WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE DIVERSION PROGRAMS IN KANSAS?
Diversion is not all it is cracked up to be. A person has to first of all admit that they have done whatever the state alleges that they have done. Secondly, they are going to have to do some sort of evaluation and usually it is an ADSAP evaluation. Then they are going to have to follow the recommendations of that evaluation, which sometimes can be difficult. There are three different things as far as classifications, there is a Class 1, 2and 3. Class 1 is going to be an eight hour substance abuse counseling session. Class 2 is going to be a twelve hour substance abuse counseling session and then Class 3 is going to be an outpatient counseling where it is an undetermined amount of times that the person is going to have to go.
Another downside to a diversion is you have to pay a lot of money. Usually you are talking anywhere from $750 to $1,500 in costs and diversion programs, means you pay upfront first. Other downsides to it is you have to remain drug and alcohol free for a year and you are subject to random drug and alcohol test the entire year. You have to pay a supervising agency to watch after you while you are on diversion. It is not all it is cracked up to be. Of course you really have to take it seriously. If you do not take it seriously, then it will not work for you and then what you have done is when you sign a diversion, you are stipulating to the facts. In other words, you are saying that I did it. If you do not take it seriously and they revoke you, they have a document that says that you admit that you have done this. So it is pretty easy to get convicted if they have a document that says you did it.
Do Ignition Interlock Devices Or Other Alcohol Monitoring Devices Apply In Kansas?
It applies to every single person that gets a DUI. If you get a DUI, then you lose your administrative hearing. You are going to be required to put an ignition interlock device in your car. Now, the duration of time depends on how many DUIs you have had and what you blew and if you blew. You can have an ignition interlock device in your car for years and years if you lose the administrative hearing. Ignition interlock device is going to usually charge you to put it in and it is also going to charge you every month to recalibrate it and test it.
Is The Ignition Interlock Device Imposed If Someone Refuses A Blood or Breath Test?
It changes what you can contest at the administrative hearing. I will give you a perfect example. If you are on a first time DUI and you blow between 0.08% and 0.15%, you are going to be looking at a thirty day license suspension with six months of ignition interlock device in your car. If you are over 0.15% but the exact same scenario, under the words of first time DUI and you blow over 0.15%, you are looking to having that thing in your car for at least a year. Just the difference in 0.1% on the breath test can be from months to years as far as how long you have to have that restriction of having an ignition interlock device on your car for blowing.
Aggravating Factors For A DUI Charge In Kansas
Some factors to take into consideration are if you injure somebody or cause some serious property damage, or if it is a third time DUI or more, those are some factors involved. If you have a minor in the car, you can get charged with an additional crime. That can elevate it to endangering a minor. As far as the blood alcohol level, if you blow really high, it is going to make the DUI worse. If you have a really high BAC number, sometimes prosecutors are going to hold that against you as far as whether they are going to let you do a diversion or another program.
What Is The DC27? How Does It Impact Your License?
DC27 is the pink form that they give you. That is the notice that they are going to suspend your license. That is kind of like when you are fighting to keep your driver’s license. It is like the license bible. Just one piece of paper, but if there are mistakes on it, that can be the difference between keeping your driver’s license and not. It is one piece of paper, but the contents of that piece of paper can be huge.
Advice For Clients Contemplating A Guilty Plea To DUI Charges
People will come in and say, “I was drunk, I just want to take the responsibility for it. I am not going to do it again”. That is generally not what you want to do and that just kind of goes across the board with all crimes. You do not want to go in and plead guilty on something when there is a possibility that you are going to jail, especially in Kansas, because every single DUI has a mandatory jail sentence even for a first timer. If you come in and say, “I did it”, you are probably going to jail. You want to have your lawyer look at the case, see if they can find any holes in the case and work with the prosecutor because people generally do not like going to jail.
So you never just go in and say on a DUI, “Hey, I did it. I want to get this resolved” because not only can you end up in jail, but you will lose your driver’s license. If you plead to a DUI, you are automatically going to lose your driver’s license and you are going to have a DUI on your criminal record and you are going to have a failure of a breath test or a failure of an alcohol test on your driving record. Your insurance costs are going to go through the roof. You can lose your job depending on what kind of work you do. It can be difficult to find a job in the future. A DUI might not have anything to do with your job. You might be a truck driver or something, you might be a teacher.
Over the course of your entire life, how many different jobs are you going to have and maybe you get an opportunity to be a traveling salesman where you are going to make a lot of money, but you have a DUI on your record and no companies want to hire you and take that liability risk. So just going and pleading guilty on a DUI is one of the stupidest things you could do