What is the law on DUI in the Leawood Municipal Court?
The city of Leawood has laws and alleged violations of those laws are heard in the Leawood Municipal Court. Leawood has adopted of their traffic and criminal ordinances from the Kansas Standard Traffic Ordinances. The Kansas Standard Traffic Ordinances are a set of laws that cities are free to adopt as their own. This adoption of a uniform code is nothing new or unusual, many cities in the metro have done this to save the time, effort, hassle and expense of writing their own individual laws. Here is the city ordinance that Leawood uses as it's law prohibiting DUI.
Sec. 30. Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor or Drugs; Penalties.
(a) Driving under the influence is operating or attempting to operate any vehicle within this city while:
(1) The alcohol concentration in the person’s blood or breath as shown by any competent evidence, including other competent evidence, as defined in Section 1 of this ordinance, is .08 or more;
(2) The alcohol concentration in the person’s blood or breath, as measured within three hours of the time of operating or attempting to operate a vehicle, is .08 or more;
(3) Under the influence of alcohol to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle;
(4) Under the influence of any drug or combination of drugs to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle; or
(5) Under the influence of a combination of alcohol and any drug or drugs to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle.
(b) (1) Driving under the influence is:
(A) An ordinance violation. On a first conviction of a violation of this section, the person convicted shall be sentenced to not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than six months’ imprisonment, or in the court’s discretion 100 hours of public service, and fined not less than $750 nor more than $1,000.
(B) On a second conviction of a violation of this section the person convicted shall be sentenced to not less than 90 days nor more than one year’s imprisonment and fined not less than $1,250 nor more than $1,750. The following conditions shall apply to such sentence:
(i) As a condition of any probation granted under this subsection, the person shall serve at least 120 hours of confinement. The hours of confinement shall include at least 48 hours of imprisonment and otherwise may be served by a combination 44 of: Imprisonment; a work release program, if such work release program requires such person to return to the confinement at the end of each day in the work release program; or a house arrest program pursuant to K.S.A. 2021 Supp. 21-6609, and amendments thereto; and
(ii) (a) if the person is placed into a work release program or placed under a house arrest program for any portion of the minimum of 120 hours of confinement mandated by this subsection, the person shall receive hour-for-hour credit for time served in such program until the minimum sentence is met. If the person is placed into a work release program or placed under a house arrest program for more than the minimum of 120 hours of confinement mandated by this subsection, the person shall receive hour-for-hour credit for time served in such program until the minimum of 120 hours of confinement is completed, and thereafter, the person shall receive day-forday credit for time served in such program unless otherwise ordered by the court; and
(b) when in a work release program, the person shall only be given credit for the time served in confinement at the end of and continuing to the beginning of the person’s next work day. When under a house arrest program, the person shall be monitored by an electronic monitoring device that verifies the person’s location and shall only be given credit for the time served within the boundaries of the person’s residence;
(2) In addition, prior to sentencing for any conviction pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B), the court shall order the person to participate in an alcohol and drug evaluation conducted by a provider in accordance with K.S.A. 8-1008, and amendments thereto. The person shall be required to follow any recommendation made by the provider after such evaluation, unless otherwise ordered by the court. 45 (c) Any person 18 years of age or older convicted of violating this section who had one or more children under the age of 18 years in the vehicle at the time of the offense shall have such person’s punishment enhanced by one month of imprisonment. This imprisonment must be served consecutively to any other minimum mandatory penalty imposed for a violation of this section. Any enhanced penalty imposed shall not exceed the maximum sentence allowable by law. During the service of the enhanced penalty, the judge may order the person on house arrest, work release or other conditional release.
(d) If a person is charged with a violation of subsection (a)(4) or (a)(5), the fact that the person is or has been entitled to use the drug under the laws of this state shall not constitute a defense against the charge.
(e) The court may establish the terms and time for payment of any fines, fees, assessments and costs imposed pursuant to this section. Any assessment and costs shall be required to be paid not later than 90 days after imposed, and any remainder of the fine shall be paid prior to the final release of the defendant by the court.
(f) (1) In lieu of payment of a fine imposed pursuant to this section, the court may order that the person perform community service specified by the court. The person shall receive a credit on the fine imposed in an amount equal to $5 for each full hour spent by the person in the specified community service. The community service ordered by the court shall be required to be performed not later than one year after the fine is imposed or by an earlier date specified by the court. If by the required date the person performs an insufficient amount of community service to reduce to zero the portion of the fine required to be paid by the person, the remaining balance of the fine shall become due on that date.
(2) The court may, in its discretion, waive any portion of a fine imposed pursuant to this section, except the $250 required to be remitted to the state treasurer pursuant to K.S.A. 12-4120(a) upon a showing that the person successfully completed court-ordered education or treatment. 46
(g) The court shall electronically report every conviction of a violation of this section and every diversion agreement entered into in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a complaint alleging a violation of this section to the division including any finding regarding the alcohol concentration in the offender’s blood or breath. Prior to sentencing under the provisions of this section, the court shall request and shall receive from the division a record of all prior convictions obtained against such person for any violations of any of the motor vehicle laws of this state.
(h) For the purpose of determining whether a conviction is a first or second conviction in sentencing under this section:
(1) Convictions for a violation of this section, K.S.A. 8-1567, and amendments thereto, or a violation of an ordinance of any city or resolution of any county which prohibits the acts that this section prohibits, or entering into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a complaint alleging any such violations, shall be taken into account, but only convictions or diversions occurring on or after July 1, 2001. Nothing in this provision shall be construed as preventing any court from considering any convictions or diversions occurring during the person’s lifetime in determining the sentence to be imposed within the limits provided for a first, second, third, fourth or subsequent offense;
(2) Any convictions for a violation of the following sections occurring during a person’s lifetime shall be taken into account:
(A) Driving a commercial motor vehicle under the influence, K.S.A. 8-2,144, and amendments thereto, or section 30.1 of this ordinance;
(B) Operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs, K.S.A. 32-1131, and amendments thereto;
(C) Involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, K.S.A. 21- 3442, prior to its repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5405(a) (3) or (a)(5), and amendments thereto;
(D) Aggravated battery as described in K.S.A. 21-5413(b)(3) or (b)(4), and amendments thereto; and
(E) Aggravated vehicular homicide, K.S.A. 21- 3405a, prior to its repeal, or vehicular battery, K.S.A. 21-3405b, prior to its repeal, if the crime was committed while committing a violation of K.S.A. 8-1567, and amendments thereto; 47
(3) Conviction includes:
(A) Entering into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings on a complaint alleging an offense described in subsection (h)(2); and
(B) Conviction of a violation of an ordinance of a city in this state, a resolution of a county in this state or any law of another jurisdiction that would constitute an offense that is comparable to the offense described in subsection (h)(1) or (h)(2); (4) Multiple convictions of any crime described in subsection (h)(1) or (h)(2) arising from the same arrest shall only be counted as one conviction; (5) It is irrelevant whether an offense occurred before or after conviction for a previous offense; and (6) A person may enter into a diversion agreement in lieu of further criminal proceedings for a violation of this section, and amendments thereto, only once during the person’s lifetime.
(i) For the purposes of determining whether an offense is comparable, the following shall be considered: (1) The name of the out-of-jurisdiction offense; (2) The elements of the out-of-jurisdiction offense; (3) Whether the out-of-jurisdiction offense prohibits similar conduct prohibited by the closest approximate Kansas offense.
(j) Upon conviction of a person of a violation of this section, the division, upon receiving a report of conviction, shall suspend, restrict or suspend and restrict the person’s driving privileges as provided by K.S.A. 8-1014, and amendments thereto.
(k) Upon conviction of a person of a violation of this section, the court may order the convicted person to pay restitution to any victim who suffered loss due to the violation for which the person was convicted.
(l) Upon the filing of a complaint, citation, or notice to appear alleging a person has violated the acts prohibited by this section, and prior to conviction thereof, a city attorney shall request and shall receive from the: 48 (1) Division a record of all prior convictions obtained against such person for any violations of any of the motor vehicle laws of this state; and (2) Kansas bureau of investigation central repository all criminal history record information concerning such person.
(m) No plea bargaining agreement shall be entered into nor shall any judge approve a plea bargaining agreement entered into for the purpose of permitting a person charged with a violation of this section to avoid the mandatory penalties established by this section. For the purpose of this subsection, entering into a diversion agreement pursuant to K.S.A. 12-4413 et seq., or K.S.A 22-2906 et seq., and amendments thereto, shall not constitute plea bargaining. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit an amendment or dismissal of any charge where the admissible evidence is not sufficient to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt of such charge.
(n) The alternatives set out in subsection (a) may be pleaded in the alternative, and the city may, but shall not be required to, elect one or more of such alternatives prior to submission of the case to the fact finder.
(o) As used in this section: (1) Imprisonment includes any restrained environment in which the court and law enforcement agency intend to retain custody and control of a defendant and such environment has been approved by the board of county commissioners or the governing body of a city. (2) Drug includes toxic vapors as such term is defined in K.S.A. 21-5712, and amendments thereto. (K.S.A. 8-1567)
Possible Punishment
*Class B Violations are punishable by up to 180 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class B Violations are eligible for probation
*Class A Violations are punishable by up to 365 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class A Violations are eligible for probation
I've been charged with DUI in Leawood Municipal Court, what do I do now?
You're already doing the right thing, researching the problem you are facing to gather information. If you ever find yourself charged with a crime it's smart to start by reading the law that law enforcement claims you have broken. As you can probably tell from above, DUI law in Leawood is incredibly complicated, so reading the law in of itself won't adequately educate you on the subject. After you've reviewed the law it's best to further educate yourself by reading a overview of DUI law in Kansas written by an experienced DUI lawyer. Once you have read the law, done a deep-dive as to Kansas DUI law, it's time to sit down with an experienced DUI lawyer and ask educated questions. Although it's a good idea to ask substantive questions at the meeting it's also important to ask the your prospective lawyer about the personalities and people involved in your case and how DUI charges are generally handles in Leawood Municipal Court.