General Kansas City DWI information from a Kansas City DWI lawyer
Written by: Christopher Yotz
If you are charged with DWI in Kansas City or anywhere in the metro area of Missouri or Kansas you need to hire an experienced DWI attorney to protect your rights. Attorney Chris Yotz has 14 years experience as a criminal defense attorney and has helped many people just like you who were accused of Driving While Intoxicated. He will extensively investigate the case against you while keeping you fully informed and engaged in the often confusing situation you are involved in.
When you are charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI or DUI) there are two cases occurring simultaneously. They are the criminal case in the city or county court and the administrative case regarding your driving privileges. The attorney will pursue a vigorous defense of your rights in both cases.
A DWI conviction can carry very serious consequences. The criminal charges against you could result in jail time, probation, expensive fines and post conviction requirements that can prove both costly and difficult. Such a conviction could detrimentally affect your professional or private life. A criminal conviction for DWI/DUI can also result in additional license suspensions. An experienced Kansas City DWI attorney can help guide you through this process while protecting your rights.
When charged with a DWI you must contest the administrative license suspension or you could lose the ability to fight a suspension of your license. If you voluntarily provided a valid breath or blood sample and it tested over .08% (unless you are under age or have a CDL license) you have 15 days to file for an administrative hearing to contest the suspension. If the officer claims that you refused to give a valid sample (whether they got a sample from you involuntarily or not) you have 30 days to file a civil suit to contest the refusal suspension. It can be very difficult to contest either type of administrative suspension and you should hire an experienced DWI attorney to help you.
If you have more prior convictions or deferred prosecutions for alcohol related offenses, including DWI charges in other states, you could be facing mandatory minimum jail sentences depending upon the number of prior offenses. Even properly completed deferred prosecutions could be used against you on the current case. The prosecutor may have to prove these prior offenses occurred and should be counted against you. An experienced DWI lawyer may be able to contest whether any prior offenses can be used against you.
The prosecutor in the criminal case and the hearing officer for the Department of Revenue in the administrative case must both show that there was probable cause to arrest you for DWI in Missouri. One of the common pieces of evidence used for this purpose is the result of Standardized Field Sobriety testing that police officers are often trained to use. These tests are allegedly based upon scientific studies and are (perhaps intentionally) difficult to contest. Attorney Chris Yotz is trained and certified in DWI Detection and the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing using the same manuals and techniques as the police officers. He can accurately assess the validity of the officer’s use and “grading” of the tests and help you fight inaccurate or improper results.
A sample of your breath or blood could be used against you in either of the cases we are discussing here. Such tests are not entirely accurate and occasionally give very incorrect results. Attorney Chris Yotz has contested these types of tests over the years and is capable of helping you.
Hire a Kansas City DWI lawyer to help you
An experienced Kansas City DWI lawyer can properly investigate the case against you and accurately evaluate the evidence. Then the attorney can negotiate the best possible pretrial settlement or plea agreement in your case. Only after this can he properly counsel you so that you fully understand the evidence against you and the ramifications of any plea agreement so that you can make a fully informed decision what path you would like to take in resolving your case. Contact attorney Chris Yotz today to help protect your rights.