St. Charles, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me St. Charles, MO

DUI attorney near me in St. Charles, MO. Being arrested for driving under the influence in St. Charles, MO is a serious matter. Whatever the situation, when you are criminally charged for driving while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, find an attorney you can trust 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 St. Charles and Missouri. Depending on the circumstances, a sharp DUI attorney near St. Charles, MO 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. Their principle responsibility is to use the law to your benefit and guide you through the entire legal process for your St. Charles, MO DUI case. For dedicated, aggressive defense against injustice when you have been accused of driving under the influence, speak to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in St. Charles, MO?

Though many people 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 define the definition of the crime of driving while intoxicated and lays forth the law for sentencing and punishments for DWI offenders, 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, you deserve a DUI attorney near St. Charles, MO who will stand up on your behalf 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 long list of reasons. The law prohibits driving while intoxicated — not explicitly for driving under the influence of alcohol. Though DWI arrests are often drunk driving allegations, you can also be arrested for a DWI on suspicion of driving a vehicle while impaired by another 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 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 while intoxicated in Missouri, contact a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a skilled St. Charles-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 St. Charles, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights in the event that you are stopped for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Speak to an experienced St. Charles, MO DUI attorney near you with Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP to learn about your rights and what to do if you are ever stopped when driving in Missouri. And if you have already gone through being pulled over and arrested for intoxicated driving, our outstanding St. Charles, MO defense law firm will shield you from injustice in court.

Find out about the rules and what to expect for regular traffic stops, sobriety tests and sobriety checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in St. Charles, MO

In order to pull someone over, a St. Charles, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be things like splitting the lane, driving on a road going in the wrong direction and other erratic behaviors such as alternating extremes in speed, swerving or braking.

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 more stringent burden of probable cause in order to actually place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you believe that you were improperly stopped or arrested for your St. Charles, MO DWI, reach out to a DUI attorney near you at your earliest opportunity. If an officer stopped you without any reasonable suspicion, even if they then obtained evidence that you were driving intoxicated, turn to a DUI attorney near you in St. Charles, MO who will fight to get your case dismissed and put to rest so you can move forward in your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in St. Charles, 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 intoxicated. There are two types of tests St. Charles, 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)

   When police officers stop drivers in St. Charles MO for drunk driving or driving under the influence, chemical tests are often used as evidence to collect evidence that the driver was intoxicated at the time of the stop. 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.

   Each state has its own laws and many, including Missouri have in place an implied consent law, pursuant to which, as a St. Charles, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically consent 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 a chemical test like a breathalyzer, but refusal can carry a criminal charge in itself. You cannot be physically forced to take the test.

   If you do take a breathalyzer test, consult an experienced St. Charles, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your St. Charles, MO DUI attorney near you, Combs Waterkotte will obtain discovery documents and comb through them to examine whether the breathalyzer or other test was administered lawfully and whether it is or is not admissible in court.

2. Field Sobriety Tests

   Field tests during a DWI traffic stop are subjective tests that attempt to determine whether you are intoxicated through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has specified three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in St. Charles, 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

   It is your right in Missouri to refuse to perform a field test. If a police officer stops you and asks you to perform field sobriety tests, contact a DUI attorney near you in St. Charles, MO as soon as you can. If you have already completed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your St. Charles, MO DUI attorney will design an unwavering 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 St. Charles, MO

A checkpoint is a roadblock temporarily set up on a roadway as a way to randomly check drivers for behaviors like 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. Lawmakers in Missouri have debated banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Police departments in St. Charles and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but you should still educate yourself on your rights and the rules checkpoints must follow. When it doubt, turn to a DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP.

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

• advertised 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, usually because the area has an abnormally high rate of drunk driving accidents.

If you find yourself at a checkpoint in St. Charles, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our experienced St. Charles, 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. Charles, MO area. A Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you will protect you against the court and defend you when you have been arrested for driving under the influence in St. Charles or anywhere in Missouri. Our team of St. Charles, MO attorneys have expertise in 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

Click below to learn more about the different DUI cases in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in St. Charles, 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 St. Charles, MO | Combs Waterkotte

Do not waste any time. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Charles, MO, find a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust. Being arrested and convicted of a DWI or similar charge in Missouri is a serious matter that can carry significant consequences. When your freedom and future are at risk a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you in St. Charles, MO will protect you. Contact our St. Charles, MO defense law firm now to discuss your rights, your case and your future.