DUI Attorney Near Me St. Clair, MO

DUI attorney near me in St. Clair, MO. No one enjoys being arrested, but it is important to understand that driving under the influence in St. Clair is treated as a serious offense in Missouri court. Whatever the details of your situation, when you are criminally charged for driving drunk or high, find an attorney you can trust to fight on your behalf and protect your future.

You deserve a talented defense attorney who has a track record of winning in St. Clair and Missouri. Depending on the circumstances, an astute St. Clair, MO DUI attorney near you will make the best of your situation. They 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 navigate the law and all legal proceedings for your St. Clair, MO DUI case. For dedicated, aggressive defense against injustice after you have been arrested of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, call Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP.

What is a DUI in St. Clair, MO?

Commonly referred to as a DUI (which stands for driving under the influence, the official nomenclature used in Missouri courts is 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 lays forth 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, you may need a DUI attorney near St. Clair, MO who will stand up on your behalf and help you navigate what can be an intimidating Missouri court process.

You could be arrested for a DWI in Missouri for a variety of reasons. The law prohibits 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 driving a vehicle while impaired by another psychoactive drug.

The DWI law in Missouri criminalizes not only drinking and driving, but also driving while impared by drugs or substances 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 were arrested for driving under the influence in Missouri, speak to a DUI attorney near you right away. Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is a skilled St. Clair-based DUI attorney near you, Chris Combs of Combs Waterkotte is responsive, experienced and skilled. For a trustworthy DUI attorney near you, call (314) 900-HELP.

Getting Stopped or Arrested for a DUI in St. Clair, MO

It is critical that you know your rights in the event that you are pulled over for driving under the influence. Reach out to Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP immediately to speak to a leading St. Clair, MO DUI attorney near you and understand your rights and what you should do if you are ever stopped when driving in Missouri. And if you were already subjected to being pulled over and arrested for driving drunk or high, our unstoppable St. Clair, MO defense attorneys will fight for your freedom and justice.

Become familiar with the rules and procedure for Missouri traffic stops, sobriety tests and sobriety checkpoints.

DUI Traffic Stops in St. Clair, MO

In order to pull someone over, a St. Clair, MO or any Missouri police officer must have reasonable suspicion. For a DWI, reasonable suspicion would be represented by behaviors like like drifting out of lane, going on a road going in the wrong direction and any other behaviors such as alternating extremes in speed, swerving or alternating between braking and accelerating.

A police officer must have reasonable suspicion that you were driving under the influence in order to stop you, and are required to satisfy the higher burden of probable cause before they can place you under arrest for a DWI.

If you feel that you were unlawfully stopped or arrested for your St. Clair, MO DWI, contact 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 intoxicated, a DUI attorney near St. Clair, MO can fight to get the prosecutor to dismiss your case so you can move forward in your life.

Sobriety Tests for DUIs in St. Clair, MO

If a law officer stops you under suspicion of intoxicated driving, they will want to obtain proof to show that you are under the influence. When it comes to roadside tests used by St. Clair, 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)
In St. Clair, MO stops for drunk driving or driving under the influence, chemical tests are often used as evidence to collect evidence 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 in place an implied consent law, pursuant to which, as a St. Clair, MO driver or driver anywhere in Missouri, you automatically consent to submit to chemical sobriety tests just by getting behind the wheel. A good DUI attorney near you will tell you that you can refuse to submit to a chemical test like a breathalyzer, but refusal can carry a criminal charge in itself. Still, the police cannot physically force you to produce a sample.

If you do take a breathalyzer test, consult an experienced St. Clair, MO DUI attorney near you to figure out your options and get the best quality defense in your case. As your DUI attorney near St. Clair, MO, Combs Waterkotte will investigate and scrutinize the details of your test to conclude if the breathalyzer or other test was administered lawfully and whether it should or should not be admissible in court.
Field Sobriety Tests
Field tests are subjective tests sometimes used during a DWI stop that attempt to gauge whether you are impaired through a series of demonstrative tasks. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has spelled out three standardized field tests police officers subject drivers to in St. Clair, 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
As a Missouri driver, you have the right 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. Clair, MO as soon as possible. If you have already agreed to and performed a field test and have been arrested for a DUI in Missouri, your DUI attorney in St. Clair, MO will design an unwavering 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. Clair, MO

A checkpoint is a roadblock temporarily set up on a roadway as a way to randomly check 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. Missouri legislators have discussed banning sobriety checkpoints, but curent Missouri law still allows their use.

Police departments in St. Clair and around Missouri do not use checkpoints as heavily as they did in the past, but it is still prudent to familiarize yourself with 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 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
clearly associated with law enforcement

In addition, there must be a legitimate 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 find yourself at a checkpoint in St. Clair, MO, call (314) 900-HELP to talk to a Combs Waterkotte DUI attorney near you immediately. Our determined St. Clair, MO attorneys will fearlessly defend you and protect your rights in the court of law. Contact us online to review your case with a compassionate and cunning DUI attorney near you today.

Get the best quality criminal defense available in St. Clair, MO through Combs Waterkotte. At Combs Waterkotte, a DUI attorney near you will protect you against the court and defend you when you have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in St. Clair or anywhere in Missouri. Our team of St. Clair, MO attorneys have expertise in a wide range of other kinds of cases, including:

Learn more about different kinds of DUI charges in Missouri and how Combs Waterkotte’s DUI attorneys in St. Clair, MO can defend you.

Hire a DUI Attorney Near Me in St. Clair, MO | Combs Waterkotte

Do yourself a favor and act now. If you were stopped or arrested for driving under the influence near St. Clair, 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 St. Clair, MO can protect you. Contact our St. Clair, MO defense law firm now to consult a lawyer about your rights, your case and your future.

St. Clair, MO