Miller County, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me Miller County, MO

DUI attorney near me in Miller County, MO. Being arrested for driving under the influence in Miller County, MO is a serious matter. Whatever the situation, when you are criminally charged for driving under the influence by drugs or alcohol, find an attorney you can trust to fight on your behalf and protect your future.

You deserve a talented defense attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in Miller County and Missouri. Depending on the circumstances, a savvy Miller County, MO DUI attorney near you 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, fight the conviction in a trial or work with the prosecutor to negotiate a plea bargain. Their principle responsibility is to use the law to your benefit and guide you through the entire legal process for your Miller County, MO DUI case. For dedicated, aggressive defense against injustice when you have been arrested of driving under the influence, speak to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in Miller County, MO?

Though people often refer to it as a DUI (which stands for driving under the influence, Missouri law actually calls the offense a DWI (driving while intoxicated). Missouri Revised Statute §577.010 and §577.012 outline what constitutes the crime of driving under the influence and defines the law Missouri courts must follow to sentence and punish DWI offenders, with the latter specific to driving with a BAC, or blood alcohol content, over the legal limit. After your Missouri DWI arrest, you may need a DUI attorney near Miller County, MO to fight for your freedom and protect you from unfair treatment by Missouri courts.

A police officer may arrest someone for a DWI in Missouri for a number 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 drunk driving allegations, you can also be arrested for a DWI due to allegedly operating a vehicle while impaired by another psychoactive drug.

The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while impared by drugs or substances that impair skills necessary to driving including motor skills, reaction time and decision making. That means that a police officer can arrest you if they suspect that you are impaired, including due to ingesting marijuana or even narcotics or pharmaceuticals like opiates.

If you were arrested for driving under the influence in Missouri, reach out to a DUI attorney near you right away. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a skilled Miller County-based DUI attorney near you. When you need a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust, call (314) 900-HELP.

Getting Stopped or Arrested for a DUI in Miller County, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights in the event that you are pulled over for operating a vehicle while under the influence. Call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading Miller County, MO DUI attorney near you and learn about your rights and what steps to take if an officer ever stops you while you are operating a vehicle in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to a traffic stop and were arrested for driving drunk or high, our incredible Miller County, MO defense lawyers will protect your rights and freedoms.

Become familiar with the rules and procedure for regular traffic stops, sobriety tests and checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in Miller County, MO

A Missouri officer of the law must have reasonable suspicion that you are driving drunk in order to pull an individual over in Miller County, 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 any other behaviors such as driving extremely slow or fast, swerving or stopping and going.

A police officer is not able to lawfully stop you unless they can identify reasonable suspicion that you are breaking the law by driving while intoxicated satisfy the more stringent burden of probable cause before they can place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you suspect that you were improperly stopped for or accused of your Miller County, MO DWI, reach out to a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. If you were stopped by an officer without giving them reasonable suspicion, even if they have proof that you were driving under the influence, a DUI attorney near Miller County, MO can help get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can move forward in your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Miller County, MO

If a law officer stops you due to suspected 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 Miller 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 Miller County MO for driving while intoxicated, chemical tests are often used as evidence to prove 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 what is known as an implied consent law, via which, as a Miller County, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically agree to submit to chemical sobriety tests just by driving a vehicle. A smart DUI attorney near you will counsel you to know that you can refuse to submit to a chemical test like a breathalyzer, 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 experienced Miller County, MO DUI attorney near you to figure out your options and get the best quality defense in your case. As your DUI attorney near Miller County, MO, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to conclude whether the breathalyzer or other test was administered 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 are meant to determine whether you are intoxicated by asking the driver to perform motor tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has specified three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in Miller County, MO and throughout 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

   As a Missouri driver, you have the right to refuse to perform a field test. If a police officer stops you and asks you to perform field sobriety tests, call a DUI attorney near you in Miller County, MO as soon as possible. If you have already agreed to and participated in a field test and were then arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your Miller County, MO DUI attorney will design a 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 Miller County, MO

A checkpoint is a roadblock temporarily set up on a roadway as a way to systematically screen drivers for driving under the influence. Federal law allows the use of DUI checkpoints by police departments, but they must meet certain standards. Missouri legislators have debated banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Police departments in Miller County and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they did in the past, but it is still prudent to familiarize yourself with your rights and the rules regulating checkpoints. If you are not sure, turn 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 public safety. DUI checkpoints should be:

• advertised 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 carrying out the checkpoint related to public safety, usually because the area has an abnormally high rate of drunk driving accidents.

If you are going through a checkpoint in Miller County, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our experienced Miller County, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Reach out to us online to review your situation 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 Miller County, MO area. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and navigate the legal process when you have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Miller County or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top Miller County, MO defense lawyers can help you with a number of other case types, including:

• Gun Crime Lawyer
• 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

Click below to learn more about different kinds of DUI charges in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near Miller 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

Work with a Top DUI Attorney Near Me in Miller County, MO | Combs Waterkotte

There is no time to waste. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near Miller 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 Miller County, MO can protect you. Contact our Miller County, MO defense law firm now to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.