SPECIAL REPORT:

The 10 biggest mistakes most people make after being arrested for a Missouri DUI /DWI or other drunk driving offense . . . and how to avoid them.

1. Not taking the matter seriously. A Missouri DUI / DWI  is a charge that will follow you for the rest of your life, if you are convicted. The additional insurance charges alone could cost you thousands of dollars.


2. Not hiring a competent Missouri DUI / DWI attorney. The law is complex and you need competent representation. You must raise the right defenses at the right time or you will lose them. Facts will disappear, memories fade and witnesses vanish. A winable case can quickly become a loser.


3. Hiring a Missouri DUI / DWI attorney based on the amount of the fee alone. The State of Missouri has almost unlimited resources when it comes to your case. You need to hire a DWI / DUI attorney and pay a fee which will allow him to put time and effort into your case to counter the prosecution. Attorneys must earn enough in the time they spend on your case in order to keep their doors open and make a living wage. If you go too low, your attorney will not be able to put in the time necessary to protect you. Look for a reasonable, predictable fee, not the lowest. There are dozens of Missouri DUI / DWI lawyers that advertise in the paper or yellow pages for nominal fees, and many of them are not qualified to try these cases where it does not work out that probation is available.

If you are honest with yourself, you should ask yourself how much work a Missouri DUI / DWI attorney is going to perform on your case when he charges you little more than he would for a typical speeding ticket? A Missouri DUI / DWI attorney that does not charge you anything is not going to investigate your case, and is not going to do anything but hold your hand while you plead guilty.

If the Missouri DUI / DWI attorney you hire does not know how to challenge your drunk driving case, and it works out in your particular case that probation is not available for a variety of possible reasons, which often happens, you will have a conviction on your record that will haunt you for years solely because you went with an attorney that knew how to do nothing other than plead you guilty on whatever terms he could beg the Prosecutor to give you.

That is not to say that pleading guilty is not the best option in some Missouri DUI / DWI cases, regardless of which Missouri DUI /DWI attorney you retain, and many excellent Missouri DUI /DWI attorneys will recommend you take the deal in certain instances. However, because any given case may not have probation available or any given case may have to go to trial, it is imperative that you begin with a Missouri DUI / DWI attorney that can competently finish what they start should a trial be required, or you will pay the ultimate price for hiring the cheapest lawyer you can find.

There are some DUI / DWI attorneys in the State of Missouri that specialize in drunk driving cases. You should thoroughly interview your Missouri DUI / DWI lawyer before hiring them to represent you.

For instance, many Missouri DUI / DWI cases can be won by challenging the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests that are used to say the driver is intoxicated. You should check and see if your Missouri DUI / DWI lawyer is “NHTSA certified.” NHTSA is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and all officers in the State of Missouri have been trained regarding how to administer Standardized Field Sobriety Tests under NHTSA’s protocol at the police academy since 1981. These classes are available to defense attorneys, but most do not attend. Is the Missouri DUI / DWI attorney you are considering hiring certified only as a student, or has he completed the 40-hour, week long NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor course? At the very minimum, any Missouri DUI /DWI lawyer that claims to know how to win these cases should have in his possession the NHTSA DWI Detection Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Manual, and be intimately acquainted with it’s contents. If the Missouri DUI / DWI lawyer you are thinking about hiring in a drunk driving case that can affect the rest of your life does not know about the instructions the officer is to follow from his training, how can he or she possibly challenge the officer if he has not done his job correctly? If you interview a Missouri DUI / DWI attorney who claims to win drunk driving cases that does not have in his possession NHTSA’s training manual on Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, my advice is to run, not walk, for the door, or you are doing yourself a great disservice.

Mr. Guilfoil is a Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor, and is a published author in the Missouri Bar’s Continuing Legal Education Series on Missouri DUI / DWI, entitled, “Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and Cross Examination of the Arresting Officer,” (MAKE HYPERLINK TO THE PAGE ON THE CHAPTER) which is the desk reference used by many Missouri DUI /DWI attorneys across the State of Missouri.

Likewise, has the Missouri DUI / DWI attorney you are considering hiring for your case had any training regarding breath testing? How can your attorney possibly win a scientifically challenging Missouri DWI breath testing case, or challenge the State’s science expert without any appropriate training? Mr. Guilfoil has taken numerous classes around the country on the Intoxilyzer 5000 and Datamaster breath testing machines which are commonly used in Missouri DUI / DWI cases, and spends numerous hours each month review literature for contesting these challenging cases.

4. Not complying with Missouri or another State’s driver's license laws. You could lose your right to drive.


5. Driving after your license has been taken away.


6. Not taking full advantage of your constitutional rights.


7. Taking the State of Missouri prosecutor's first offer. In most jurisdictions, the first offer is not a bargain, it's just to get rid of your case with the least amount of work. Very few cases are dismissed or reduced to a non-alcohol charge at this stage. You do not give the judge an opportunity to rule on constitutional challenges. You give up your right to raise these issues and make the State prove it's case. As discussed, if you hire the cheapest Missouri DUI / DWI attorney you can find, you will have little choice but to take whatever the prosecutor will give you. If probation is not available, that means you will have a conviction haunt you for years even though you hired an attorney to represent you. Believe me, the Prosecutor knows which Missouri DUI /DWI attorneys will take them to task and challenge their cases with a trial should the State’s offer ultimately be unreasonable. The prosecutor also knows which attorneys never try cases and always plea their client guilty, and those Missouri DUI / DWI lawyers often accordingly get bad offers, because they have to take whatever they can get.


8. Failing to appear in court for a Missouri DUI / DWI charge. The Missouri Court will issue a bench warrant for your arrest and revoke any bond. The next time you are stopped for a traffic infraction, you will be spending some time in jail and posting a bond for your future appearances.


9. Talking to anyone but a Qualified Missouri DUI / DWI attorney about your case. Anything you say to them can be used against you at the minimum, and you will almost always receive bad advice that is the opposite of what you should actually do.


10. Thinking that talking to numerous Missouri DUI / DWI attorneys will help your drunk driving case on your own. You should never appear on such a serious charge on your own if you value your license and your freedom, even on a first time offense. The Prosecutor will not make a plea offer in Missouri to someone unrepresented by counsel, and if you go alone you will likely have a conviction haunt you for years from the criminal portion of your case, and you will likely lose your license in the civil administrative license portion of your case. As discussed, not only do you need to hire counsel, but you need to have a qualified Missouri DUI / DWI attorney go to Court with you.

Missouri DUI / DWI / BAC DRUNK DRIVING DEFENSE

J, Matthew Guilfoil, Kenney Shepherd & Guilfoil, L.L.C. 1656 Washington, Suite 220 Kansas City, Missouri 64108 (816) 842-3717 phone, 1-866-DWI-MATT Toll Free Number; Email: info@ksg-law.com

Websites:

http://missouri-dui-dwi-defense.com

http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/missouri-dui-attorney-guilfoil/ (www.drunkdrivingdefense.com Missouri affiliate)

http://www.dui-dwi.com/missouri-dui-attorney-guilfoil/

(www.dui-dwi.com Missouri Affliate)

Practice in the following Regions, Cities, and Counties in Missouri:

Kansas City, North Kansas City, Independence, Liberty, Blue Springs, Buckner, Grain Valley, Grandview, Greenwood, Lake Lotawana, Lake Tapawingo, Lee's Summit, Lone Jack, Oak Grove, Raytown, Sugar Creek, Gladstone, Excelsior Springs, Claycomo, Holt, Kearney, Lawson, Mosby, Oakview, Oakwood, Pleasant Valley, Randolph, Smithville, Dearborn, Edgerton, Ferrelview, Houston Lake, Lake Waukomis, Northmoor, Parkville, Platte City, Platte Woods, Riverside, Tracy, Weatherby Lake, Weston, Archie, Belton, Harrisonville, Lake Winnebago, Peculiar, Pleasant Hill, Raymore, Warrensburg, Knob Noster, Alma, Bates City, Concordia, Corder, Emma, Higginsville, Lexington, Odessa, Wellington, Adair County, Andrew County, Atchison County, Audrain County, Barry County, Bates County, Benton County, Bollinger County, Boone County, Buchanan County, Butler County, Caldwell County, Callaway County, Camden County, Carroll County, Carter County, Cass County, Cedar County, Charlton County, Christian County, Clark County, Clay County, Clinton County, Cole County, Cooper County, Dade County, Dallas County, Daviess County, De Kalb County, Dent County, Douglas County, Franklin County, Gasconade County, Gentry County, Greene County, Grundy County, Harrison County, Henry County, Hickory County, Holt County, Howard County, Howell County, Iron County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Knox County, Laclede County, Lafayette County, Lawrence County, Lewis County, Linn County, Macon County, Marion County, Mercer County, Miller County, Oregon County, Osage County, Ozark County, Pemiscot County, Pettis County, Phelps County, Pike County, Platte County, Polk County, Pulaski County, Putnam County, Ralls County, Randolph County, Ray County, Ripley County, Saline County, Schuyler County, Scotland County, Scott County, Shannon County, Shelby County, St Charles County, St Clair County, St Francois, Stone County, Sullivan County, Taney County, Texas County, Vernon County, Warren County, Wayne County, Webster County, Worth County, Wright County.