The neon sign of the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar at dusk on the Jackson Town Square, seen past the elk-antler arch — The Town Square at closing time · Jackson, Wyoming

DUI · W.S. § 31-5-233 · Teton County Circuit Court

DUI defense in Jackson Hole: the criminal case and your license.

A DUI arrest in Jackson starts two cases at once: a misdemeanor in Teton County Circuit Court that can carry jail, a fine, and a record, and a license suspension the Department of Transportation imposes on its own unless you request a hearing within twenty days. The second does not wait for the first, and a dismissal in court does not undo it. I handle both, starting with the stop, the video, and the test.

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Book a thirty-minute call

Tell me the date on the notice of suspension first; everything else can wait a minute

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Call

(307) 300-2496

40 E Simpson Ave, a short walk from the Circuit Court

Do not

Miss the hearing-request deadline.

Twenty days from the date on the notice, in writing, to WYDOT, not the court. Miss it and the ninety-day suspension starts by itself on day thirty, whatever happens to the charge.

Call or text me. Clients get my cell number from day one, and I answer. Just been arrested or charged? Here's what happens next.

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Three things that decide a DUI case.

Three ways to be guilty.

0.08 or more while driving or in actual physical control; the same number within two hours after driving; or alcohol, a controlled substance, or both, to a degree that leaves you incapable of driving safely (W.S. § 31-5-233(b)). The third needs no number at all.

Two cases, two clocks.

The criminal case runs on the court's calendar. The license case runs on the department's: at 0.08 or more, a ninety-day suspension starts thirty days after the notice unless you request a hearing within twenty (W.S. § 31-6-102(f)). A dismissal does not stop it.

Refusing buys nothing.

Since 2011 there has been no separate suspension for refusing a breath test. A judge can issue a warrant by phone or video and the blood is drawn at the hospital (W.S. § 31-6-102(d)). The refusal is still evidence; for a commercial driver, a one-year disqualification.

What a conviction costs, by offense.

The ladder is the statute's. The license runs on its own schedule.

The license

A conviction brings a second suspension from the Department of Transportation, on the schedule at right (W.S. § 31-7-128(b)), and reinstatement needs an SR-22 from your insurer for three years. A result of 0.15 or more adds ignition interlock: six months on a first conviction, a year on a second, two on a third, life on a fourth (W.S. § 31-5-233(f)). A probationary license for work is possible on a first offense only, under 0.15.

What Wyoming law provides, by offenseW.S. § 31-5-233

01First offense: up to six months in jail and a $750 fine; a substance use disorder assessment at your cost; a ninety-day suspension on conviction
02Second within ten years: seven days to six months, the first seven served before probation is possible; $200 to $750; a one-year suspension and one year of ignition interlock
03Third within ten years: thirty days to six months, up to fifteen of them suspended for an approved inpatient program; $750 to $3,000; a three-year revocation and two years of interlock
04Fourth within ten years: a felony, up to seven years and $10,000; interlock for life, with a petition to the court possible after five years
05A passenger under sixteen, driver eighteen or older: up to one year on a first conviction, up to five years on a second
06Serious bodily injury to another person: a felony, up to ten years and a $2,000 to $5,000 fine; up to twenty years with a prior

From W.S. § 31-5-233(e), (f), (h) and (m) and §§ 31-7-127 and 31-7-128 as posted by the Wyoming Legislative Service Office, September 2026. Probation can run up to three years; a jail term can be served around a work schedule at the court's discretion. Penalties change; verify before relying.

Where a DUI case is decided.

Every step has a rule, and the number on the printout is the last of them.

The stop. Whether the officer had a lawful reason to stop the car is the first question, because everything after it depends on the answer. The reason the officer gave, and what the video shows, is where I start.
The roadside exercises. Administered as designed, on a February shoulder at 6,200 feet, in ski boots, by a driver who had been awake for twenty hours? They are opinion evidence, not measurements, and the implied-consent statute does not cover them.
The test. A breath result counts only if the instrument was certified and maintained by the Department of Health's Chemical Testing Program, the operator held a current permit, and the approved method was followed (W.S. § 31-6-105(a)). Then the two-hour window, who drew the blood, and the advisements.
The plea. Wyoming makes a DUI hard to plead down: a reduction requires the prosecutor to say in open court, with facts, that the evidence is insufficient (W.S. § 31-5-233(j)). For a first offense, deferred prosecution is the realistic goal; the section below explains it.

A traffic stop at dusk on a snowy mountain highway, patrol lights on the road — The drive back over the pass · the stop happens on the way home

Read the notice of suspension with me. The call takes thirty minutes.

Tell me the date on the notice first. The twenty days are already running.

Chat now (307) 300-2496 Text

An empty two-lane road curving toward the Teton Range at dawn — Highway 22, the Moose-Wilson Road and the drive home from the square: where Teton County DUI cases begin

The number, the hearing, and the visitor.

Presumptions, younger and commercial drivers, the hearing, interlock, visitors, the honest goal

The number, and who is held to a lower one

At 0.05 or below the law presumes you were not under the influence; between 0.05 and 0.08 there is no presumption either way (§ 31-5-233(c)). Drugs have no threshold: marijuana bought lawfully in Colorado, a sleeping pill, or a prescribed stimulant is a controlled substance for this purpose. Actual physical control is the phrase that reaches the person asleep in a running truck outside a bar in Wilson. A driver under twenty-one at 0.02 or more commits a separate, fine-only offense with its own ninety-day suspension and a record the department expunges at twenty-one (W.S. § 31-5-234). A commercial driver is disqualified for a year on a first DUI in any vehicle, for 0.04 in a commercial vehicle, or for refusing a test, and deferred prosecution is closed to CDL holders (W.S. § 31-7-305(a)).

The administrative hearing

The officer files a sworn statement with the department and hands you a notice of suspension that doubles as a thirty-day temporary license. A timely request stays the suspension until a hearing examiner from the Office of Administrative Hearings rules. The hearing has nothing to do with guilt. Its scope is narrow by statute: probable cause for the stop, the arrest, a test at 0.08 or more, and the required advisements (W.S. § 31-6-103(b)). The examiner rescinds or sustains; an appeal goes to the district court within thirty days. It is a small hearing with a large consequence, and the first place the officer's account is tested under oath. A dismissal in court does not affect it; a later conviction credits the ninety days.

The interlock and the 24/7 program

The interlock runs on a restricted license the department issues once a certified installer files its certificate. You pay for the device; an employer's vehicle used for work is exempt; a program completed in another state satisfies Wyoming from home. The court may substitute or add the 24/7 sobriety program, which in Teton County has meant a breath test at the sheriff's office morning and evening.

The driver from Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston, or Idaho Falls

A large share of the DUI arrests in Teton County involve people who do not live here: skiers in February, wedding guests in July, seasonal employees on a Colorado or Utah license, and commuters from Victor and Driggs who cross Teton Pass twice a day. Wyoming's suspension takes away the privilege to drive in Wyoming; the department does not hold your home-state license. A conviction is different: under the Driver License Compact the home state must give it the same effect as if the driving had happened there (W.S. § 31-7-201, Art. IV), which is why the disposition matters more than the trip.

The logistics are more accommodating than people expect. A promise to appear on a citation can be kept by counsel appearing for you, and for a misdemeanor the court may, with your written consent, let the arraignment, plea, trial, and sentencing go forward in your absence, or by video (W.S. § 31-5-1206(b); W.R.Cr.P. 43(c)(2), 43.1). The assessment can be done by a provider in your own state, and an interlock requirement served through your home state's program. I have handled these cases for clients who came back once and for clients who did not come back at all; which is realistic depends on the facts, the prosecutor, and the judge. The first-week guide walks through the paperwork and the deadlines day by day.

Inside the park

A stop on U.S. 89 inside Grand Teton, which begins south of the airport, or anywhere in Yellowstone is a federal case, heard by a magistrate judge with no jury and no administrative hearing. The page on park DUIs covers that case. Everything on this page is the state case.

The honest goal

A quiet reduction to reckless driving is not a routine courtesy in Teton County, and anyone who promises one has not read the statute. What the law offers a first-time defendant is deferred prosecution: with the prosecutor's consent the court withholds judgment, places you on probation for up to three years, and dismisses the charge at the end (W.S. § 7-13-301). It is available once in a lifetime, not for a second DUI, not for CDL holders, and the license consequences still run. For a person whose drinking is the real problem, the county's treatment court through the Circuit Court is a structured alternative for those who qualify. Whether a DUI can later be expunged belongs to the expungement page; the disposition chosen now decides it.

Asked about Wyoming DUI cases.

Can I be convicted of DUI in Wyoming if I blew under 0.08?

Yes. The statute has a third route that needs no number: driving under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or both, to a degree that renders you incapable of safely driving. At 0.05 or below the law presumes you were not under the influence; between 0.05 and 0.08 there is no presumption either way, and the result is weighed with the driving, the officer's observations, and what you said. For drugs there is no threshold, and a valid prescription is not a defense.

Will I go to jail for a first-offense DUI in Teton County?

The statute allows up to six months and requires none. Where the facts are ordinary, a first offense ends in a fine, probation with an alcohol assessment, and the license consequences, which arrive on their own. Jail on a first offense tends to attach to specific facts: a crash, a very high number, a child in the car. A second conviction within ten years carries a mandatory seven days and a third carries thirty, which is the strongest reason to get the first one right.

How long is my license suspended for a first DUI in Wyoming?

Usually ninety days, arriving by two routes. At 0.08 or more, the Department of Transportation suspends for ninety days on the officer's statement alone, starting thirty days after the notice unless you request a hearing within twenty. If the court later convicts you, the department suspends for ninety days on the conviction and credits the time already served. A result of 0.15 or more adds six months of ignition interlock. Reinstatement after a conviction requires an SR-22 from your insurer for three years, and a fee.

I have a Colorado, Utah, or Idaho license. What happens to it?

The administrative suspension takes away your privilege to drive in Wyoming; what your home state does with that, before any conviction, depends on its own law. A conviction is different. Wyoming belongs to the Driver License Compact with forty-six other jurisdictions, including Colorado, Utah, Idaho, California, and Texas, and the compact requires the home state to treat the conviction as if the driving had happened there, with its own suspension, interlock rule, and insurance consequences. Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Tennessee are not members. Most of the case itself can be handled without a second trip to Jackson.

How long does a Wyoming DUI count against me?

For enhancement, ten years: a second conviction within ten years carries the mandatory seven days, a third carries thirty, and a fourth is a felony. The conviction itself stays on the court's record and the department's record until something removes it, and whether anything can is a question for the expungement page. A first offense resolved by deferred prosecution ends in a dismissal the statute says is not a conviction for any purpose, which is why that disposition is worth the effort where it is available.