Traffic, DWI & Criminal Defense in Independence, Missouri
I’ve been practicing law in Missouri for 28 years, licensed since 1998. You call, you get me. No gatekeepers, no handoffs, and no surprises about who will actually walk into court for you.
The form comes straight to me, and it takes a photograph of the citation. If your court date is close, call instead.
I know these courts
I’ve been standing in front of the same judges, prosecutors, and clerks for most of my career. I know how each court handles a case like yours: what they amend, what they don’t, and what your realistic options look like.
An answer on the first call
You’ll hear the likely outcome and the likely cost while we’re still on the phone. If the case is not worth hiring an attorney for, I will tell you that, too.
The same attorney, start to finish
The person you call is the person who files the entry of appearance, shows up on the docket, and calls you back when it’s over.
Two blocks from the courthouse square
My office is in the Spring Street Law Building in Independence. Most days I’m running between municipal dockets across the Kansas City metro and criminal settings in circuit court, but when you call, I answer. Usually the same day. And before you decide whether to hire me, you’ll get a plain, honest reading of exactly where your case stands.
Traffic, municipal, and criminal defense
Traffic tickets don’t have to turn into a headache. I handle traffic and municipal cases throughout the Kansas City area, and I defend DWI, DUI, and criminal charges from misdemeanors through felonies. I also handle an uncontested divorce, or mediate one, though that is the only divorce work I take.
Traffic & Municipal
- Speeding
- No Insurance
- Driving While Suspended or Revoked
- License Problems
- Warrants
- Municipal Violations
Criminal & DWI
- DWI and DUI
- Drug Possession
- Assault and Domestic Assault
- Stealing and Property Damage
- Probation Violations
- Felonies and Misdemeanors
- Expungements
Uncontested Divorce
- Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage
- Mediating an Uncontested Divorce
Where I appear
Courts around Kansas City
I regularly cover municipal and associate circuit courts around Kansas City. If the court on your ticket is not on this list, call and ask. It’s usually one I can handle.
Jackson County
Kansas City, Independence, Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Buckner, and the Jackson County Circuit Court in both the Kansas City and Independence divisions.
Clay & Platte
Liberty, Gladstone, North Kansas City, Kearney, Riverside, Parkville, and Platte City.
Cass, Ray & Lafayette
Belton, Raymore, Harrisonville, Richmond, and Lexington.
What happens after you call
You call, or you send me a photograph of your ticket through the form on this page. I look at the citation, the court it is filed in, and your driving record, and I tell you what outcome is realistically available and what it will cost.
In most traffic cases, you will not need to appear in court. If yours is one of the cases where your appearance is required, I will tell you that at the beginning rather than the week before.
When the case is resolved, I will tell you exactly what it was resolved to and what that means for your license and your insurance. If you have a question in the meantime, you call me and you reach me.
Questions I get asked
Will this put points on my license?
That is the reason most people call. Whether a moving violation can be amended to something that carries no points depends on the charge, the court, and what your record already looks like. I will tell you which of those apply to you before you decide to hire me.
My court date is next week. Is it too late?
Usually not, but call instead of using the form. A short phone call gets a continuance or an entry of appearance filed the same day, and email can sit unread.
Will my insurance go up?
Insurers price off your record, so the goal is keeping the conviction off it. I cannot control what your carrier does, and I will not tell you otherwise. What I can tell you is exactly what the case was resolved to, so you know what your carrier will see.
I was arrested for DWI. What happens to my license?
There are two cases, not one. The criminal charge goes to court on its own schedule. Separately, if you took the test and blew over the limit, you have fifteen days from the notice to ask the Department of Revenue for a hearing, and that clock does not wait for your first court date. If you refused the test instead, the revocation is a year and you have thirty days to file in court to contest it. Call before either one runs out.
There is already a warrant out. What now?
Warrants are routine work in these courts. In most municipal cases I can enter my appearance, get the warrant recalled, and get a new court date set without you being taken into custody. Call before you get pulled over again.
- Call
- (816) 833-4144
- wkarljennings@gmail.com
- Office
- Spring Street Law Building
201 North Spring Street
Independence, MO 64050
Send me your ticket
Photograph the front of your citation and send it through this form. That is usually all I need in order to tell you where you stand. If your court date is within a few days, call (816) 833-4144 instead.