If you are pulled over for driving under the influence in the state of Missouri, you will need a strong advocate on your side. That’s what Chris Kopecky, founder and lead counsel of The Traffic Lawyers, P.A., is here for. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, and serving the three states of Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, his firm does everything he can to do the best for their clients.
In Missouri, they charge drink driving as either a DWI, which stands for Driving While Intoxicated, or DUI, Driving Under the Influence, depending upon which law enforcement agency has arrested you. The county and/or state police tend to charge DWI, whereas the city police tend to charge a DUI, but the effect of either is the same.
You have 15 days in the state of Missouri to request an appeal of your driver’s license suspension if you fail the breath test. You are given the opportunity to either have an in-person hearing or a telephone hearing. And there are advantages and disadvantages to each.
Breath Test Refusal
If you refuse the breath test and it is your first offense, you have a potential option, depending upon what county you are arrested in, to keep your driver’s license and criminal records clean.
Bigger metro areas such as Kansas City and St. Louis have been able to offer a diversion program of your driver’s license suspension for first-time offenders if you agree to plead guilty to the underlying criminal charges.
Avoiding a Conviction
This includes pleading guilty but getting a Suspended Imposition of Sentence, or SIS, which would allow you to not have a conviction on your criminal record and not ever have your driver’s license suspended at all.
These types of options are only available if you file a motion in the Circuit Court within 30 days of when you are arrested. So it is more crucial than ever that you hire a skilled attorney to represent you as soon as possible.
Our experienced DUI lawyers will do everything they can to keep a DUI off your criminal record, keep your insurance rates down, prevent fines, reduce or dismiss charges against you, and allow you to keep your driver’s license and stay out of jail.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
