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The first question that potential DUI / DWI clients in our office almost always asks is: “Do I have to hire an attorney to handle my Missouri DUI / DWI Case?"

Before beginning a discussion of Missouri DUI / DWI / BAC cases, it is important to note that in every Missouri alcohol-traffic offense, it is important for a driver facing theses charges to understand that there are two separate components to these types of cases. Each Missouri case involving impairment and a vehicle have both a civil and criminal element must be dealt with separately.

If you are found guilty in your Missouri DUI / DWI or other drunk driving case, you may be placed on probation. Probation is a process where the Court may release you without incarceration or other imprisonment after you are found guilty.

Under Missouri's Implied Consent law, RSMo. 577.020, every driver who operates a motor vehicle in the State of Missouri by law has given implied consent to giving a blood, breath, saliva or urine sample to determine the alcohol content of their blood if arrested upon reasonable grounds to believe they were driving a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated or drugged condition.

One of the most common questions our office receives from the public is how a Missouri DUI / DWI will affect their employment. Missouri does offer a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS) probation for some DUI / DWI offenses which does not result in a conviction on the driver's record if they are able to successfully complete probation.

One little known consequence (even among Missouri Lawyers) of a Missouri DUI / DWI or other drunk driving conviction, is that it can limit your right to travel. There are many countries (including Canada) which classify some “crimes” as a basis for limiting, or in some cases, outright banning your right to enter the country.

Missouri police departments commonly employ sobriety checkpoints at set locations, where all drivers passing through are stopped and questioned regarding their alleged intoxication, without any observed traffic violations being committed, or prior probable cause to arrest for DUI / DWI.

When comparing driver's license point suspensions in a Missouri DUI / DWI case to driver's license revocations or denials, it is important to note that a driver may have their Missouri driving privilege simultaneously suspended for points while at the same time also having a license revocation for separate and different reasons.

It is important to understand how alcohol interacts with the human body when discussing a Missouri DUI / DWI case. Lay people assume that if you “blew above 0.08% BAC,” your case is hopeless. Testing above the legal limit, by itself, is only an indicator of intoxication, it does not indicate “when” the intoxication took place.

Missouri has recently passed legislation that has made life a lot tougher for Missouri drivers who plead guilty or are sentenced for a second or greater DWI or BAC offense.