Wright City, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me Wright City, MO

DUI attorney near me in Wright City, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in Wright City is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Regardless of the situation, when you are arrested for driving drunk or high, a you need the best legal representation available to protect your rights and your future.

You deserve quality legal representation from an attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in Wright City and Missouri. Depending on the details of your case, an astute DUI attorney near Wright City, MO will make the best of your situation. They 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. Most importantly, they will navigate the law and all legal proceedings for your Wright City, MO DUI case. For dedicated, aggressive defense against injustice after being arrested of driving under the influence, speak to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in Wright City, 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 lay forth what constitutes the crime of driving while intoxicated and specifies the guidelines 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. If you have been arrested in Missouri for a DWI, focus on finding a DUI attorney near Wright City, 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 outlaws 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 on suspicion of driving a vehicle while impaired by some kind of mind-altering drug.

The same Missouri law prohibits driving while impared by drugs that impair skills necessary to driving including motor skills, reaction time and decision making. 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 under the influence in Missouri, contact a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a reuptable and capable Wright City-based DUI attorney near you, Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is responsive, experienced and sharp. When you need a DUI attorney near you whom you can trust, call (314) 900-HELP.

DUI Stops and Arrests in Wright City, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights lest you are stopped for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Reach out to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading Wright City, MO DUI attorney near you and understand your rights and what to do if an officer ever stops you while you are operating a vehicle in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to being pulled over and arrested for intoxicated driving, our unstoppable Wright City, MO defense lawyers will shield you from injustice in court.

Learn the rules and procedure for Missouri traffic stops, sobriety tests and sobriety checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in Wright City, MO

In order to pull someone over, a Wright City, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. In the case of a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be things like splitting the lane, traveling the wrong way down a road and any other driving behaviors such as alternating extremes in speed, 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 before they can place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you feel that you were improperly stopped or arrested for your Wright City, MO DWI, contact a DUI attorney near you at your earliest opportunity. If you were stopped by an officer without giving them reasonable suspicion, even if they then obtained evidence that you were driving intoxicated, a DUI attorney near Wright City, MO can help get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can move forward in your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Wright City, MO

If you are pulled over by an officer due to suspected intoxicated 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 Wright City, 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 Wright City MO for driving while intoxicated, chemical tests are often used as evidence to collect evidence that the driver had ingested drugs or alcohol. There are a few different types of chemical tests using 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.

   Like most US states, Missouri has in place an implied consent law, via whichWright City, MO and other Missouri drivers automatically agree to participate in 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 submit to a chemical test like a breathalyzer, 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 exemplary Wright City, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your DUI attorney near Wright City, MO, Combs Waterkotte will obtain discovery documents and comb through them to conclude whether 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 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 specified three standardized field tests police officers subject drivers to in Wright City, 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 you are stopped and asked to perform field sobriety tests, contact a DUI attorney near you in Wright City, MO as soon as you can. If you already agreed to and performed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your Wright City, MO DUI attorney will design an impenetrable 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 Wright City, 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. Lawmakers in Missouri have explored banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Police departments in Wright City and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they did in the past, but you should still 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.

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

• 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

Perhaps most importantly, there must be a logical reason for implementing 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 Wright City, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our skilled Wright City, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to review your situation with a kind and cunning DUI attorney near you today.

Through Combs Waterkotte, you have access to some of the best criminal defense services in the Wright City, MO area. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and defend you when you have been accused of driving under the influence in Wright City or anywhere in Missouri. Our team of Wright City, MO attorneys have expertise in a number of other kinds of cases, including:

Click below to learn more about different kinds of DUI charges in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near Wright City, 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 Wright City, MO | Combs Waterkotte

Do yourself a favor and act now. If you have been stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near Wright City, MO, you need to hire a trustworthy DUI attorney near you. 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 Wright City, MO will defend you. Contact our Wright City, MO defense law firm right away to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.