DUI Attorney Near Me Lake St. Louis, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me Lake St. Louis, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in Lake St. Louis is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Whatever the details of your situation, when you are facing a conviction for driving under the influence by drugs or alcohol, find an attorney you can trust to protect your rights and your future.

You deserve quality legal representation from an attorney who has successfully defended against DUI convictions in Lake St. Louis and Missouri. Depending on the details of your case, a sharp Lake St. Louis, MO DUI attorney near you may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges, have the charges reduced 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 navigate the law and the entire legal process for your Lake St. Louis, MO DUI case. For razor-sharp representation after being accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speak to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in Lake St. Louis, MO?

Though people often 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 under the influence and defines the guidelines Missouri courts must follow to sentence and punish 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 Lake St. Louis, 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 variety of reasons. The law outlaws 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 due to allegedly operating a vehicle while under the influence of some kind of mind-altering drug.

The same Missouri law prohibits driving while impared by psychoactive 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, contact a DUI attorney near you right away. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a reuptable and capable Lake St. Louis-based DUI attorney near you. For a trustworthy DUI attorney near you, call (314) 900-HELP.

DUI Stops and Arrests in Lake St. Louis, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights lest you are pulled over for driving intoxicated. Call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading Lake St. Louis, MO DUI attorney near you and learn about your rights and what you should do if you are ever stopped when operating a vehicle in Missouri. And if you have already gone through being pulled over and arrested for intoxicated driving, our outstanding Lake St. Louis, MO defense attorneys will shield you from injustice in court.

Know the rules and procedure for regular traffic stops, sobriety tests and sobriety checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in Lake St. Louis, MO

In order to pull someone over, a Lake St. Louis, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion could be represented by behaviors like like drifting out of lane, traveling on a road going in the wrong direction and other erratic driving behaviors such as inconsistencies in speed, swerving or braking.

A police officer is not permitted to conduct a traffic stop unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are committing the crime of driving while intoxicated meet the more stringent burden of probable cause in order to actually arrest you for a DWI.

If you believe that you were unlawfully stopped for or accused of your Lake St. Louis, MO DWI, reach out to a DUI attorney near you right away. If an officer stopped you without any reasonable suspicion, even if they have proof that you were driving drunk, turn to a DUI attorney near you in Lake St. Louis, MO who will fight to get your case dismissed and put to rest so you can move on with your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Lake 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 under the influence. There are two types of tests Lake St. Louis, MO police officers typically use in traffic stops for driving under the influence: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.

Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)
When police officers stop drivers in Lake St. Louis MO for DUIs, they often turn to chemical tests to prove that the driver was under the influence at the time of the stop. There are a few different types of chemical tests using blood, breath, saliva or urine that check for the presence and concentration of substances like alcohol.

Like most US states, Missouri has what is known as an implied consent law, via which, as a Lake St. Louis, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically agree to participate in chemical sobriety tests simply by operating a vehicle. A good DUI attorney near you will counsel you to know 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 take the test.

If you do take a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary Lake St. Louis, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your DUI attorney near Lake St. Louis, MO, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to determine if the breathalyzer or other test was administered legally and whether it should or should not be admissible in court.
Field Sobriety Tests
Field tests during a DWI traffic stop are subjective tests that are meant to determine whether you are impaired by asking the driver to perform motor tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has spelled out three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in Lake St. Louis, 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
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 Lake St. Louis, MO as soon as you can. If you already performed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your Lake St. Louis, 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 Lake St. Louis, MO

A checkpoint is a temporary roadblock used 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 discussed banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.

Checkpoints in Lake St. Louis and throughout Missouri are not as prevalent as they once were, but you should still educate yourself on 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 directly related to public 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

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 approach a checkpoint in Lake St. Louis, MO, call (314) 900-HELP to talk to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you immediately. Our skilled Lake St. Louis, MO attorneys will tenaciously 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 Lake St. Louis, MO area. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and provide you with an infallible defense when you have been charged with driving under the influence in Lake St. Louis or anywhere in Missouri. Our team of Lake St. Louis, MO attorneys have expertise in a variety of other case types, including:

Click below to learn more about the different DUI charges in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in Lake St. Louis, MO can defend you.

Work with a Top DUI Attorney Near Me in Lake 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 Lake St. Louis, MO, find 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 Lake St. Louis, MO can protect you. Contact our Lake St. Louis, MO defense law firm now to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.

Lake St. Louis, MO