How much does a DWI cost?
You just got pulled over for a DWI and one of the first things that you think of is “Oh my god, how much is this going to cost me?” That’s a reasonable question. The problem is that I can’t answer that without knowing more. I can give you ranges. I can give you estimates. I can tell what’s happened to my past clients, but any attorney that walks into the room and says “Oh, we’ll make this all go away,” they’re lying to you. Until they know the facts, they can’t tell you exactly what you’re looking at.
MRD Lawyers Quick Tip: Facts such as if you submitted to a breathalyzer can greatly impact the outcome of your case. Check out our blog post on this subject to learn more. DWI LAWYER ANSWERS: SHOULD YOU TAKE A BREATHALYZER?
It’s more than just fines.
I can tell you that the typically first-time DWI in Southwest Missouri is going to run somewhere between $5,000 and $7,500 dollars total. That’s everything. That’s fines, court costs, attorney fees, insurance, and programs. That’s an estimate for my clients. You’re going to find a lot of attorneys out there vary in price. Some attorneys will watch what you drive up in and charge accordingly. We tend to be more consistent here. We tend to price our time, what it’s worth, because we know how much time we spend on these cases.
Do I need to pay it all upfront?
Typically speaking, the normal DWI takes about 18 months from beginning to end in Southwest Missouri. Sometimes it’s faster, sometimes it’s longer, but that’s a pretty good guess. That money that you will need to get together will be over that period of time. You do not need it all upfront. Most attorneys will work with you on prices. I know that we do here. When you come in and meet with us, we will go through the facts, we will discuss the prices and you will understand why we are charging what we are charging. Each case is a little bit different so we can’t just tell you over the phone what we charge for a DWI. Each case is handled individually.
If you have questions, if you have specifics, please give us a call and we’ll see if we will be able to help you.