Appeals Court Upholds License Revocation for Scotland County Sheriff
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Missouri POST Investigator Requests All Court Documents
By Echo Menges
SCOTLAND COUNTY, Mo. — October 24, 2025 — The Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld the revocation of Scotland County Sheriff Bryan Whitney’s driver’s license, ruling that a highway patrol trooper gave him the full 20 minutes required by law to contact an attorney before he refused a breath test following his 2023 DWI arrest.
In an order filed October 21, a three-judge panel affirmed a Scotland County Circuit Court decision by Adair County Associate Circuit Judge Kristie Swaim upholding the Missouri Department of Revenue’s action against Whitney’s license in Case No. 23SE-CC00034.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District judges — Presiding Judge Rebeca Navarro-McKelvey and Judges Gary Gaertner Jr. and James Dowd — found no legal error in Swaim’s ruling, effectively closing Appeal Case No. ED113163.
According to court records, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Wood stopped Whitney on Sept. 29, 2023, after alleging he observed the sheriff’s vehicle speeding and veering off the road. The trooper reported smelling alcohol and seeing watery, bloodshot eyes. A preliminary breath test allegedly registered 0.093 percent blood-alcohol content. Whitney, who identified himself as sheriff, was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Whitney’s attorney, Travis Noble, argued that the sheriff’s driver’s-license revocation was invalid because he was not given the full 20 minutes allowed to call his lawyer before deciding whether to take a chemical test. However, body-camera footage reviewed by both courts allegedly showed Whitney spoke with his attorney for 20 minutes and six seconds, satisfying the statutory requirement. He ultimately refused to take the test, telling the trooper, “I refuse to make any more statements.”
Under Missouri’s Implied Consent Law, such refusals trigger an automatic one-year license revocation. The appeals court concluded that Whitney had a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel and that his refusal was voluntary, affirming the lower court’s judgment.
Special Prosecutor and Adair County Prosecutor David Goring was assigned to the criminal DWI case against Whitney and represented the Department of Revenue in the license-revocation case.
It should be noted that the body-camera footage remains unavailable to the public. Despite repeated requests by the Memphis Democrat/The Edina Sentinel, the video has not been released by the courts nor presented in an open courtroom, though it was considered in both the bench trial and the appeal.
POST Inquiry Filed
A Missouri Department of Public Safety Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program investigator has requested certified court records from the Scotland County Circuit Court to determine whether the case warrants disciplinary action against Whitney’s law-enforcement certification.
See “Trial” on page 6.
Trial continued from page 1.
In a letter dated Oct. 23, 2025, POST Investigator Clifton Dale Embry asked the court clerk for copies of the judgment, plea agreement, and findings of fact “to determine if there is sufficient evidence to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office to discipline Mr. Whitney’s peace officer certification.”
The request was formally filed in the circuit court the same day. Any future POST or Attorney General action would be separate from Whitney’s criminal and administrative proceedings.
The appellate decision leaves Whitney’s driver’s-license revocation intact, while the new POST inquiry signals that state officials are now examining whether the outcome should affect his law-enforcement certification.
Background
Whitney, 45, was first elected Scotland County sheriff in 2020 and reelected without opposition in 2024, even as his DWI case and related administrative proceedings were pending. He has continued to serve while contesting the charges through multiple court challenges.
The DWI criminal case, the Department of Revenue civil revocation case, and the subsequent appeal have been ongoing since the initial traffic stop just over two years ago.
What’s Next
The criminal DWI case has been plagued by unexplained mishaps, including Prosecutor Goring’s last-minute dismissal of the original Case No. 24SE-CR00006 one business day before the scheduled Dec. 16, 2024, trial. Goring refiled the new and current criminal case days later, on Dec. 20, 2024, with a new trial date set for Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
That August trial abruptly ended in a mistrial less than an hour after it began, after Goring asked an inadmissible question — whether Whitney failed a field-sobriety breath test.
Now, for the third time, a trial date has been set for Feb. 27, 2026.
Whitney continues to maintain his innocence.
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