Iowa criminal DUI lawyers who listen

As Iowa criminal lawyers, we listen to our clients. We hear you and we strive to understand your objectives. This is the art of active legal listening. Next, we snap into action to achieve your objectives with both experience and knowledge.

For example, for those who wish to get back on the road quickly after a DUI in Iowa—called Operating While Intoxicated in our State—we will assist you with the information necessary to obtain a temporary restrictive license, or, TRL. This typically requires the installation of an ignition interlock device—required by the Iowa Department of Transportation to obtain a TRL, high risk SR22 insurance, the payment of a $200 civil penalty, and an appointment at an Iowa DOT Driver License Station. This is usually the first priority after an Iowa DUI arrest. As a dedicated Iowa criminal defense law firm, we can help walk you through those requirements in time of Iowa criminal law crisis—even though none of that is part of your criminal prosecution. Why? Because it is an important objective to you that occurs at the same time as your Iowa drunk driving criminal prosecution.

Next, our clients typically do not understand why the driver’s license revocation itself is separate from the criminal prosecution. Why is their Iowa driver’s license already revoked without first being found guilty of DUI? What must they do to act with diligence to secure their privilege to operate a motor vehicle.

Because Iowa treats your driver’s license as a privilege instead of a right, stringent, criminal, constitutional rights do not kick in to protect it or you when Iowa DOT revokes it. Making matters more complicated, the Iowa DOT entrusts the arresting officer with the additional role of acting on behalf of Iowa DOT to seize your Iowa driver’s license following a breath, blood, or urine test failure or refusal obtained through Iowa’s drunk driving implied consent process. So the administrative Iowa DOT revocation occurs at the same time as the criminal investigation.

We use everyday language to explain this process. Once clear, it is no longer frightening and you can begin the long haul toward recovery from an Iowa criminal prosecution for operating while intoxicated.

Moreover, because we’re dedicated Iowa criminal lawyers, we know that drunk driving here is a criminal prosecution. Unfortunately, it’s not merely a traffic citation. The State of Iowa will prosecute you for drunk driving to convict you in criminal court and incarcerate you in a county jail.

Many clients wish to avoid a conviction. While not always possible, there are ways to avoid a conviction in an Iowa drunk driving prosecution. But they require a keen Iowa criminal lawyer’s eye for both the facts and the law. We have that attention to detail and experience to find defects in the investigation and prosecution if they exist. Contact us.