Getting arrested for a DUI in Kansas is frightening and serious. That fear sometimes paralyzes people and leads them to make a bad decision like ignoring the situation. Fear can also be a great motivator, but that can also lead to poor decisions when people act too fast out of a sense of panic. If you have been arrested for a DUI in Kansas, the best thing you can do is take a deep breath, try to relax a little and then start methodically handling business. I would suggest something like this as a top 10:
1. Get Rested and Get it Together. Getting arrested for a DUI in Kansas often means spending the night in a jail cell, or at least spending hours in a police station before you can get home. By the time you are released, most people are tired, hungry and either depressed, filled with anxiety, embarrassed and ashamed, or angry or all of the above. Try to get some rest. The problem will still be there the next day but you will be in a better position to deal with it when you have had some sleep, eaten and had a chance to reflect a little on the situation.
2. Get Your Life Back. Often after a Kansas DUI arrest, you have to get your car out of tow, recover other property and deal with missed work or other appointments. Handle these matters to get your life back to normal so you have less stress to deal with. I do not recommend sharing the fact that you have been arrested with work or anyone other than your most trusted advisors from amongst your friends and families. There is no need to start adding more drama to the situation at this point.
3. Get the Best Kansas DUI Lawyer You can Find. Once the dust has settled a little and you are in a better frame of mind and you have gotten things somewhat back on track it is time to get a DUI lawyer. This is important and you should do your research. I have already written a guide to doing that called “How to Hire the Best Kansas DUI Lawyer“. I would recommend reading that as it sets out some things to look out for in finding an attorney. Hiring the right Kansas DUI lawyer can make a big difference to the outcome of your case and to your peace of mind over the next few months. You should expect that your attorney will be knowledgeable, experienced, enthusiastic and be willing and able to communicate with you throughout the case.
4. Request an Administrative Hearing. In Kansas, if you get a DUI and fail or refuse a breath test, you will likely be served with a pink form (called a DC-27) which acts as your driver’s license. If you were given a blood or urine test, it may be months before the result is known and the form gets served on you. Breath tests and refusals result in immediate service of the form by the officer. Once you receive the form, the clock starts ticking. YOU ONLY HAVE 14 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF SERVICE TO REQUEST A HEARING OR YOUR LICENSE IS AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED. It is by far the better idea to have an experienced Kansas DUI lawyer request the hearing for you. It is the first thing I do when I get hired. If you have to do it yourself, there are instructions on the bottom half of the back of the form that tell you how to do it. You need to request an “in-person” hearing or you will only get a phone hearing. An in-person hearing means that the officer has to appear and be present to be cross-examined; it’s more meaningful than a telephone hearing. You need to request a subpoena of the officer or the officer won’t be ordered to appear and it is harder for you to win. You have to pay $50 for the hearing. If you don’t request the hearing properly and don’t send the money in with the request, you will not get a hearing, and your license will be suspended beginning thirty days after the arrest. I send the request and money certified, return-receipt requested so that I can prove that they got it, when they got it and who signed for it. I also fax it and get a fax confirmation just for good measure.
5. Plan for the Court Date. Look at the tickets and/or bond information and figure out when your first court date is and where the court is located. Put it in your calendar, on your phone, on the fridge, etc so that you don’t miss court. A missed court date can mean a warrant for your arrest, suspension of your license and/or getting off on the wrong foot with the judge in your case. If you hire an attorney, as you should have done already, your attorney may be able to appear in court for you and have your appearance excused. Your Kansas DUI lawyer may be able to continue the first date or two by telephone and/or by appearing for you so that you don’t have to miss work or otherwise step away from your other responsibilities in life. If you have not yet hired an attorney make sure to show up in court, well-dressed and on time and ask for additional time to find an attorney. The court will usually grant a continuance so that you can get a lawyer.
6. Lay Low. Trouble can sometimes come in waves and, even if you didn’t do anything wrong to get in trouble in the first place, the last thing that you need is to add any greater degree of difficulty to the situation. DUI arrests, divorces and other problems sometimes seem to occur simultaneously so watch out for other issues in life and do what you can to keep things from getting out of control.
7. Check Your Facebook. Review your social media profiles like facebook, instagram and myspace for photos and other references that you would not like shown in court. It is extremely rare, but it has been known to happen that pictures of people drinking and references to drinking have been used against people in a DUI case. If there was an accident or anything else that makes your case more sensative, this is doubly important.
8. Get the “Discovery”. In a Kansas DUI case the evidence is usually called the “discovery”. The main things you need in most DUI cases are the police reports, any and all videos, and all of the documents concerning the breath test (logbooks, maintenance records, etc.) If there was a blood test, then you need to serve a business records subpoena on the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for all records concerning the blood test. Some video recordings (like jail videos) are only kept for a matter of days before they are written over so you may have to act quickly. You pretty much have to have a lawyer to do all of this. Hopefully, you do and, hopefully, your DUI lawyer sends you copies of all of this information. You have hired an attorney to review the evidence for you, but you ought to take a look at everything yourself and make a list of issues that you see. Give that list to your attorney.
9. Read Your Mail. And, check your voicemails, emails, etc. However your attorney and you decide to communicate, make sure that you are keeping up with the communications and that your attorney can always get hold of you so that you can receive instructions and make decisions. It is important that you and your lawyer have a good working relationship and are on the same page.
10. Get Treatment if You Need It. Just becuase you got a DUI doesn’t mean you are guilty or have any problem. But, if you have been arrested for a DUI in Kansas you should at least consider whether the use of alcohol or other substances has become a problem in your life. Certainly, the fact that a person receives a DUI charge does not, in and of itself, mean that a person is an alcoholic or has a drinking problem. However, the occasion of an arrest and charge for a Kansas DUI may provide a good opportunity for some self-reflection and some analysis of how you found yourself in this situation. It may be due to no fault of your own or just bad luck, or it very well may be that alcohol or other issues have led you to make some questionable choices and engage in risky behavior. Your lawyer’s job is to try to beat the case, but your job is to be happy and healthy. So, do whatever it takes. Some resources are here.
If you get arrested for a Kansas DUI, you have to take some action and you need to move quickly. However, you need to be business-like about it and do it right. Hopefully, the ideas in this article will get you pointed in the right direction. Call our law firm if we can help you.