Law Office of Douglas Richards | Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney

Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney

I am Douglas Richards, a Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney, who since graduating from Washington University Law School in 1986, have been helping and defending people who have been arrested and charged with Criminal DWI Charges for over the past 30 years.

In Missouri, the City of Bridgeton is in an area where there numerous DWI Arrests. Whether you were driving on Highway 70, Highway 270, Highway 370, St Charles Rock Road, Earth City Expressway, Natural Bridge Road or some other main road in the City of Bridgeton, the police are always on the lookout for impaired drivers. If you get pulled over for speeding, or some other violation, the police officer first asks to see your drivers license and proof of insurance. But it seems like the next question the police officer always asks you is if you have been drinking. If you say “yes”, or, if the police officer claims to smell alcohol, the police officer will ask you to step out of your car and have you do some field sobriety tests. You think that you did fine on these tests. The police officer never said that you failed any of the tests. When the tests were done, the next thing you know the police officer tells you that you are being arrested and charged for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). You are thinking to yourself, “what in the world just happened?”

The police officer handcuffs you and takes you to the station. When you are released, the police officer gives you some tickets, and a white piece of paper and tells you that your drivers license is going to be suspended in 15 days.

What do you do now? You can’t have your drivers license suspended! You need to be able to drive to work! You need to be able to pick up your kids, to be able to go to the store, to go places and to do all the things you have to do! You need to be able to drive on a daily basis.

Who do you call for the best DWI Defense you need? Which Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney will fight hard for you to keep your license from being suspended and give your case the personal attention it deserves?

With over 30 years of legal experience, I know how much a DWI Charge can impact your life. My goal is to keep you from losing your license. Most people are under the impression that there is no way to beat a DWI Charge. Wrong! But to do it, you need a dedicated and experienced DWI Defense Attorney to handle your case. You need a Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney who is willing to look into ALL the facts, to look into ALL the details in order to find the exceptions, the mistakes that were made in your case by the police. And in every case, I am able to find mistakes that are made by the police. By pointing out these mistakes made by the police to the Prosecuting Attorney, I can show the Prosecuting Attorney that he has no case, or a very weak case, and this can serve as the basis to arrange for a plea bargain, a reduced charge, or even complete dismissal of the DWI charge.

Remember, police officers are just people too, and they make mistakes when they write up police reports. They make mistakes when they have you perform Field Sobriety Tests. They cut corners and do not give you the detailed instructions that they are supposed to do. They do not observe you for the proper time period before you take a breath test. My job, with your help, is to find these mistakes and to use them to our advantage so that you can learn from this experience and move on with your life. That is what a dedicated and experienced Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney can do for you!

Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney. When you are charged with a DWI in the City of Bridgeton, you technically have two separate DWI cases pending against you that are going on at the same time.

The first DWI case is the criminal charge brought against you in the City of Bridgeton Municipal Court. The criminal DWI case is handled by the Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Bridgeton. The Prosecuting Attorney has the burden of proving your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If you are found guilty under the Criminal DWI case, your license would be suspended for points, you could be sentenced to jail and/or be ordered to pay a large fine. This is why you need an experienced Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney on your side.

Some of the possible defenses that can be raised are whether there was an invalid initial stop by the police; whether Improper Field Sobriety Tests were performed; whether Improper Breath Test or Blood Test Procedures were followed; whether there are Inadmissible Breath Test or Blood Test Results; or whether there was a knowing Breath or Chemical Test Refusal. A skilled and experienced Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney knows what to look for in the specific facts of your case and will develop the most effective defense strategies that will help your chance of obtaining a favorable outcome.

The other DWI case is civil proceeding brought against you by the Director of the Missouri Department of Revenue. The civil case is called an Administrative Alcohol Suspension. The civil DWI case involves whether you blew over the legal limit of .08% or whether you refused to submit to a chemical test.

If you submitted to the breath test, you have 15 days after your arrest to request an Administrative Hearing or it is waived and your drivers license will be automatically suspended for a period of 90 days if it is your first DWI Case. The police officer should have gave you a Form 2385. This is your 15 day Temporary Driving Permit. To avoid this suspension you must request Administrative Hearing or contact a Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney who will fill out the paperwork for you and send it to the Department of Revenue within this 15 day time period. You then will be issued a temporary driving permit that will allow you to continue to drive while your Administrative Hearing is pending.

If you refused the breath or chemical test, the police officer should have gave you a Form 4323. This informs you that you driving privileges will be revoked for one year, 15 days from the date of the notice, unless a Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney files a “Petition for Review” and obtain a “STAY ORDER”. If this is your first DWI offense, the “STAY ORDER” will allow you to continue to drive while your case is pending. A skilled and experienced Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney will look into the facts of your case and develop the most effective defense strategies to help you obtain the most favorable outcome.

I never charge a fee for an initial consultation because I understand that it is an important step in the process of finding the right Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney for you. Call today to contact my office so we can set up a time to meet face to face with you so I can answer all of your Bridgeton DWI defense questions.

Call me at:

DOUGLAS RICHARDS
ATTORNEY AT LAW

9666 Olive Blvd., Ste. 365

St. Louis, MO 63132

314-517-5756

or

636-256-7300

I look forward to sitting down and talking to you face to face, so you can teach me the facts of your case and I can teach you what the law is and what legal defenses and legal tactics that are available to you, so that together, we can achieve the Best Result for you!

DOUGLAS RICHARDS

ATTORNEY AT LAW

I am a Bridgeton DWI Defense Attorney – with over 30 years of experience in handling cases in the City of Bridgeton, MO and in the areas of St. Louis County (West County, South County, North County), St. Louis City, St. Charles County, Jefferson County and Franklin County.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

City of Bridgeton Government Web Site

City of Bridgeton Parks and Recreation Facebook Page

City of Bridgeton Twitter Page

City of Bridgeton Municipal Court

City of Bridgeton Police Department

City of Bridgeton Police Facebook Page

City of Bridgeton Police Twitter Page

Official State of Missouri Government Web Page

Missouri Department of Revenue Home Page

OTHER HELPFUL ST LOUIS LINKS:

St Louis Zoo Web Page