st louis dWI lawyer | Missouri DWI attorney

missouri dWI court process

At Millikan Wright LLC, our experienced St. Louis DWI attorneys can guide those charged with DWI through both the administrative hearing pertaining to your driving privileges and criminal court proceedings pertaining to your personal freedom and criminal history. It is important to have an experienced lawyer acting on your behalf in these cases, as we are often able to discover errors related to the prosecution of your case that may be used in your defense. As former police officers and a former prosecuting attorney, we have seen first hand the mistakes made during the evidence collection and arrest process.

Administrative Hearings

When you have been charged with DWI, you are entitled to an administrative hearing before the Department of Revenue. This is your opportunity to defend yourself against the civil aspects of the DWI charge. At the administrative hearing, a Hearing Officer will make a ruling on whether your driver's license should be suspended, revoked, or if the charges against you should be dismissed.

The decisions made in your administrative hearing relate to that hearing only, and do not apply to any criminal DWI charges against you.

Criminal Charges

The criminal court process of DWI proceeds in the same manner as other cases involving criminal charges. The first step is an arraignment, where you will enter your plea of guilty or not guilty to the charges against you. Conditions of your release, amount of bail, or whether you will remain in jail without bail will be determined by the Judge at the arraignment.

After the arraignment you may need to appear at a number of pre-trial court appearances in which motions may be scheduled, a plea may be entered, or your readiness to stand trial may be assessed.

Finally, if a plea agreement is not reached, your case proceeds to trial where evidence will be presented on both sides, and a judge or jury determines your guilt or innocence. The St. Louis DWI attorneys at Millikan Wright LLC are aggressive in the courtroom, and will do everything possible to ensure you have a fair trial.