St. Louis County, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me St. Louis County, MO

DUI attorney near me in St. Louis County, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in St. Louis County is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Whatever the details of your situation, when you are criminally charged for driving under the influence by drugs or alcohol, a you need the best legal representation available to protect your rights and your future.

You deserve a talented defense attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in St. Louis County and Missouri. Depending on the details of your case, a savvy DUI attorney near St. Louis County, MO may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges, have the charges reduced to lesser offenses, fight the conviction in a trial or negotiate a lesser punishment through a plea bargain. Most importantly, they will use the law to your benefit and guide you through all legal proceedings for your St. Louis County, MO DUI case. For razor-sharp representation when you have been arrested of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in St. Louis County, MO?

Though many people refer to it as a DUI (which stands for driving under the influence, Missouri courts actually call the offense a DWI (driving while intoxicated). Missouri Revised Statute §577.010 and §577.012 define the definition of the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and defines the rules Missouri courts must follow to sentence and punish those convicted of a DWI, with the latter specific to driving with a BAC, or blood alcohol content, over the legal limit. If you have been arrested in Missouri for a DWI, focus on finding a DUI attorney near St. Louis County, MO to fight for your freedom and help you navigate what can be an intimidating Missouri court process.

A police officer may arrest someone for a DWI in Missouri for a variety of reasons. The law prohibits driving while intoxicated — not explicitly for driving under the influence of alcohol. While many DWI arrests in Missouri are done based on accusations of driving drunk, you can also be arrested for a DWI due to allegedly operating a vehicle while under the influence of another mind-altering drug.

The same Missouri law prohibits driving while impared by psychoactive substances 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 being high as a result of marijuana or THC use or under the influence of narcotics or pharmaceuticals like opiates.

If you were arrested for driving while intoxicated in Missouri, speak to a DUI attorney near you right away. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a reuptable and capable St. Louis County-based DUI attorney near you. For a trustworthy DUI attorney near you, call (314) 900-HELP.

DUI Stops and Arrests in St. Louis County, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights in the event that you are pulled over for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you and learn about your rights and what steps to take if you are ever stopped when driving in Missouri. And if you have already gone through being pulled over and arrested for driving drunk or high, our unstoppable St. Louis County, MO defense attorneys will protect your rights and freedoms.

Become familiar with the rules and what to expect for Missouri traffic stops, sobriety tests and checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in St. Louis County, MO

In order to pull someone over, a St. Louis County, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. In the case of a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be represented by behaviors like like drifting out of lane, going the wrong way down a road and other erratic behaviors such as inconsistencies in speed, swerving or braking.

A police officer is not allowed to conduct a traffic stop unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are breaking the law by driving while intoxicated satisfy the more stringent burden of probable cause in order to actually arrest you for a DWI.

If you suspect that you were improperly stopped for or accused of your St. Louis County, 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, a DUI attorney near St. Louis County, MO will help get your case dismissed and put to rest so you can put this behind you and be free.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in St. Louis County, MO

If you are pulled over by an officer under suspicion of intoxicated driving, they will likely try to get you to do a test to prove that you are intoxicated. When it comes to roadside tests used by St. Louis County, MO police officers to determine intoxication, there are two primary types they may utilize: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.

1. Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)

   When police officers stop drivers in St. Louis County MO for drunk driving or driving under the influence, they often turn to chemical tests to collect evidence that the driver had ingested drugs or alcohol. Chemical tests include tests of the blood, breath, saliva or urine that are meant to identify the presence of and/or measure the concentration of various substances including alcohol.

   Each state has its own laws and many, including Missouri have what is known as an implied consent law, via which, as a St. Louis County, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically consent to submit to chemical sobriety tests simply by getting behind the wheel. A smart DUI attorney near you will counsel you to know that you can refuse to a breathalyzer or other chemical test, but refusal can carry a criminal charge in itself. Still, you cannot be physically forced to produce a sample.

   If you already did a breathalyzer test, speak to an experienced St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to determine whether the breathalyzer or other test was performed legally and whether it should or should not be admissible in court.

2. Field Sobriety Tests

   Field tests are subjective tests sometimes used during a DWI stop that attempt to determine whether you are intoxicated by asking the driver to perform motor tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has spelled out three standardized field tests police officers subject drivers to in St. Louis County, MO and all over the United States.

   1. Walk and turn – walk heel to toe in a straight line for nine steps, turn around and repeat in the opposite direction
   2. 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
   3. Gaze tests – the officer holds an object and asks the driver to follow the object with their gaze as the officer moves the object

   It is your right in Missouri to refuse to perform a field test. If you are stopped and asked to perform field sobriety tests, contact a DUI attorney near you in St. Louis County, MO as soon as you can. If you have already agreed to and performed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your DUI attorney in St. Louis County, MO will design an unwavering defense to your case or make sure any illegally obtained evidence is thrown out and not used against you in Missouri court.

Traffic Checkpoints in St. Louis County, MO

A checkpoint is a temporary roadblock used to randomly check drivers for driving under the influence. There are federal laws allowing but regulating the carriage of DUI checkpoints, but each state has its own rules and some prohibit the use of checkpoints. Missouri legislators have discussed banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Police departments in St. Louis County and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but it is still wise to familiarize yourself with your rights and the rules checkpoints must follow. If you are not sure, turn to a DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP.

A lawful sobriety checkpoint is justified when the police can show it is closely related to roadway safety. A lawful DUI checkpoint is:

• announced to the public in advance
• sanctioned or planned by supervising law enforcement officers
• carried out in a way that is neutral to all drivers (i.e. randomly selected drivers)
• limited in time
• visibly associated with law enforcement

In addition, there must be a logical reason for carrying out the checkpoint related to public safety, .

If you are going through a checkpoint in St. Louis County, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our determined St. Louis County, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to review your case with a compassionate and cunning DUI attorney near you today.

Through Combs Waterkotte, you have access to some of the best criminal defense services in the St. Louis County, MO area. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and defend you when you have been arrested for driving under the influence in St. Louis County or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top St. Louis County, MO defense lawyers can help you with a number of other kinds of cases, including:

• Child Abuse & Neglect Lawyer
• Homicide Lawyer
• Assault Lawyer
• Rape Defense Lawyer
• Sex Offense Lawyers
• DWI Attorney
• Crime Defense Lawyers
• Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys
• Child Pornography Defense Lawyer
• Criminal Lawyer

Learn more about the different DUI charges in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near St. Louis County, 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 St. Louis County, MO | Combs Waterkotte

There is no time to waste. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Louis County, MO, you need to hire a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust. A Missouri DWI and similar charges are serious accusations that can carry significant consequences. Your future and freedom are on the line, and a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you in St. Louis County, MO will defend you. Contact our St. Louis County, MO defense law firm now to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.