Missouri Supreme Court DWI ruling expected to spare some form prison

St. Louis, MO

Three strikes in drunken driving cases and you go to prison. Or not.

A Missouri Supreme Court ruling over a sloppy revision of the drunken driving law a decade ago seems sure to spare some offenders from prison, and to shorten prospective jail terms for others.

It even caused the St. Charles County prosecutor to consider reducing a felony murder charge.

But defense lawyers said this week the decision may not do anything to free people already sent to prison under the stricken provision of the law — or to clear felony records of those who have served their time.

Under Missouri law, a third DWI conviction is a felony, punishable by up to four years in prison; a second conviction is a misdemeanor that can bring a one-year jail term.

But the high court ruled March 4 that if a DWI conviction was in a municipal court, with a suspended sentence, it cannot be counted because of an ambiguity in the statute.

Officials statewide are poring over what may be thousands of pending DWI cases to see which could be affected. No one knows yet.

"We are hoping the Legislature will do something extraordinary — fix a problem in the same year it arises," said Michael Boland, of the Gateway Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. The decision "has put law enforcement, courts, probation and parole in a terrible fix."

While there is talk of legislating an emergency revision, it is unlikely to apply to pending cases, said Carl Ward, a St. Charles attorney and DWI specialist.

"They can try to increase the penalties after the fact for current defendants," Ward said, "but I think such a law would face serious constitutional problems."

He called it "one of the bigger decisions in recent years. More >>"

Missouri DWI Lawyers

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