By Christopher Weldy, Weldy Law Firm, PLLC
If you have been arrested for DUI in Mississippi—or if you are trying to understand what should have happened in a case where you were convicted without ever going to court—this article walks through the process from the traffic stop through disposition. Understanding how the system is supposed to work is the first step toward understanding what went wrong when it does not.
A DUI case begins when a law enforcement officer makes a traffic stop. The officer must have reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop—typically a traffic violation, erratic driving, or a checkpoint.
During the stop, the officer observes the driver for signs of impairment: the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, difficulty producing a license and registration. If the officer suspects impairment, the investigation moves to field sobriety testing.
Standardized field sobriety tests typically include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (following an object with your eyes), the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg stand test. These tests must be administered according to specific protocols, and errors in administration or scoring can affect their reliability. You are not legally required to perform field sobriety tests in Mississippi, though refusing them may factor into the officer’s decision to arrest.
If the officer determines there is probable cause to believe you are driving under the influence, you are placed under arrest. You are handcuffed, transported to the police station or county jail, and booked—meaning your name, the charge, and identifying information are entered into the system. You may be photographed and fingerprinted.
After booking, Mississippi’s implied consent law comes into play. Under Mississippi Code Annotated § 63-11-5, anyone who operates a motor vehicle on Mississippi’s public roads is deemed to have consented to chemical testing of their breath, blood, or urine if arrested for DUI. The officer will request that you submit to testing.
You have the right to refuse the test, but refusal carries its own consequences. If you refuse, the officer will seize your driver’s license, issue you a receipt, and certify the refusal to the Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety. The Commissioner will suspend your license for 90 days for a first refusal, or one year if you have any prior DUI convictions. This administrative suspension is separate from any suspension that results from a conviction on the criminal charge.
If you submit to testing and the result shows a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher, that result will be used as evidence against you in the criminal case. The officer will also seize your license and forward the results to DPS, which can trigger a 120-day administrative suspension.
After booking and testing, you have the right to make a phone call to request legal or medical assistance. This is the point at which you should contact an attorney if at all possible.
Following arrest, you will typically have the opportunity to post bond and be released. Bond is not punishment—its purpose is to ensure you appear for your court date. For a first-offense DUI, bond amounts are generally around $500 to $1,000, though this varies by county and by judge. You can post bond yourself or use a bail bondsman, who will charge a fee—typically 10% of the bond amount for Mississippi residents and 15% for out-of-state residents.
When you are released on bond, you will receive paperwork specifying your court date—the date you are required to appear in justice court or municipal court to answer the DUI charge. This paperwork is critically important. It is your notice of the pending charge and your obligation to appear.
First-offense and second-offense DUI cases in Mississippi are misdemeanors, and they are typically heard in justice court or municipal court. These courts handle high volumes of cases and operate without court reporters. There is no jury—the justice court judge decides guilt or innocence in a bench trial.
At your court date, you have the right to be represented by an attorney, to hear the evidence against you, to cross-examine the arresting officer and any other witnesses, and to present your own evidence and testimony. If the State cannot prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, you are acquitted.
If you do not appear for your court date, the court may proceed without you. Under Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-17-9, if the court determines that you were notified in writing of the pending charge and failed to appear, it can conduct the trial in your absence, enter a guilty verdict, and impose a sentence as though you were present. This is what it means to be convicted “guilty in absence.”
If you are convicted—whether in person or in absence—the court imposes a sentence. For a first-offense DUI under Mississippi Code Annotated § 63-11-30, the sentence includes a fine of $250 to $1,000, up to 48 hours in jail (which the court may substitute with attendance at a victim impact panel), mandatory completion of the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP) within six months, and a 120-day driver’s license suspension.
The court reports the conviction to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which processes the license suspension. You will also be required to obtain SR-22 insurance for three years following reinstatement of your license.
If you were not present when the conviction was entered, the court may issue a bench warrant for your arrest to enforce the sentence. That warrant remains active in law enforcement databases until it is resolved.
One aspect of the DUI process that confuses many people is that a DUI arrest creates two separate tracks that run simultaneously.
The criminal track is the justice court case—the charge, the trial, the potential conviction, and the sentence. The administrative track involves your driving privileges and is handled by the Department of Public Safety. Administrative actions—license seizure at the time of arrest, suspension for test refusal or test failure—happen regardless of the outcome of the criminal case. You can be acquitted of the DUI charge and still face an administrative license suspension based on the chemical test results or refusal.
Understanding these two tracks matters because each has its own deadlines, its own procedures, and its own consequences. An attorney can help you navigate both simultaneously.
If you are reading this article because you were convicted of a DUI without ever going through this process—without ever appearing in court, without ever having the chance to cross-examine the officer or challenge the evidence—then you now understand what was supposed to happen and what you missed. The system is designed to give you an opportunity to defend yourself at every stage. When a conviction is entered without your knowledge or participation, that opportunity was taken from you.
Mississippi law provides remedies for challenging a conviction entered in your absence, including the right to a de novo appeal in circuit court. If you are dealing with a DUI conviction—whether you were present for the process or not—contact Weldy Law Firm to discuss your options.
Weldy Law Firm, PLLC
1530 North State Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39202
Phone: 601-624-7460 | Email: Chris@WeldyLawFirm.com
