Houston DWI Lawyers
- Bires & Schaffer:
A conviction for a first-time class B misdemeanor DWI in Texas can mean a significant fine and jail time up to six months. A conviction for a felony DWI can mean losing your freedom for up to two years. If you have been charged with DWI in Texas, you are not alone. Thousands of good, hard-working people will be charged with drunk driving this year. It seems that arresting people for driving while intoxicated has become a priority for police department throughout the state.
- James Alston:
Driving while intoxicated is a serious crime that can affect many aspects of your life. We all depend on driving as a means of living in society and being charged with DWI can have serious consequences. You can lose your license and driving privileges, experience higher insurance costs, suffer ongoing license penalties and not to mention the distinct possibility of criminal punishment.
You've seen the billboards and advertisements .. . "Drink, Drive . . . Go to Jail" . . This is not the law. You can drink alcohol and then drive; however, the law is that you can not drive while you are intoxicated. The prosecutor charging you with DWI must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were driving a motor vehicle and while under the influence of some intoxicating substance:
¥ You lost the normal use of your mental faculties, and/or
¥ You lost the normal use of your physical faculties, and/or
¥ You possessed a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 or greater.
If you are charged with DWI, the district attorney will prosecute you criminally AND the Texas Department of Public Safety will try to suspend your license. You have 15 days from the date of your arrest to file the required legal documents to request a hearing and fight the license suspension.
When charged with DWI or intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter you need a criminal defense attorney who knows the means and methods that prosecutors use to seek convictions in Driving While Intoxicated cases.
- R. Todd Bennett:
Driving While Intoxicated and Other Alcohol Related Offenses
Today, the stakes are much higher in alcohol related cases than they were in the past. Now, in addition to punishment that the defendant will receive from the court if he or she is convicted, the Texas Department of Public Safety will attempt to suspend his drivers license and they will impose an annual administrative financial penalty for three years on the defendant in order to renew his drivers license.
Range of Punishment:
- DWI - 1st offense: up to 180 days in jail
- DWI - 2nd offense: up to one year in jail
- DWI - 3rd offense: 2 years - 10 years in state prison
- Intoxication Assault: 2 years - 10 years in state prison
- Intoxication Manslaughter: 2 years - 20 years in state prison
Drivers License Suspension:
- DWI with Breath Test Failure: 90 days
- DWI with Breath Test Refusal: 180 days
- Suspensions may be longer if the defendant has prior alcohol related arrests during the 10 year period preceding the date of the defendantâs arrest for DWI
DPS Administrative Penalty:
- $1,000.00 per year for 3 years if convicted of 1st DWI
- $1,500.00 per year for 3 years if convicted of 2nd or subsequent DWI
- $2,000.00 per year for three years in breath or blood alcohol concentration was shown to be .16 or above
If you have been charged with DWI or some other alcohol related offense, think long and hard before you give up the fight. As you can see from the above summary, the collateral consequences to a DWI conviction are significant. All persons are presumed innocent and the prosecutor has the burden of proving the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to convict a person accused of DWI, the prosecutor must show that the person operated a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. Setting aside the legal issues for a moment, often the factual issue in dispute is whether the accused was actually intoxicated, as defined by the law, at the time he or she was operating the motor vehicle. Intoxicated means that the person has lost the normal use of his mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol or a drug into his body; or he has an alcohol concentration (from a breath or blood test) of .08 or more. To sustain a conviction for driving while intoxicated, the prosecutor has the burden of proving this beyond a reasonable doubt. What is normal for any one individual changes with who that individual is. Just because an accused can not stand on one leg does not make him intoxicated. Just because a police officer has the opinion that a person is intoxicated does not necessarily make it so. DWI cases are often very good cases to try. Know your rights, protect your rights.
- Clyde Burleson:
The 10 biggest mistakes most people make after being arrested for a DWI -- and how to avoid them
1. Assuming you will lose the case
Many people charged with DWI believe that they have no chance of
winning. Maybe they failed a breath test. Perhaps they think no one
will believe they were innocent because there was an open container of
alcohol in the car. The truth is that the case against you may not be
as solid as you think.
For example, did you know there are many factors that can affect the
accuracy of a breath test? Scientific testing has shown that work
conditions (such as volatile-chemical exposure), extensive dental work,
Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disorder (G.E.R.D.), air-bag deployment, and
even a simple fever can yield a “false high” breath-test result.
Additionally, breath tests must be performed under strict guidelines.
Failure to fully comply with those guidelines renders the results
questionable at best.
In other words, breath tests may be thrown out of Court or explained
away.
2. Not fighting the automatic suspension of your driver’s license
Under Texas law, you have 15 days from the date of your arrest to
request a hearing and fight to save your driver’s license. Failure to
ask for this hearing will result in the automatic suspension of your
driver’s license, as set out below.
Suspension Provisions for Adult Drivers
Without any prior alcohol or drug-related contacts against the accused
driver during the previous 10-year period, the periods of suspension
are as follows:
Age of Driver Refusal Penalty Trans. Code ¤724.035 Failure Penalty
Trans. Code ¤524.022
21 or older 180 days 90 days Prior alcohol or drug contact w/in 10
years 2 years 1 year NOTE: If the person who refuses to perform various
tests is a resident without a license, an order will be issued denying
the issuance of a license to the person for 180 days.
NOTE: the term “prior alcohol or drug contact,” as used to lengthen the
period of suspensions stated above, has been defined as “a driver’s
license suspension, disqualification, or prohibition order under the
laws of this State or any other state resulting from a conviction for
driving while intoxicated,” or “a refusal to provide a requested
specimen,” or “providing a specimen showing an alcohol concentration of
a level specified in ¤49.01 Texas Penal Code” (an alcohol concentration
of 0.08 or greater).
3. Not taking the matter very seriously
Being charged with DWI is serious. Not only will you be criminally
prosecuted, you also risk losing your driver’s license automatically
for failing to request your hearing in time. Further, you could be
facing probation, jail, and fines, in addition to surcharges applied by
the D.P.S. that could range from $3,000 to $6,000 over 3 years. See:
Driver's License Surcharges. And all that is on top of higher vehicle
insurance rates.
4. Not asking the lawyer about her/his DWI experience
DWI cases involve complex laws and highly technical scientific
evidence. You should ask how many DWI cases a lawyer handles per year.
You should also ask for the science behind the evidence to be explained
to you.
5. Talking to anyone but an experienced DWI lawyer about your case
Every case is different. Different facts involve different provisions
of the law. Friends and family may have had a similar experience, but
the DWI laws change so frequently and the penalties have increased so
severely, the options available to you may be entirely different from
those of others.
6. Driving while your license is suspended
Driving during any suspension is another crime which will result in
your arrest and a separate prosecution. Additionally, your license will
be suspended again if convicted of this crime.
7. Negotiating a quick plea bargain so that you can “put this case
behind you”
Accepting a plea, of any kind, is an admission of guilt and a complete
waiver of your constitutional rights. It could lead to jail time and
suspension of your license, which means you could lose your job, get
behind on bills, and face thousands of dollars in State fees just so
you can drive again. It could lead to probation, which means you will
have to attend classes, perform community service, report monthly to a
probation officer, and pay thousands of dollars in fines, Court costs,
and State fees. Probation is a serious disruption of your life. Worse
still, if you are caught violating your probation (example: testing
positive for alcohol or getting behind on your community service), your
probation can be revoked and you could be sentenced to jail.
8. Not arriving in Court on time
Harris County judges take their jobs seriously. They expect you to live
up to every term and condition of your bail bond. If you fail to appear
in Court on time, your bond can be forfeited, meaning you will lose the
entire amount of the bond and will be jailed until a new bond is posted
(more money spent) or until the time of your plea or trial.
9. Not hiring a DWI Lawyer
DWI law is not a simple criminal case. It involves civil law, criminal
law, administrative law, traffic law, and criminal procedure. You are
facing potential jail time and thousands of dollars in fines, Court
costs, and surcharges. Without a knowledgeable, experienced DWI lawyer
on your side, your ultimate fate is predictable. You will lose!
Qualified DWI lawyers can offer you the most choices for the best
disposition of your case.
10. Choosing an attorney based solely on cost
The State of Texas has charged you with DWI. Our state has almost
unlimited resources (attorneys, investigators, police, etc.) to
prosecute you. You should expect to pay your lawyer a fair fee based
upon his or her time devoted to your case, his or her experience, and
his or her reputation. If you choose the lowest price, you will
probably receive the lowest amount of attention and expertise. You
deserve the best possible defense. Don’t let money be an obstacle.
- Azzo & Azzo:
A person commits the criminal offense of Driving While Intoxicated ("DWI") in Texas if he/she:
1. Operates a motor vehicle;
2. In a public place;
3. While intoxicated.
Intoxicated means:
a. Not
having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the
introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous
drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other
substance into the body; or
b. Having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
There are similar laws which apply to operating an aircraft and watercraft while intoxicated. However, these types of DWI prosecutions are not common in Harris County, Texas.
There were 10,771 new misdemeanor and felony DWI cases filed in Harris County, Texas, from January 1 to December 31, 2003. DWIs represent approximatel 18% of all new misdemeanors filed in the fifteen Harris County misdemeanor courts in 2003.
Misdemeanor
DWI cases are prosecuted in County Court, and a sentence resulting in
confinement would be served in the county jail. Felony
DWI cases are prosecuted in District Court, and a sentence resulting in
confinement would be served in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Institutional Division (prison).
Texas law provides that a person with no prior convictions, who is convicted of DWI, shall be confined for no less than 3 days and no more than 180 days in the county jail. In addition to the jail time, a fine not to exceed $2,000.00 may be assessed.
Prosecutors
may allege an enhancement paragraph to increase the minimum and maximum
punishment of a person previously convicted of DWI. A person convicted of a second DWI case faces a minimum sentence of 30 days and a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and a fine not to exceed $4,000.00. A
third DWI conviction is punishable by not less than two nor more than
ten years in prison, and a fine not to exceed $10,000.00.
In
addition to enhancements using prior DWI conviction(s), there are
general provisions within the Texas statutes that govern when and how
cases may be enhanced. There are also rules which allow the sentence to be probated as an alternative to incarceration. However, Deferred Adjudication is not legally available in DWI cases.
A person convicted of causing serious bodily injury resulting from DWI (first offender) faces a sentence of not less than two nor more than ten years in prison, and a fine not to exceed $10,000.00.
A person who causes the death of another due to DWI commits the offense of "intoxication manslaughter." This offense is punishable by a prison sentence of no less than two nor more than twenty years and a fine not to exceed $10,000.00 for each death caused in an incident. This punishment may also be enhanced with certain prior convictions.
In
addition to the above described punishments, there is also a
significant impact on the alleged offender's privilege to operate a
motor vehicle. This impact comes in the
form of an administrative license suspension as well as a possible
suspension if the individual is convicted of DWI.
Administrative - Texas law
provides that anyone legally arrested for DWI who refuses to submit to
a breath, blood, or urine test (if offered) shall have his/her license
suspended for a minimum of 180 days. Anyone
who submits to a test and the results show an alcohol content above the
legal limit (0.08) at the time of the alleged offense, shall have his
license suspended for a minimum of 90 days. An administrative suspension is applicable even if the DWI case is dismissed.
Criminal
- Texas law also provides that a person's driving privilege may be
suspended following a conviction for the criminal offense of DWI. Under certain circumstances, the suspension is mandatory.
License
suspensions are cumulative. Even after the suspension period expires,
the individual may not legally operate a motor vehicle unless the Texas
Department of Public Safety has reinstated the privilege to operate a
motor vehicle. Suspension rules for those previously arrested for or
convicted of DWI and minors (under 21 years of age) are more stringent.
In many instances, defendants convicted of DWI who have no prior criminal history are eligible for and do receive probation. However,
probation eligibility does not guarantee that a sentence will be
probated. The granting of probation to eligible of probation to
eligible defendants is within the sole discretion of the fact finder
(judge or jury) assessing punishment.
When
probation is granted by the jury or judge, several requirements will be
set as conditions of probation. Probation conditions are always set by
the judge no matter who assesses punishment. DWI probation conditions may include but are not limited to the following:
1. Jail time;
2. Testing for drug and alcohol dependency;
3. Drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment;
4. License suspension (jury has input);
5. DWI course;
6. Ignition interlock - requires the defendant to breath into a
device. If alcohol is detected, the vehicle cannot
be operated;
7. Commit no offense;
8. Avoid injurious habits;
9. Avoid disreputable or harmful people;
10. Report to a probation officer;
11. Travel restrictions;
12. Community service;
13. Pay fine, court costs, and other fees;
14. Pay restitution; and
15. Many other resonable conditions as the judge may see fit to
apply.
DWI is dangerous to the intoxicated driver and those whom he/she may encounter on the road. Furthermore, it presents a complicated and expensive odyssey through the justice system.
It
would be prudent to plan ahead and discuss your options with your
lawyer to determine what you might do in the event you are ever stopped
for, accused of, or charged with DWI. Anyone who drives home after having cocktails, beer, or wine can be accused of DWI by a police officer. Consult with your attorney immediately if you are ever charged with the criminal offense of DWI.
The
best and safest policy is not to drive after consuming alcohol,
medication, or any other substance that may affect the normal use of
your mental or physical faculties.
- Baxley Law Office: IF YOU ARE STOPPED FOR DRUNK DRIVING:
Want to be convicted of DWI even though you may not be intoxicated? If
so, take the police officers tests. Want to know the real truth about
these tests? Want to protect yourself? Read on.
"Field sobriety testing" (or FSTs) as practiced by police in Texas is
not an effective way to tell if someone is intoxicated. It may surprise
you to learn there are no conclusive studies linking the results of any
field test to legal intoxication. And there are many reasons someone
may not perform these tests well even when sober.
- Ned Barnett:
Driving While Intoxicated
First Offense:
- up to a $2,000 fine
- 72 hours to 180 days in jail
- driver's license suspension: 90 days to 1 year
PROBATION:
Most people convicted of a first offense DWI do not serve any jail
time. They are technically sentenced to jail, but the jail sentence is
suspended and they are put on probation (community supervision). The
probation is generally for a term of one to two years. While on
probation you must do what the judge orders you to do. These orders are
called conditions of probation. If you do not do what the judge has
ordered you to do (the conditions) then the judge has the option of
revoking your probation and putting you in jail for any number of days
up to the original jail sentence you received that was suspended.
The judge can order any reasonable condition on your probation. The typical conditions of probation are as follows:
- Do not violate the law.
- Report to your probation officer. (This is usually once a month.)
- Pay your fine, court costs and monthly probation fees.
- Do
your community service. For a first offense DWI you must do between 24
and 80 hours community service. The type of community service varies.
- You can not drink alcohol.
- You must attend DWI Education classes.
- You
must attend what is called a Victim Impact Panel. This is presented by
M.A.D.D. It is designed to educate on the dangers of DWI.
- Get
a drug and alcohol evaluation. (If the evaluation reveals you have a
problem with drugs or alcohol then treatment of the problem will be
ordered.)
- Maintain a job.
{These are the most common conditions that are imposed on a person placed on probation on a DWI first offense}
- Brennan & Johnson: Suspensions can be ordered
administratively by Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS). These
suspensions occur when you refuse to take a breathalyzer test or fail a
breathalyzer test after being stopped for DWI. Suspensions can also
occur as part of the sentence in a criminal conviction for DWI. If the
source for a suspension is the criminal court conviction, then you may
be able to petition for an Occupational License in order to drive in
essential need situations. This petition must be filed with the court
in which you were convicted. If the suspension was a result of the
administrative TDPS process , you must file your petition for an
occupational license in a civil county court. In both cases, you must
prove an essential need to drive during specific times of specific
days.
Driving while your license is suspended or during a time not allowed
under an occupational license are separate offenses and carry their own
automatic suspension time.
You can contest an administrative suspension by requesting in writing a
hearing within a set amount of time. If you need an occupational
license or want to contest a license suspension, call us to see if you
qualify.
- Bailey, Galyen & Gold:
Traffic violations can have serious criminal consequences, particularly when a
driver is accused of driving under the influence. A conviction on DUI or DWI
charges will result in fines, the revocation or suspension of your driverÕs
license, and possible jail time. A conviction on even minor moving violations
may cause your insurance company to increase your rates to an unmanageable
level. In defending against an impaired driving charge, you have many rights,
including the right to cross-examine the witnesses against you, even if they
are police officers. An experienced defense attorney can make all the
difference in such a difficult case.
- John Armstrong:
You have fifteen (15) days after a police officer, in Texas, arrests you for
Driving While Intoxicated in which to request an Administrative License
Revocation Hearing (ALR) from the Texas Department of Public Safety in order to
try to save your driving privileges. If you do not request a hearing within the
fifteen (15) day time period your driver's license will be suspended on the
fortieth (40th) day following your arrest.
- Steve Baxley:
Want to be convicted of DWI even though you may not be intoxicated? If so, take
the police officer's tests. Want to know the real truth about these tests? Want
to protect yourself? Read on.
"Field sobriety testing" (or FSTs) as practiced by police in Texas is not an
effective way to tell if someone is intoxicated. It may surprise you to learn
there are no conclusive studies linking the results of any field test to legal
intoxication. And there are many reasons someone may not perform these tests
well even when sober.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), police, and
prosecutors claim three tests available to officers are scientifically
legitimate. These tests are: * The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test
* The Walk and Turn Test
* The One Leg Stand Test
The truth is these tests are questionable and are often inaccurate indicators
of intoxication. Make sure you get an experienced criminal trial attorney that
can show the true weaknesses of these tests.
Often, however, Texas police officers will use other tests. Without exception,
all other tests are not validated in any official way. Some of the more common
tests officers may use include the Finger-to-Nose Test, the Rhomberg Balance
Test, counting or saying the ABCs backwards, counting fingers, or playing
"patty cake" often will have no correlation to whether someone is legally
intoxicated.
You have the absolute right to refuse to perform any field sobriety test. If
you take the tests, the officer opinion of your performance will be used when
the prosecutor tries to convict you. Some times people feel that if you go
along with the officer he may not arrest you. But remember the officer already
suspects you are intoxicated and, in all likelihood, will arrest you even if
you take the tests.
Contrary to common misunderstanding, refusing perform the field tests will not
cause your drivers license to be suspended (unless you are on probation and/or
have another case pending in which a Judge has ordered you not to refuse to
take the tests). One major drawback if you refuse the tests is that at trial
the prosecutor will try to make the Jury believe that you didn't take the tests
because you knew you were intoxicated and would fail them. Also, if you refuse
the officer will probably arrest you right away. But usually, this just speeds
up the inevitable.
- David Breston:
If you take the breath test and the machine registers over .08 breath alcohol
concentration, DPS will attempt to suspend your license for 90 days for a first
DWI arrest.
If you refuse to take the breath test after having been arrested for a DWI,
then the DPS will attempt to suspend your license for 180 days.
Of course, you have the right to request an administrative hearing and try to
challenge the Driver license suspension. You must request that hearing within
15 days of your request or you have waived your right to that hearing. If you
do not request the hearing within 15 days then your license will automatically
be suspended 40 days after you were arrested.
- Charles Brown:
All persons are presumed innocent and may not be convicted of an offense unless
each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact
he/she has been arrested, confined, or indicted, or otherwise charged with the
offense gives rise to no inference of guilt at trial.
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