Being arrested and booked on DWI charges can be frightening and humiliating. The court process can also be confusing and intimidating, especially if you have never been charged with a crime before.
Choosing a lawyer to defend you is an important decision. You want to know what is happening next. You don’t want any surprises. Most of all, you want to know that your lawyer can assert your rights and your best interests at each stage of the process.
Contact the law firm of Travis Noble, P.C., if you have been arrested on suspicion of DWI. We represent people in St. Louis and St. Charles and throughout Missouri on any drunk driving charges, from a first-time DWI to a felony repeat offense or DWI accident.
An arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) triggers both criminal charges, handled in the local courts, and an administrative license hearing, which is overseen by the Missouri Department of Revenue. These are separate proceedings. You can win your DWI case, but still have your license suspended. You can also keep your license even if you are convicted of DWI. Our goal is to win on both fronts.
If the police officer who stopped your vehicle finds probable cause that you were impaired by alcohol or drugs, you are placed under arrest and (presumably) read your Miranda rights. If the results of a breath, blood or urine test indicate intoxication, you will be formally arrested and detained.
The first court appearance is called arraignment. The charges will be read and you will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty (almost always the latter). The judge will set bail and conditions for your release. We can advocate for bail reduction and work to get clients out of jail and back with their families as soon as possible.
After arraignment, the court will schedule a series of pretrial hearings. Attorney Travis L. Noble takes full advantage of these court appearances to file motions to dismiss or motions to suppress evidence and to discover the strength of the prosecutor’s case.
Prior to trial, we may enter plea negotiations to reduce the charges to non-felony or non-DWI offenses or to avoid or mitigate certain penalties. We never plead out cases as a first recourse, but we strive to give clients options and our honest assessment of where they stand.
Many DWI cases cannot be resolved by plea agreement, because the prosecutor can’t or won’t negotiate or because of the criminal and collateral consequences. There may be no choice but to go to trial. Travis L. Noble is an experienced trial lawyer with a nationwide reputation for proven DWI defense strategies. He always prepares from day one for the possibility of arguing your case before a judge or jury, and he has a track record of acquittals and other favorable outcomes in some of the toughest DWI cases in Missouri.
Past results afford no guarantee of future results and every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. This disclosure is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Missouri.
