The flashing lights are behind you and your heart is pounding. What happens in the next twenty minutes can decide your case. Here's the play-by-play — and your rights at every step.
The officer needed a lawful reason to pull you over — a traffic violation, equipment issue, or observed erratic driving. Pull over safely, keep your hands visible, and provide your license, registration, and insurance. Be polite. Everything from this moment forward is being recorded.
"Have you had anything to drink tonight?" is not small talk — it's evidence collection. You are required to identify yourself. You are not required to answer questions about where you've been or what you've consumed. A polite "I'd prefer not to answer questions" is your legal right, and it cannot be used against you the way "just two beers" absolutely will be.
The walk-and-turn, one-leg stand, and eye-tracking (HGN) tests are voluntary in Missouri. You can respectfully decline them, and most defense lawyers will tell you these roadside gymnastics exist mainly to build probable cause against you — sober people fail them on dark, uneven shoulders all the time. Declining may still result in arrest, but it gives the State less to work with.
The roadside portable breath test is also generally refusable. But the evidentiary breath or blood test at the station is different. Under Missouri's implied consent law, refusing that test triggers a one-year license revocation, and you have a very short window to challenge it in court. There's no universal right answer on refusal — it depends on your record and situation — which is why the most important step is the next one.
In Missouri you have the right to attempt to contact an attorney before deciding on the chemical test — the police must give you 20 minutes to try. Use it. And remember the arrest starts two cases: the criminal charge and the license action, each with its own deadlines. Call or text 636.940.7771 from the station, from booking, or from your kitchen table at 3 a.m. We answer.
One more thing: posting bond gets you out. Mike Kielty keeps you out.
