DUI Attorney Near Me Livingston County, MO

DUI attorney near me in Livingston County, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in Livingston County is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Whatever the details of your situation, when you are facing a conviction for driving drunk or high, 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 Livingston County and Missouri. Depending on the circumstances, a savvy DUI attorney near Livingston County, MO may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges, have the charges reduced to lesser offenses, fight the conviction in a trial or work with the prosecutor to negotiate a plea bargain. Most importantly, they will use the law to your benefit and guide you through the entire legal process for your Livingston County, MO DUI case. For razor-sharp representation after you have been arrested of driving under the influence, call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in Livingston County, 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 outline what constitutes the crime of driving under the influence and establishes the guidelines Missouri courts must follow to sentence and punish DWI offenders, with the latter specific to driving with a BAC, or blood alcohol content, over the legal limit. After your Missouri DWI arrest, focus on finding a DUI attorney near Livingston County, MO to fight for your freedom 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. Though DWI arrests are often accusations of driving drunk, you can also be arrested for a DWI due to allegedly driving a vehicle while impaired by some kind of psychoactive drug.

The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while intoxicated by drugs or substances that impair skills necessary to driving including motor skills, reaction time and decision making. 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 or a family member have been 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 Livingston 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 Livingston County, MO

It is critical that you know your rights lest you are stopped for driving under the influence. Call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading Livingston County, MO DUI attorney near you and understand your rights and what steps to take if an officer ever stops you while you are operating a vehicle in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to a traffic stop and were arrested for intoxicated driving, our outstanding Livingston County, MO defense law firm 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 Livingston County, MO

In order to pull someone over, a Livingston County, 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, going on a road going in the wrong direction and other erratic behaviors such as inconsistencies in speed, swerving or alternating between braking and accelerating.

A police officer is not able to lawfully stop you unless they can identify reasonable suspicion that you are breaking the law by driving while intoxicated meet the higher burden of probable cause in order to actually arrest you for a DWI.

If you feel that you were wrongly stopped or arrested for your Livingston County, MO DWI, reach out to a DUI attorney near you right away. If an officer stopped you without any reasonable suspicion, even if they then obtained evidence that you were driving drunk, turn to a DUI attorney near you in Livingston County, MO who will help get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can move on with your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in Livingston County, MO

If you are pulled over by an officer under suspicion of drunk or drugged driving, they will likely try to get you to do a test to prove that you are intoxicated. There are two types of tests Livingston County, 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 Livingston County MO for drunk driving or driving under the influence, they often turn to chemical tests to prove that the driver was under the influence 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 whichLivingston County, MO and other Missouri drivers automatically agree to submit to chemical sobriety tests just by getting behind the wheel. 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. Still, you cannot be physically forced to take the test.

   If you do take a breathalyzer test, consult an exemplary Livingston County, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your Livingston County, MO DUI attorney near you, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to conclude whether the breathalyzer or other test was performed legally 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 are meant to determine whether you are intoxicated by asking the driver to perform motor tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has specified three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in Livingston County, 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 Livingston County, MO immediately. If you have already agreed to and participated in a field test and were then arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your Livingston County, MO DUI attorney will build 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 Livingston County, MO

A checkpoint is a roadblock temporarily set up on a roadway as a way to systematically screen 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. Missouri legislators have debated banning sobriety checkpoints, but curent Missouri law still allows police to use them.

Police departments in Livingston County and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but it is still prudent to familiarize yourself with your rights and the rules regulating checkpoints. When it doubt, speak 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 roadway safety. DUI checkpoints should be:

• announced 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 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 approach a checkpoint in Livingston County, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our determined Livingston County, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Reach out to us online to review your case 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 Livingston County, 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 accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Livingston County or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top Livingston County, MO defense lawyers can help you with a wide range of other case types, including:

• Drivers License Reinstatement Attorney

Click below to learn more about the different DUI charges in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in Livingston County, 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 Livingston County, MO | Combs Waterkotte

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