DUI / DWI /Traffic Criminal Defense
This offense is one which crosses all socio/economic levels of society and often includes those in society who do not consider themselves criminals. Unfortunately, the legislature in Kansas has decided that DUI is a crime and if someone is convicted of that crime mandatory jail time is required. That is why our law firm takes this offense so seriously and so should you.
There are numerous steps necessary for you to defend yourself against a convicition for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. You need to select an experience DUI attorney. When making that selection ask whether the attorney is an experienced trial attorney. Does every person accused of DUI need an experienced trial attorney, no! But that experienced attorney will tell you whether their services are required.
Think back on the experience of being stopped by the officer and try to write down notes to yourself about what happened when you were stopped. These notes might be very important if at trial you hope to contradict the official version of the offense told by the arresting officer.
When you are charged with a DUI in Kansas you need to move very quickly to preserve all your rights under the law. Very importantly, there is a criminal track involving the court where you have to appear to defend yourself against the DUI charge and then there is a administrative track which involves your license to drive and the Kansas Department of Revenue. You have only 10 days to properly request a hearing and subpoena the necessary officers for your hearing. You need to be aware of both actions. Our law firm is very aggressive about representing you in both actions.
Under Kansas law, you do not have a constitutional right to drive. Driving is a privilege in Kansas and therefore the State can impose burdens on your ability to drive. Unlike the criminal process, you will not be afforded constitutional rights regarding your ability to drive or continue driving an automobile in Kansas. Therefore, the Department of Revenue can put what appear to be unconstitutional restrictions on your right to drive when you are legally stopped by a law enforcement officer. You do not have the right to an attorney. You do not have the right to refuse testing requested by law enforcement. You also need to request a separate hearing regarding your license and restrictions which may be imposed under the administrative regulations approved by the Department of Revenue.
These are serious matters which, if not handled properly may result in lost employment, more severe restrictions than necessary and unfair information on your driving record.
There are certain constitutional protections that all citizens enjoy when stopped by police officers. The stop has to be legal, that is the stop has to satisfy all the necessary constitutional protections granted to all citizens of the United States. Police officers can not initiate a traffic stop just because they want to stop someone if they have a suspicion that the person might be driving under the influence of alcohol.
If you are stopped legally and the officer begins an investigation into possible intoxication and inability to safely operate a motor vehicle you will be asked to submit to various “field sobriety” tests. Prior to taking these tests the officer must inform you of the implied consent law in Kansas which requires drivers to submit to tests required by law officers when they stop someone on suspicion of DUI. These tests, admissible in court, may include a walk and turn test, a one legged stand test. Finally the police officer will give you and a preliminary breath test or PBT, the results of which are not admissible in Kansas courts. If you fail the tests, in the opinion of the police officer, you will be arrested and taken to the nearest police station with equipment for further testing.
Over the last thirty years, law enforcement officials across the country have tried to establish testing procedures that establish a presumption under the law that someone is legally impaired if they don’t meet certain standards of testing. The current generation of testing equipment used in Kansas is the Intoxilizer 8000 which measures the alcohol content in someone’s blood by requiring them to exhale deep lung air into the intoxilizer.
There can be many reasons why someone will not be able to exhale the required amount of air for the Intoxilizer 8000 to register that someone is cooperating. You need a lawyer to explain your options if the arresting officer has determined that you refused the required test when asked to comply.
A DUI offense is something that can affect a person’s life in so many unexpected ways and cuts equally across all segments of society. You need an attorney to explain the complicated set of laws and administrative regulations that will determine so many negative factors that if not understood and controlled can have devastating effects.
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