Costs of a Missouri DWI

[Diana Hilliard]

Arrested for Missouri DWI/DUI? What do I do now?

1st Missouri DUI/DWI? Multiple DUI/DWI? What is a Missouri DWI/DUI going to cost?

Cost for Missouri DUI/DWI, from inital DUI arrest for 1st offense to felony, including St. Louis area vary due to a variety of facts.

An arrest for a DUI/DWI throughout Missouri is a costly event. Keep in mind, a DUI/DWI is a criminal charge, not a traffic charge. Your rights to life and liberty and the privilege to drive in a State are at risk. Make sure you find an attorney who specializes in criminal law or even better DWI’s.

Attorney fees and your bond or bail are just the start of what you'll pay to fight a DWI. If you elect to accept a plea agreement or are found gully by a judge or jury there will be additional fees, programs and equipment you may be required to utilize to satisfy the conditions of probation or parole. You will incur court costs, probation costs, alcohol treatment programs, devices for you or your car just to get through the court process. Insurance-rate increases, legal bills, alcohol treatment and licensing fees can push the cost into five figures

Bail: $150 - $2,500-Usually at 10-15% down (Costs are lower for first-time DWI offenders. In most cases, costs and penalties are often more severe if you're a repeat offender or your blood-alcohol content is above 0.15 %.)

Attorney Fees: $1,000 - $5,000 for first offense. Most DWI Lawyers will offer a free consultation to find out what your legal fee and other costs will be. Fee’s go up for repeat offenders or if you wish to proceed to a jury trial.

Towing Fee’s. In most cases when you're arrested, your car will get towed to a facility predetermined by the law enforcement agency. Fees to retrieve you car may run from $100-$1000.00 for the first 24 hours and $25-$50 for each additional day of storage, 200.

Court Costs, Recoupment Fees and Fines: $150.00 - $5,000
Jail Booking Fee If sentenced to any jail time $70 -$100.00

SATOP (Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program) Alcohol Evaluation. SATOP is a mandatory program required by the Missouri Department of Revenue and the Criminal Courts: Initial Assessment Fee 375.00 Treatment programs range from $130-$1,000

Victim Impact Panel $35-$50. Generally a onetime class sponsored by a municipality or county government

Driver’s License Reinstatement Fee’s. Once a driver has shown, by completing courses and treatment, that he deserves his license back, the state charges him for the reissue. Cost: $45-$200.

SCRAM Bracelet (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor.) Initial start up fee of $255.00 to cover first 15 days and hook up. Then $12 a day. The Court will order the number of days to wear a SCRAM

Ignition Interlock Device (Vehicle Ignition Alcohol Monitoring Device) Installation Fee of approximately $45 (depending on the vehicle) Monthly Rental Fee of $69 and Removal Fee of $35

Expert Witness Fee’s (Either for use in a case assessment but in most cases for trial purposes):i.e., Breathalyzer, DRE or Field Sobriety Test Expert $2,500-$5,000 (if needed)

Deposition Costs, Fee’s for Court Reporter $500.00 – 1,000. (Missouri is one of only a few states that allows for a deposition in a criminal case. This only comes into play if you want to fight your case and go to trial. In some cases, the attorney will want to question the arresting/testing officer in advance in order to prepare for trial.

Appellate Attorney Legal Fee’s $5,000 - $20,000. If you need to appeal a finding of guilt by a judge or jury you will incur additional legal fees to appeal the case.

Car Insurance Increase: $3,600 - $6,600 (AAA estimates $2,200 a year for 3 years)

*The costs and fees stated above for Missouri DUI/DWI's in St. Louis and surronding areas
are estimates. Such costs and fees will vary between service providers, jurisdictions and court systems. For exact figures, check with the jurisdiction where your DWI is pending and local service providers.

[Dan Jaffe]

Diana,

Great post. I would like to see one of these for every state, as I think it's very helpful to quantify the "known" costs of a DWI/DUI conviction or arrest. There is a more general conversation on the subject of the lifetime costs of a DUI/DWI going on right now in this forum, and I think it would be interesting to get your take on it from a general/lifetime perspective.

Dan

[B. Welton Wiseman]

I had no idea it would be that expensive. How do they expect a first time Missouri DWI offender to survive financially. It would wipe most people out.

[Diana Hilliard]

DWI's can become very costly once all the required programs, fee's and fines are calculated.

An experienced DWI attorney is aware of the costs a client faces down the line and can help the client spread the costs out. In Missouri if your license is suspended and you cannot prevail in an Administrative Hearing, SATOP-treatment program-is mandatory by the State to get a license reinstated after serving the revocation.

I typically will have my clients sign up early in the process to get SATOP completed before they are hit with potential recoupment costs and other fees. If they posted a bond, I remind them the bond may be used against recoupement costs.

Each client is different and helping them budget a DWI is very important.

[Diana Hilliard]

I almost forgot one of the hidden costs of a DWI and that is the companion ticket be it "Not Maintaining a Single Lane" or "Failure to Signal" or other traffic tickets.

In Missouri, if a driver is given a probation for a DWI the jursidiction cannot issue a fine. Sounds good at first. But, they can charge a high fine on the other traffic charges that occured at the time of this arrest. I have seen a fine of close to $450.00 - 499.00 on weaving or no signal. WOW. This is how the jursidicitions make up the difference.

Also, many areas now have "Recoupement" fees, these are estimated costs for your arrest or tests.

Remember a plea recommendation is just that, a recommendation. They are under no duty to give you any recommendation so if they do so, it may be hard to negotiate the associated costs. Just be ready.