If you are charged with a DUI in Missouri or Kansas, the Kansas City DUI lawyers at the Kane Law Office and KCticketlaw are centrally located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and have the experience and expertise to aggressively defend your criminal and administrative Kansas driving under the influence (DUI) charges, Missouri driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges, or related charges resulting from a refusal to submit to blood, breath, or urine testing.

Administrative License Hearings

When someone is charged with a DUI, there are two types of law that apply.   The first is criminal law, which is what most people understand as part of their arrest. Criminal law deals with the ticket that was issued. If you are convicted of an alcohol offense, the court sends a copy of the conviction to the department, and the proper points are assessed to your driver record.

Administrative law is part of the DUI charge that imposes a separate suspension or revocation of the driving privilege if your blood alcohol content (BAC) level is over the legal limit or you refuse the BAC test(s).   Most states, including Missouri and Kansas, treat a refusal as an automatic suspension or revocation, even if the criminal charges are dropped or reduced in court.

After a DUI charge, you have 15 days in Missouri and 14 days in Kansas to request an administrative license hearing.  Failure to do so will result in an automatic suspension, which is why it is important to act fast if you are charged with a DUI.  If you request and receive a hearing, evidence for the arrest will be presented against you, and it is the driver’s burden to prove that they were not intoxicated or that they had grounds to refuse an alcohol test.

Because license administration hearings can affect your driving privileges and need to be addressed quickly, it is important that you contact an experienced lawyer at KCticketlaw to assist with your charges.