DUI Attorney Near Me St. Francois County, MO

DUI Attorney Near Me St. Francois County, MO. Being arrested for driving under the influence in St. Francois County, MO is a serious matter. Whatever the situation, when you are criminally charged 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 has successfully defended against DUI convictions in St. Francois County and Missouri. Depending on the details of your case, an astute St. Francois County, MO DUI attorney near you will make the best of your situation. They may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges, reduce the charges to lesser offenses, fight the conviction in a trial or negotiate a lesser punishment through a plea bargain. Their principle responsibility is to navigate the law and the entire legal process for your St. Francois County, 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 St. Francois County, MO?

Commonly referred to 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 what constitutes the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and specifies 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. If you have been arrested in Missouri for a DWI, you may need a DUI attorney near St. Francois County, MO to fight for your freedom and protect you from unfair treatment by Missouri courts.

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. Though many DWI arrests in Missouri are done based on accusations of driving drunk, you can also be arrested for a DWI on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence of another intoxicating substance.

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 under the influence in Missouri, speak to a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a reuptable and capable St. Francois County-based DUI attorney near you. 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. Francois County, MO

You owe it to yourself to know your rights in the event that you are stopped for driving under the influence. Speak to an experienced St. Francois County, MO DUI attorney near you with Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP to understand your rights and what to do if you are ever stopped when operating a vehicle in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to a traffic stop and were arrested for driving drunk or high, our outstanding St. Francois County, MO defense law firm will fight for your freedom and justice.

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

DUI Traffic Stops in St. Francois County, MO

In order to pull someone over, a St. Francois County, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be represented by behaviors like like splitting the lane, going the wrong way down a road and other erratic driving behaviors such as inconsistencies in speed, swerving or braking.

A police officer is not allowed to stop you unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are committing the crime of driving while intoxicated satisfy the higher burden of probable cause in order to actually place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you feel that you were wrongly stopped for or accused of your St. Francois County, MO DWI, contact 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 under the influence, turn to a DUI attorney near you in St. Francois County, MO who will help get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can put this behind you and be free.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in St. Francois County, MO

If a law officer stops you under suspicion of drunk or drugged 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 St. Francois County, MO police officers typically use in traffic stops for driving under the influence: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.

Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)
In St. Francois County, MO stops for DUIs, chemical tests are often used as evidence to collect evidence that the driver was under the influence at the time of the stop. Chemical tests include tests of the blood, breath, saliva or urine that check for the presence and concentration of various substances including alcohol.

Like most US states, Missouri has what is known as an implied consent law, pursuant to which, as a St. Francois County, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically consent to submit to chemical sobriety tests simply by getting behind the wheel. A good DUI attorney near you will counsel you to know that you can refuse to a breathalyzer or other chemical test, but you can face legal consequences for the act of refusing the test. You cannot be physically forced to produce a sample.

If you do take a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary St. Francois County, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your DUI attorney near St. Francois County, MO, Combs Waterkotte will obtain discovery documents and comb through them to examine if the breathalyzer or other test was performed lawfully and whether it is or is not admissible in court.
Field Sobriety Tests
Field tests are subjective tests sometimes used during a DWI stop that are meant to determine whether you are impaired through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has spelled out three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in St. Francois County, 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 St. Francois County, MO as soon as possible. If you have already completed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your St. Francois County, 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 St. Francois County, MO

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

Checkpoints in St. Francois County and throughout Missouri are not as prevalent as they once were, but it is still wise to educate yourself on your rights and the rules regulating checkpoints. If you are not sure, call 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
clearly associated with law enforcement

In addition, 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 St. Francois County, MO, call (314) 900-HELP to talk to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you immediately. Our experienced St. Francois County, MO attorneys will tenaciously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to review your case with a kind and cunning DUI attorney near you today.

Get the best quality criminal defense available in St. Francois County, MO through Combs Waterkotte. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and provide you with an infallible defense when you have been arrested for driving under the influence in St. Francois County or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top St. Francois County, MO defense lawyers can help you with a wide range of other case types, including:

Learn more about the different DUI charges in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in St. Francois County, MO can defend you.

Work with a Top DUI Attorney Near Me in St. Francois County, MO | Combs Waterkotte

There is no time to waste. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Francois County, MO, you need to hire 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. Francois County, MO will protect you. Contact our St. Francois County, MO defense law firm now to discuss your rights, your case and your future.

St. Francois County, MO