.

Critical Deadlines: The 14-Day Kansas Deadline . Do not wait for your first court appearance to take action.

Following a DUI arrest in Lawrence you have exactly 14 calendar days to submit a formal request to KDOR for a Kansas administrative driver's license hearing. If a Hearing is not requested  within this window, the Kansas Department of Revenue will automatically suspend your driver's license without a Hearing, regardless of what happens in Court. The administrative process moves independently of your municipal court DUI case.

What are the Penalties for a  DUI Conviction in Lawrence?

What is the Difference between OUI (Operating Under the Influence) and DUI (Driving Under the Influence)?