St. Louis, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me St. Louis, MO

DUI attorney near me in St. Louis, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in St. Louis is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Regardless of the situation, when you are facing a conviction for driving while intoxicated 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 and Missouri. Depending on your unique situation, an astute DUI attorney near St. Louis, MO may be able to get the charges dropped, have the charges reduced to lesser offenses, fight the conviction in a trial or negotiate a lesser punishment through a plea bargain. Their principle responsibility is to use the law to your benefit and guide you through all legal proceedings for your St. Louis, MO DUI case. For razor-sharp representation after you have been accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in St. Louis, MO?

Commonly referred to 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 while intoxicated and specifies the law for sentencing and punishments for 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, you may need a DUI attorney near St. Louis, MO who will stand up on your behalf and help you navigate what can be an intimidating Missouri court process.

A person can be arrested 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 on suspicion of driving a vehicle while impaired by another intoxicating substance.

The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while impared by intoxicating substances that impair your consciousness or motor skills. 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 while intoxicated in Missouri, reach out to a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a skilled St. Louis-based DUI attorney near you. When you need a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust, call (314) 900-HELP.

DUI Stops and Arrests in St. Louis, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights lest 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 St. Louis, 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 outstanding St. Louis, MO defense law firm will shield you from injustice in court.

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

DUI Traffic Stops in St. Louis, MO

A Missouri officer of the law must have reasonable suspicion that you are driving drunk in order to pull an individual over in St. Louis, MO. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion could be represented by behaviors like like drifting out of lane, driving on a road going in the wrong direction and other erratic behaviors such as driving extremely slow or fast, swerving or alternating between braking and accelerating.

A police officer is not permitted 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 arrest you for a DWI.

If you suspect that you were improperly stopped for or accused of your St. Louis, MO DWI, contact a DUI attorney near you at your earliest opportunity. If an officer stopped you without any reasonable suspicion, even if they have proof that you were driving intoxicated, turn to a DUI attorney near you in St. Louis, MO who will 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 St. Louis, MO

If a law officer stops you due to suspected intoxicated driving, they will want to obtain proof to show that you are intoxicated. There are two types of tests St. Louis, 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. Louis MO for driving while intoxicated, chemical tests are often used as evidence 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 whichSt. Louis, MO and other Missouri drivers 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, you cannot be physically forced to produce a sample.

   If you already did a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary St. Louis, MO DUI attorney near you to figure out your options and get the best quality defense in your case. As your DUI attorney near St. Louis, MO, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test 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.

2. Field Sobriety Tests

   Field tests during a DWI traffic stop are subjective tests that attempt to determine whether you are impaired through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has specified three standardized field tests police officers subject drivers to in St. Louis, 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, contact a DUI attorney near you in St. Louis, MO as soon as you can. If you already agreed to and participated in a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your DUI attorney in St. Louis, MO 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. Louis, MO

A checkpoint is a temporary roadblock used to systematically screen drivers for behaviors like driving under the influence. Federal law allows the use of DUI checkpoints by police departments, but they must meet certain standards. Missouri lawmakers have entertained banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Police departments in St. Louis and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but you should still 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.

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. 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
• visibly associated with law enforcement

In addition, 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 approach a checkpoint in St. Louis, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our experienced St. Louis, MO attorneys will fearlessly 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 St. Louis, MO area. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will protect you against the court and defend you when you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in St. Louis or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top St. Louis, MO defense lawyers can help you with a variety 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 cases in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near St. Louis, 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, MO | Combs Waterkotte

Do yourself a favor and act now. If you have been stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Louis, MO, find a trustworthy DUI attorney near you. 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 St. Louis, MO can defend you. Contact our St. Louis, MO defense law firm right away to discuss your rights, your case and your future.