Charged With a DWI in Arkansas: First Steps to Take

A DWI charge usually arrives at the worst possible hour: late at night, after flashing lights, with a lot of confusion and very little sleep. By the next morning you may feel embarrassed, frightened, and unsure who to call. That reaction is normal. This article lays out calm, practical first steps for anyone in Faulkner County or Central Arkansas who has just been charged with driving while intoxicated.

Write down the stop while you still remember it

Do this first, and do it the same day if you can. Memory of a late-night traffic stop fades fast, and the details are exactly what a lawyer will want to look at. Write the account in your own words, in order, without trying to make yourself look better or worse. The point is accuracy, not a defense speech.

• Where you were driving from and where you were going
• What you ate or drank, roughly when, and how much, as honestly as you can say
• Why you think you were pulled over, and what the officer said at the start
• Any tests you were asked to do, how you were asked to do them, and where
• What you said, what you were asked to sign, and where you were taken afterward
• Anything about the road, the weather, the lighting, or your health that day

Be honest in your notes, even when the honest version is uncomfortable. Your lawyer can only help with the facts you actually share, and these notes are for your lawyer alone.

Gather and protect your paperwork

After a DWI arrest you're usually handed several papers at once. Some may be citations, some may be release forms, and some may be notices about your driver's license or your court date. Keep every one of them in a single folder, and take photos of each page so nothing gets lost. Do not throw away a paper because it looks like a receipt.

Check the dates on each page and put them on a calendar you actually look at. Ask a lawyer whether anything is happening with your driver's license, because license questions can run on their own schedule, separate from the criminal case. There are deadlines, and some are short, so don't wait for the court date to start asking.

Don't talk about the case with anyone except your lawyer

It's natural to want to explain yourself to a spouse, a boss, or a friend who gave you a ride. Resist the urge to go over the details. Conversations with other people aren't protected the way a conversation with your lawyer is, and a friend can be asked to repeat what you said.

Keep social media out of it, too. A post about the night, a joke about it, or a photo from that evening can be read by someone looking for a different story than the one you lived. Ask the people close to you not to post about it either. If a text or message about that night already exists, don't delete it in a panic. Tell your lawyer about it instead and let them decide what to do.

Think about work and driving

A DWI charge can touch your job, especially if driving is part of what you do. Think about how you'll get to work, to school, and to appointments. Arrange rides ahead of time so you aren't tempted to drive when you shouldn't. If your job requires a license, or if your employer has a policy about arrests, talk it through with your lawyer before you have a conversation with your boss. Knowing what you can truthfully say makes that conversation easier.

Follow every condition that came with your release exactly as written. A condition you ignore, even by accident, can turn a hard situation into a harder one.

Ask a lawyer to look at the whole picture

A DWI case is rarely only about one thing. A lawyer can look at why the stop happened, how the officer handled the testing, what the paperwork says, and what the charge really means for you. Sometimes the details raise questions worth asking, and sometimes they don't. No honest lawyer can promise you an outcome before seeing the facts, and you should be wary of anyone who does.

What a good consultation does give you is clarity. You learn what the next court date is for, what choices you have, and what to avoid in the meantime. That alone takes a lot of the dread out of the waiting period.

Make the call

Mason Law Firm & Associates, PLC handles DWI and other criminal matters from our Conway office at 2915 Dave Ward Dr Suite #4, with a second office in Little Rock. Consultations are always free, and after hours calls are always available if needed.

This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

If you've been charged, call Attorney Lorie Mason's office at (501) 504-6275 for a free consultation. Bring your folder of papers and your notes, and we'll go through them with you.