Yes, you absolutely need a trial lawyer if you have been charged with a DWI in Kansas City! It could mean the difference in whether you lose driving privileges, spend time in jail or remain free. Getting arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) can carry serious consequences and carry long prison terms, especially if another person was injured or died as a result of an accident. Penalties for this charge can be harsh at any level, but when a fatality or serious harm occurs, they are much more severe. A competent DWI trial lawyer will be able to establish a strong defense and prevent driver’s license suspension and incarceration.
If you’re thinking you don’t need a lawyer and will represent yourself, that’s probably not a good idea. While you do have the constitutional right to represent yourself, you could be making a critical mistake by doing so. An experienced criminal defense attorney arguing on your behalf before a judge and prosecutor is far more likely to get the charges against you dropped or the case dismissed than if you try to fight it out in court yourself.
There is no question that you should call a trial lawyer before you go before the judge or accept a plea deal. Many people who plead guilty without talking to a lawyer first don’t fully realize that to plead guilty officially is a criminal conviction. Having a criminal charge on your record follows you for life, affecting work opportunities, voting privileges and nearly every other aspect of your life. A trial lawyer is your best defense for winning your case if it goes to trial, and avoiding serious consequences, even for a first offense DWI. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that first offenses aren’t something to worry about; there are no guarantees where criminal charges are concerned. But at least with a skilled trial lawyer in your corner, your chances are much greater for avoiding serious consequences than they are without.
In many cases people don’t retain an attorney when they’ve been charged with a crime – usually because they can’t afford it. If you want to keep your license and maintain your driving privileges and you’re facing a rough financial situation, it will only get worse if you’re locked up in jail and can’t produce any income. The laws for DWI’s are tough, and prosecutors are obligated to pursue DWI offenses to the fullest extent of the law. If you have any realistic chance of saving your driver’s license, at the very least or avoid a prison sentence at worst, you will need to hire a trial lawyer who has the ability to handle your case if it goes to trial.
Craig M. Divine is an experienced trial lawyer in Kansas City who has successfully handled DUI/DWI cases in the Missouri Courts. If you’ve been charged with DWI, make your first phone call to trial lawyer Craig Divine at 816-474-2240. Divine Law, LLC, is conveniently located at 104 W. 9th St., Suite 404, in downtown Kansas City, MO 64105. Initial consultation is Free.