DUI Attorney Near Me Orchard Farm, MO
DUI attorney near me in Orchard Farm, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in Orchard Farm is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Regardless of the situation, when you are facing a conviction for driving drunk or high, a you need the best legal representation available to fight on your behalf and protect your future.
You deserve quality legal representation from an attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in Orchard Farm and Missouri. Depending on the details of your case, a sharp DUI attorney near Orchard Farm, MO will make the best of your situation. They may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges, reduce the charges to lesser offenses, lead your case to trial to fight the conviction or work with the prosecutor to negotiate a plea bargain. Most importantly, they will navigate the law and all legal proceedings for your Orchard Farm, MO DUI case. For dedicated, aggressive defense against injustice after you have been accused of driving under the influence, call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.
What is a DUI in Orchard Farm, MO?
Though people often refer to it as a DUI (which stands for driving under the influence, the offense is actually referred to a DWI (driving while intoxicated) in Missouri civil and criminal law. Missouri Revised Statute §577.010 and §577.012 outline what constitutes the crime of driving while intoxicated and establishes the law Missouri courts must follow to sentence and punish DWI offenders for operating a vehicle with a BAC (blood alcohol content) over the legal limit or while otherwise intoxicated. If you have been arrested in Missouri for a DWI, focus on finding a DUI attorney near Orchard Farm, MO who will stand up on your behalf and protect you from unfair treatment by Missouri courts.
A police officer may arrest someone for a DWI in Missouri for a long list of reasons. The law prohibits driving while intoxicated — not explicitly for driving under the influence of alcohol. Though many DWI arrests in Missouri are done based on drunk driving allegations, you can also be arrested for a DWI on suspicion of driving a vehicle while under the influence of some kind of mind-altering drug.
The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while impared by drugs that impair your consciousness or motor skills. That means that you are liable to arrest if a police officer believes that you are impaired, including due to ingesting marijuana or even narcotics or pharmaceuticals like opiates.
If you or a family member have been arrested for driving while intoxicated in Missouri, contact a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a reuptable and capable Orchard Farm-based DUI attorney near you, Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is accessible, diligent and sharp. When you need a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust, call (314) 900-HELP.
Getting Stopped or Arrested for a DUI in Orchard Farm, MO
It is critical that you know your rights in the event that you are pulled over for driving intoxicated. Call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading Orchard Farm, MO DUI attorney near you and learn about your rights and what you should do if you are ever stopped when driving in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to a traffic stop and were arrested for intoxicated driving, our unstoppable Orchard Farm, MO defense lawyers will fight for your freedom and justice.
Find out about the rules and what to expect for regular traffic stops, sobriety tests and sobriety checkpoints.
DUI Traffic Stops in Orchard Farm, MO
A Missouri officer of the law must have reasonable suspicion that you are driving drunk in order to pull an individual over in Orchard Farm, MO. In the case of a DWI, reasonable suspicion could be represented by behaviors like like splitting the lane, going the wrong way down a road and other erratic driving behaviors such as driving extremely slow or fast, swerving or alternating between braking and accelerating.
A police officer is not allowed to stop you unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are committing the crime of driving while intoxicated meet the more stringent burden of probable cause before they can place you under arrest for a DWI.
If you suspect that you were unlawfully stopped or arrested for your Orchard Farm, MO DWI, contact a DUI attorney near you right away. If an officer stopped you without any reasonable suspicion, even if they then obtained evidence that you were driving under the influence, turn to a DUI attorney near you in Orchard Farm, MO who can fight to get your case dismissed and put to rest so you can put this behind you and be free.
Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Orchard Farm, MO
If you are pulled over by an officer due to suspected intoxicated driving, they will want to obtain proof to show that you are under the influence. When it comes to roadside tests used by Orchard Farm, MO police officers to determine intoxication, there are two primary types they may utilize: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.
- Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)
When police officers stop drivers in Orchard Farm MO for DUIs, they often turn to chemical tests to collect evidence that the driver had ingested drugs or alcohol. Chemical tests include tests of the bodily samples from blood to breath to saliva to urine that are meant to identify the presence of and/or measure the concentration of substances like alcohol.
Like most US states, Missouri has in place an implied consent law, via which, as a Orchard Farm, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically agree to participate in chemical sobriety tests just by operating a vehicle. A smart DUI attorney near you will tell you that you can refuse to submit to a breathalyzer or other chemical test, but you can face legal consequences for the act of refusing the test. Still, the police cannot physically force you to take the test.
If you do take a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary Orchard Farm, MO DUI attorney near you to figure out your options and get the best quality defense in your case. As your DUI attorney near Orchard Farm, MO, Combs Waterkotte will obtain discovery documents and comb through them to examine if the breathalyzer or other test was administered as according to law and whether it should or should not be admissible in court.
- Field Sobriety Tests
Field tests are subjective tests sometimes used during a DWI stop that are meant to determine whether you are intoxicated through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has defined three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in Orchard Farm, MO and throughout the United States.
- Walk and turn – walk heel to toe in a straight line for nine steps, turn around and repeat in the opposite direction
- One leg stand – lift one leg six inches above the ground and stand on the other leg for a period of time without losing balance
- Gaze tests – the officer holds an object and asks the driver to follow the object with their gaze as the officer moves the object
As a Missouri driver, you have the right to refuse to perform a field test. If you are stopped and asked to perform field sobriety tests, call a DUI attorney near you in Orchard Farm, MO immediately. If you have already performed a field test and were then arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your DUI attorney in Orchard Farm, MO will build an impenetrable defense to your case or ensure that evidence that does not meet Missouri’s rules of evidence such as improperly obtained sobriety tests are not used against you in Missouri court.
Traffic Checkpoints in Orchard Farm, MO
A checkpoint is a temporary roadblock used to randomly check drivers for driving under the influence. There are federal laws that regulate the carriage of DUI checkpoints, but each state has its own rules and some prohibit the use of checkpoints. Lawmakers in Missouri have debated banning sobriety checkpoints, but curent Missouri law still allows police to use them.
Police departments in Orchard Farm and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but it is still prudent to familiarize yourself with your rights and the rules checkpoints must follow. When it doubt, speak to a DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP.
The police must be able to justify the use and location for a sobriety checkpoint by showing that the decisions are closely related to roadway safety. A lawful DUI checkpoint is:
- announced to the public in advance
- organized by supervising law enforcement officers
- carried out in a way that is neutral to all drivers (i.e. randomly selected drivers)
- limited in time
- clearly associated with law enforcement
Perhaps most importantly, there must be a legitimate reason for implementing the checkpoint related to public safety, such as an area where a higher-than-average rate of drunk driving-related accidents has occurred.
If you find yourself at a checkpoint in Orchard Farm, MO, call (314) 900-HELP to talk to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you immediately. Our experienced Orchard Farm, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to discuss your situation with a kind and cunning DUI attorney near you today.
Get the best quality criminal defense available in Orchard Farm, MO through Combs Waterkotte. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will protect you against the court and provide you with an infallible defense when you have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Orchard Farm or anywhere in Missouri. Our team of Orchard Farm, MO attorneys have expertise in a wide range of other kinds of cases, including:
Learn more about different kinds of DUI cases in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near Orchard Farm, MO can do to help you.
- DWI/DUI Lawyer in St. Louis
- CDL DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- DWI Accident Lawyer in St. Louis
- First Offense DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- Marijuana DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- Second Offense DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- DWI with Drugs Lawyer in St. Louis
- Felony DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- Hit and Run DWI Lawyer in St. Louis
- Other Criminal Defense Cases
Hire a DUI Attorney Near Me in Orchard Farm, MO | Combs Waterkotte
Do yourself a favor and act now. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near Orchard Farm, MO, find a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust. A Missouri DWI and similar charges are serious accusations that can carry significant consequences. When your freedom and future are at risk a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you in Orchard Farm, MO will protect you. Contact our Orchard Farm, MO defense law firm now to discuss your rights, your case and your future.