Osage Beach, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me Osage Beach, MO

DUI attorney near me in Osage Beach, MO. Being arrested for driving under the influence in Osage Beach, MO is a serious matter. Whatever the circumstances, when you are arrested for driving drunk or high, find an attorney you can trust to protect your rights and your future.

You deserve quality legal representation from an attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in Osage Beach and Missouri. Depending on the circumstances, an astute DUI attorney near Osage Beach, MO will make the best of your situation. They may be able to get the charges dropped, reduce the charges to lesser offenses, lead your case to trial to fight the conviction or negotiate a lesser punishment through a plea bargain. Most importantly, they will navigate the law and the entire legal process for your Osage Beach, 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 Osage Beach, MO?

Though people often refer to it as a DUI (which stands for driving under the influence, the official nomenclature used in Missouri courts is a DWI (driving while intoxicated). Missouri Revised Statute §577.010 and §577.012 lay forth what constitutes the crime of driving under the influence and establishes the law for sentencing and punishments for those convicted of a DWI, 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 Osage Beach, MO to fight for your freedom and help you navigate what can be an intimidating Missouri court process.

You could be arrested 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. While many DWI arrests in Missouri are done based on drunk driving allegations, you can also be arrested for a DWI due to allegedly driving a vehicle while under the influence of some kind of intoxicating substance.

The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while intoxicated by drugs that impair your consciousness or motor skills. That means that you can be subject 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 or a family member have been 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 Osage Beach-based DUI attorney near you, Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is responsive, experienced and skilled. When you need a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust, call (314) 900-HELP.

Getting Stopped or Arrested for a DUI in Osage Beach, MO

It is critical that you know your rights lest you are stopped for driving intoxicated. Speak to an experienced Osage Beach, MO DUI attorney near you with Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP to understand your rights and what to do if an officer ever stops you while you are driving in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to a traffic stop and were arrested for intoxicated driving, our incredible Osage Beach, MO defense attorneys will shield you from injustice in court.

Know the rules and what to expect for regular traffic stops, sobriety tests and checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in Osage Beach, MO

A Missouri officer of the law must have reasonable suspicion that you are driving drunk in order to pull an individual over in Osage Beach, MO. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be things like splitting the lane, going on a road going in the wrong direction and other erratic behaviors such as driving extremely slow or fast, swerving or stopping and going.

A police officer must have reasonable suspicion that you were driving under the influence in order to stop you, and are required to meet the higher burden of probable cause in order to actually place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you believe that you were unlawfully stopped for or accused of your Osage Beach, 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 then obtained evidence that you were driving drunk, turn to a DUI attorney near you in Osage Beach, MO who can help get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can put this behind you and be free.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Osage Beach, MO

If a law officer stops you under suspicion of inhebriated driving, they will likely try to get you to do a test to prove that you are under the influence. There are two types of tests Osage Beach, MO police officers typically use in traffic stops for driving under the influence: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.

1. Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)

   In Osage Beach, MO stops for driving while intoxicated, 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 various substances including alcohol.

   Each state has its own laws and many, including Missouri have what is known as an implied consent law, pursuant to whichOsage Beach, MO and other Missouri drivers automatically consent to submit to chemical sobriety tests just by getting behind the wheel. 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, you cannot be physically forced to produce a sample.

   If you do take a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary Osage Beach, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your Osage Beach, MO DUI attorney near you, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to conclude if the breathalyzer or other test was administered lawfully 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 gauge whether you are impaired by asking the driver to perform motor tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has defined three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in Osage Beach, 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

   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 Osage Beach, MO immediately. If you have already agreed to and participated in a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your Osage Beach, MO DUI attorney will design an impenetrable defense to your case or may even be able to suppress the field test evidence if they do not meet the rules of evidence in Missouri court.

Traffic Checkpoints in Osage Beach, MO

A checkpoint is a roadblock temporarily set up on a roadway 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 discussed banning sobriety checkpoints, but curent Missouri law still allows their use.

Checkpoints in Osage Beach and throughout Missouri are not as prevalent as they once were, but you should still educate yourself on your rights and the rules checkpoints must follow. 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 directly related to public 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
• visibly associated with law enforcement

Perhaps most importantly, there must be a logical 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 are going through a checkpoint in Osage Beach, MO, call (314) 900-HELP to talk to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you immediately. Our skilled Osage Beach, MO attorneys will fearlessly defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Reach out to us online to discuss 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 Osage Beach, MO area. 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 in Osage Beach or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top Osage Beach, MO defense lawyers can help you with a variety of other kinds of cases, including:

• 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

Click below to learn more about different kinds of DUI charges in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in Osage Beach, MO can defend 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 Osage Beach, MO | Combs Waterkotte

There is no time to waste. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near Osage Beach, 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. When your freedom and future are at risk a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you in Osage Beach, MO can defend you. Contact our Osage Beach, MO defense law firm right away to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.