A prosecutor in Kansas has to prove that were impaired in your driving by proving that your blood alcohol content was .08 or more, or providing evidence that you,
- displayed poor performance on field sobriety tests
- showed poor driving skills,
- physically appeared intoxicated
- Made statements which proved your impairment to an officer.
Kansas driving under the influence cases are just like criminal charges. A prosecutor must prove that you are guilty of DWI to a judge or jury. Due to the fact that driving while under the influence is so frowned upon in today’s society defending those charges has become more difficult and penalties have increased and become more harsh to serve as a deterrent.
Kansas DUI’s Effect On Your Driving Privileges
Not only will you face criminal charges if you are arrested for driving under the influence in Kansas it may cause you monetary lost, incarceration, and suspension of your driving license. There is a civil aspect to the charges, which can also result in the revoking of your driving privileges. You must pay attention to both the criminal case and the civil driver’s license case, both have different laws and rules that if neglected could cause harm to you even if one case is dropped the other still has to be dealt with separately.
How long you lose your license for very much depends on whether you:
- refused a blood alcohol content test
- failed the test completely
- have failed the test for the first time
- are over or under the age of 21
The length of the revoking of your driving privileges, hinges on these matters, and can be anywhere from one month to 12 months.
If you are arrested, the officer will give you a pink form, referred to as a DC-27 form in Kansas. On the reverse side of the form it informs you that you must mail a letter asking for an administrative hearing to the Kansas Department of Revenue within a week and 3 days of the time you got the DC-27 or your driver’s license will automatically be revoked. So it is important that you get legal representation immediately after your arrest.
Potential Criminal Penalties
A Kansas driving under the influence charge in court of law could subject one to
- monetary fines,
- possible incarceration,
- revoking of your driving privileges
- possible forfeiture of your car
How much you are fined and the amount of time you are incarcerated for depend on, if you have been convicted driving under the influence before. In Kansas it does not matters if the previous conviction was within five years or not. All prior driving under the influence convictions count, no matter how long ago you were charged.
In Kansas your;
- 1st conviction for DUI is a Class B misdemeanor.
- 2nd conviction for DUI is a Class A misdemeanor
- 3rd conviction for DUI is a felony
- 4th conviction for DUI is also a felony
In Kansas DUI is a very complicated and detailed matter the need of a skill drunk driving defense lawyer cannot be over stressed. So do yourself a favor if you are in Kansas and get caught drunk driving get one!
Originally posted 2016-12-11 15:15:38.