A traffic stop leads to suspected impairment. The officer may request field sobriety tests and a breath or blood test. What happens here — and what you say — directly impacts your defense.

The Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing is separate from your criminal case. You have only 15 days from arrest to request it. Missing this deadline means automatic suspension — often 90 to 180 days.

You appear before a judge to hear the formal DWI charges and enter a plea. For a first-offense DWI, charges are typically a Class B misdemeanor. Prior offenses, high BAC, or accidents can elevate charges significantly.

DWI cases are highly technical. We scrutinize every aspect of the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the breath or blood test for errors, calibration issues, and procedural violations that can get evidence thrown out.

We file targeted motions to suppress evidence obtained illegally or unreliably. A successful suppression motion can eliminate the prosecution's key evidence — often resulting in full dismissal of all charges.

If a plea serves your best interest, we negotiate hard for the most favorable outcome — including charge reductions to obstruction or reckless driving, or enrollment in DWI diversion programs that may allow dismissal.

If the case goes to trial, our attorneys challenge every element the state must prove — lawfulness of the stop, reliability of the tests, and whether impairment affected driving. The burden of proof is entirely on the prosecution.

A DWI conviction carries criminal penalties and mandatory license consequences. We fight to minimize both — and if convicted, we immediately pursue every option to restore driving privileges as quickly as possible.

A DWI on your record can affect employment, housing, and professional licenses for years. Depending on your outcome, you may be eligible to have the arrest expunged or the record sealed under a non-disclosure order.