DWI and DUI

Attorneys Serving St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois

When you get pulled over for a DWI or DUI, you could lose your license in as little as 15 days, even if you are later found innocent in court.

When you get pulled over and the officer asks you to take a breath test, you have two choices: either take the test or refuse. If you take the test and fail, meaning your blood alcohol level is a 0.08 or above, the Missouri Department of Revenue will suspend your license 15 days later, even if it's your first offense, and even if the court later finds that you're innocent of driving while intoxicated.

The only way to fight this suspension is to request an administrative hearing during those first 15 days.

If you refuse to take the breath test, then the Missouri Department of Revenue will automatically revoke your license for 1 year. In this case, you only have 30 days to fight your license revocation.

Either of these actions taken by the Missouri Department of Revenue is completely independent of the ticket you received from the officer summoning you to appear in court. Your court date might be 2 or 3 months in the future, but you still need to fight the Missouri Department of Revenue immediately.

Even if you beat this first license suspension, you still have to worry about what happens in court. The judge could sentence you to serve jail time, pay fines, pay restitution, pay the police for taking the trouble to arrest you, do community service, attend AA meetings, complete expensive substance abuse programs, and more. And if you end up being convicted or plead guilty and the charge of DWI or DUI goes onto your driving record, your license will be suspended or revoked, even if you beat the first suspension for just failing the breath test.

Let me make this clear- If you get pulled over for a DWI, there are two easy ways for you to lose your license. First, for failing or refusing to take the breath test, or, second, for being convicted of the DWI or DUI ticket.

Sounds complicated? Well, it is. It's extremely complicated, and I'm simplifying the whole process here. It's actually much more complex than I'm making it sound, and it gets even worse if you've had a prior DWI or DUI. When you get a DWI, if it's your first or your fifth, you need to talk to a DUI /DWI attorney right away.

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