DUI attorney near me in St. Louis County, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in St. Louis County is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Regardless of the situation, when you are criminally charged for driving while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, a you need the best legal representation available to fight on your behalf and protect your future.
You deserve a talented defense attorney who knows their way around DUI cases in St. Louis County and Missouri. Depending on your unique situation, a savvy St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you may be able to get the charges dropped, reduce the charges to lesser offenses, fight the conviction in a trial or negotiate a lesser punishment through a plea bargain. Most importantly, they will use the law to your benefit and guide you through all legal proceedings for your St. Louis County, MO DUI case. For razor-sharp representation after you have been accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speak to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.
Legal Videos
DWI Stop Advice – Always Have Your Paperwork Ready
DWI/DUI Stop Advice and Tips. Attorneys Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte provide a real-time walkthrough of the proper actions to take—and crucial mistakes to avoid—during a DWI/DUI …
(Making Of) DWI Behind the Scenes Video – Bonus Footage
Before we could shoot our behind-the-scenes video, there was… this. A quick glimpse at the setup, the laughs, and everything that didn’t quite make the final cut. While this is a fun video …
Behind the Scenes of a DWI/DUI Traffic Stop (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)
Missouri criminal defense and DWI attorneys Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte provide a real-time walkthrough of the proper actions to take—and crucial mistakes to avoid—during a DWI/DUI …
What Is the Process of Going to Court for a DWI?
What happens when you go to court for a DWI or DUI charge? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte outline what to expect when going to court for a DWI or DUI.
Long Term Consequences of a DWI
What are the long-term consequences of a DWI? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte discuss the potential long-term consequences of a DWI or DUI conviction on your …
What to Do If You Are Pulled Over for DWI in Missouri
What actions should you take if you are pulled over for suspicion of a DWI in Missouri? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte discuss how to handle the difficult situation of …
DWI Stop Advice – Always Have Your Paperwork Ready
DWI/DUI Stop Advice and Tips. Attorneys Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte provide a real-time walkthrough of the proper actions to take—and crucial mistakes to avoid—during a DWI/DUI …
(Making Of) DWI Behind the Scenes Video – Bonus Footage
Before we could shoot our behind-the-scenes video, there was… this. A quick glimpse at the setup, the laughs, and everything that didn’t quite make the final cut. While this is a fun video …
Behind the Scenes of a DWI/DUI Traffic Stop (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)
Missouri criminal defense and DWI attorneys Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte provide a real-time walkthrough of the proper actions to take—and crucial mistakes to avoid—during a DWI/DUI …
What Is the Process of Going to Court for a DWI?
What happens when you go to court for a DWI or DUI charge? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte outline what to expect when going to court for a DWI or DUI.
Long Term Consequences of a DWI
What are the long-term consequences of a DWI? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte discuss the potential long-term consequences of a DWI or DUI conviction on your …
What to Do If You Are Pulled Over for DWI in Missouri
What actions should you take if you are pulled over for suspicion of a DWI in Missouri? Christopher Combs and Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte discuss how to handle the difficult situation of …
What is a DUI in St. Louis County, MO?
Though people often refer to it 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 lay forth what constitutes the crime of driving while intoxicated and specifies the rules 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. After your Missouri DWI arrest, you deserve a DUI attorney near St. Louis County, MO to fight for your freedom and help you navigate what can be an intimidating Missouri court process.
You could be arrested for a DWI in Missouri for a long list of reasons. Under Missouri law, it is illegal to drive while intoxicated, and that covers more than just 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 due to allegedly operating a vehicle while impaired by some kind of psychoactive drug.
The same Missouri law prohibits driving while intoxicated by drugs that impair your consciousness or motor skills. That means that you are liable to arrest if a police officer believes 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 a DWI in Missouri, contact a DUI attorney near you as soon as possible. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a skilled St. Louis 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. Louis County, MO
It is critical that you know your rights lest you are pulled over for driving under the influence. Speak to an experienced St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you with Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP to understand your rights and what steps to take if an officer ever stops you while you are driving in Missouri. And if you have already gone through a traffic stop and were arrested for intoxicated driving, our incredible St. Louis County, MO defense attorneys will protect your rights and freedoms.
Become familiar with the rules and what to expect for Missouri traffic stops, sobriety tests and checkpoints.
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DUI Traffic Stops in St. Louis County, MO
In order to pull someone over, a St. Louis County, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. In the case of a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be represented by behaviors like like splitting the lane, traveling the wrong way down a road and any other driving behaviors such as inconsistencies in speed, swerving or braking.
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 in order to actually arrest you for a DWI.
If you feel that you were unlawfully stopped or arrested for your St. Louis County, 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 drunk, a DUI attorney near St. Louis County, MO can 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 County, MO
If you are pulled over by an officer due to suspected inhebriated driving, they will likely try to get you to do a test to prove that you are intoxicated. When it comes to roadside tests used by St. Louis County, MO police officers to determine intoxication, there are two primary types they may utilize: field sobriety tests and chemical tests.
- Chemical Tests (ie. a breathalizer)
When police officers stop drivers in St. Louis County MO for DUIs, they often turn to chemical tests to prove that the driver had ingested drugs or alcohol. Chemical tests include tests of the blood, breath, saliva or 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, via which, as a St. Louis County, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you 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 breathalyzer or other chemical test, but refusal can carry a criminal charge in itself. Still, the police cannot physically force you to produce a sample.
If you already did a breathalyzer test, speak to an exemplary St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you to discuss your defense and how they can help you. As your St. Louis County, MO DUI attorney near you, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to determine whether the breathalyzer or other test was performed lawfully and whether it is or is not admissible in court.
- Field Sobriety Tests
Field tests during a DWI traffic stop are subjective tests that attempt to gauge whether you are intoxicated through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has specified three standardized field tests that police officers can use to test drivers in St. Louis County, MO and throughout the United States.
- Walk and turn – walk heel to toe in a straight line for nine steps, turn around and repeat in the opposite direction
- 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
- 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, call a DUI attorney near you in St. Louis County, MO as soon as you can. If you already agreed to and performed a field test and were then arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your DUI attorney in St. Louis County, MO will build 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.
St. Louis County Resources
Below are quick links to important websites that may assist you with your legal matters in St. Louis County and Missouri.
Traffic Checkpoints in St. Louis County, MO
A checkpoint is a temporary roadblock used 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. Lawmakers in Missouri have entertained banning sobriety checkpoints, but they are currently still allowed by Missouri law.
Police departments in St. Louis County and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they used to, but you should still educate yourself on your rights and the rules regulating checkpoints. If you are not sure, speak to a DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP.
A lawful sobriety checkpoint is justified when the police can show it is directly related to public safety. A lawful DUI checkpoint is:
- 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 carrying out 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. Louis County, MO, speak to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you at (314) 900-HELP. Our determined St. Louis County, MO attorneys will ferociously defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to discuss 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 St. Louis County, MO area. A Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you will fight for your rights and defend you when you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in St. Louis County or anywhere in Missouri. In addition, our top St. Louis County, MO defense lawyers can help you with a variety of other case types, including:
Learn more about the different DUI charges in Missouri and what the DUI attorneys near you with Combs Waterkotte near St. Louis County, 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
Work with a Top DUI Attorney Near Me in St. Louis County, MO | Combs Waterkotte
There is no time to waste. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Louis County, MO, you need to hire 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 St. Louis County, MO can defend you. Contact our St. Louis County, MO defense law firm now to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.
