The State of Missouri has enacted tough laws against those people who have been cited for DWI and they either have a previous history of alcohol-related traffic offenses or the citation comes as a result of an alcohol-related traffic accident.
The State of Missouri classifies those individuals that have had a previous alcohol-related traffic citation as either a prior, persistent, aggravated or chronic offender. The laws and consequences for these individuals are complicated and may result in felony charges. Felony charges can result in the loss of freedom and can even garner time in prison. You need an attorney with expert level knowledge and skill of the criminal defense system. The Roberts Law Firm will provide you with an attorney that has vast experience in dealing with serious felony charges.
The laws in the State of Missouri have changed recently and now provide prosecutors with an easier path for charging felony DWI's. If you have plead guilty two or more times to an alcohol-related driving offense in your lifetime, the next alcohol-related driving offense may be charged as a felony. Consider this scenario: A man is charged with a DWI in 1998 and pleads guilty to an amended charge of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) and receives SIS probation (not a conviction on the record). The man receives probation and completes the term of probation without fail. That same man is charged with DWI in 2005 and pleads guilty to DWI, receives SIS probation, and completes probation without fail. In 2009 that man is pulled over and suspected of DWI. The prosecuting attorney for the County in which the third offense occurred may charge him with Felony DWI. The man may feel cheated because he was promised "the cases would not be on his record" or that he was not convicted of those offenses. If you have plead guilty two or more times to an alcohol-related driving offense, regardless of whether or not you have been convicted, the next charge could be a felony and could result in a sentence to the State Penitentiary.
If you were involved in an alcohol-related traffic accident that resulted in the death or serious injury of another person, you may be charged with a felony. These felonies may include Felony Driving While Intoxicated, Assault in the 2nd degree, Manslaughter or even Murder in the 2nd degree. The police and prosecutors investigate these matters thoroughly and will no doubt employ professional accident reconstructionists to aid in the investigation. If you find yourself the target of an investigation such as this, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney with the ability to conduct independent investigations. The Roberts Law Firm has the ability and the professional contacts to handle these technical investigations.
If you or a loved one has been charged with Felony DWI, please understand that this difficult time in your life needs to be handled very carefully and you must employ the services of a skilled attorney. Time is of the essence is these cases. It is imperative that you contact an attorney at The Roberts Law Firm immediately so that you may preserve your legal rights.
