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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.

In 1964, Missouri passed the state's first "Implied Consent" law. Currently, everyone who operates a motor vehicle within the state impliedly consents 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.

There are three Main points of contention in a license suspension hearing for a refusal of a chemical test in the civil portion of a Missouri DUI / DWI case.

It is important that you understand that if you were involved in an accident in a Missouri DUI / DWI case, that you consider not speaking with your insurance carrier prior to first retaining an attorney for advice.

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.

Every summer as people get out on the water, we receive numerous inquiries about Missouri Boating While Intoxicated offenses (BWI) at lakes such as Lake of the Ozarks and Smithville Lake in the Kansas City Metro area, and the differences between BWI and normal DWI cases.

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.