Texas DWI Law

DWI Laws Are Quite Complex. If You Are Arrested for DWI, You Need an Experienced Lawyer to Represent You in Court.

DWI-related laws in Texas are intricate and require a detailed and comprehensive understanding. Consequences of a DWI arrest or conviction are contained in a patchwork of laws spanning several different codes in Texas law.

Thousands of regular people are arrested each year in Central Texas for DWI and other offenses involving allegations of intoxicated driving. DWI is different from most offenses because alcohol is legal for adults to possess and consume, and drinking then driving is not a crime (for those 21 and over). Rather, it becomes a criminal offense only if a person drives while intoxicated. A police officer will be the one who decides whether to arrest and charge a person for being intoxicated based on that officer’s perception of the person’s appearance and performance on field sobriety tests.

A DWI (in some states it is called DUI or Driving Under the Influence) charge is serious. Every day innocent people are arrested for the offense of DWI. Many non-intoxicated people are caught in the net of “zero tolerance” policies and are sent to jail and charged with DWI. Responsible drinkers are arrested every day for DWI, and the consequences of a DWI conviction can be severe. The list of occupations and professional licenses that can be adversely affected by a DWI conviction is expanding.

Punishment for a first-time DWI conviction is a minimum of 72 hours and up to 180 days in jail. A second DWI is punishable by up to a year in jail, and a third DWI will result in a felony charge. A DWI with a child under 15 years of age in the car is also a felony. Even if a person is placed on community supervision (probation) for DWI, it results in a conviction. And, a conviction stays on the person’s criminal history forever.

Further, the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) imposes a “surcharge” on a DWI conviction that costs at least $1000 per year for three years.

The DPS will also seek to suspend a person’s driver’s license in a separate proceeding called an Administrative License Revocation (“ALR”). If a person refuses a breath test or blood test after being arrested, the DPS will seek a driver’s license suspension of at least 180 days. If a person submits to a breath or blood test, and the results of the test show an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater, the DPS will seek a suspension of at least 90 days.

A PERSON USUALLY HAS ONLY 15 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF ARREST TO REQUEST A HEARING ON THE PROPOSED LICENSE SUSPENSION.

Mr. Grant believes it is important to request a hearing and requests a hearing on behalf of every client arrested for an alcohol-related driving offense.

Why Would Somebody Who is Not Guilty of DWI Refuse a Breath or Blood Test?

In Texas, a person generally must be under arrest before a police officer may properly ask for a breath or blood test. So, the police officer’s mind has already been made up; he decided to arrest you for DWI and placed you under arrest for DWI. He is then permitted to ask for a breath and/or blood sample. The law provides that a person may refuse a test. Many non-intoxicated people reason that it is in their best interest to refuse a test. First, the police officer has already made up his mind that the person is intoxicated. Second, the breath test machine is not fail proof and has been known to render inaccurate results. “Why would I put my future in the hands of a machine that might not be accurate?” Third, a person is under arrest when asked to provide a breath or blood sample. That is generally not going to change, even if the person blows under 0.08. In fact, it can be improper for a police officer to say or imply that he will let you go without charges if you blow under the limit. Fourth, most people are quite leery of jail conditions and would rather not be stuck with a needle in the unsterile and perhaps squalid conditions of a jail. Many non-impaired people reason through the situation something like this: “I am under arrest. The police officer has already made up his mind that I am intoxicated; he is not going to let me go, even if I blow under the limit. Why would I trust a possibly inaccurate machine if the results will only be used against me?”

The Intoxilyzer (often called a “breathalyzer”)

After being arrested for a DWI or another driving offense involving alleged intoxication, many people choose to provide a breath sample to show that they are not intoxicated. The problem is that the Intoxilyzer 5000 machine used in Texas does not always provide an accurate and trustworthy measurement of the amount of alcohol in a person’s blood. Falsely high results are not uncommon. The Intoxilyzer 5000 is a sensitive machine, and many internal and external factors can influence its computation of a supposed alcohol concentration in a person’s blood. If you provided a specimen of breath, and the results seem high, you should hire a lawyer like Charlie Grant who understands the scientific theories and weaknesses of the device and has successfully fought and won breath test cases. (You can even purchase your own Intoxilyzer 5000 from online markets such as ebay, but it will be only for show because its results are not admissible in court and the government keeps secret the software that operates its machines.)

Forced Blood Draws

Frighteningly, forced blood draws have arrived. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo has announced a new brazen unilateral policy. If a person is arrested for DWI and refuses a breath or blood test, the arresting officer, with the cooperation of the City of Austin Municipal Judges (their salaries and those of the police are paid by the same City of Austin), will obtain a search warrant, strap a person down, and stick a needle in her arm in the jail to extract blood. This new level of Governmental intrusion directly contradicts the will of the Texas Legislature which has consistently ruled that a person has a right to refuse a breath or blood test after being arrested for DWI. (If serious bodily injury or death has resulted from alleged intoxicated driving, the law provides that blood may be forcibly taken from a person who refuses a breath or blood test, but for a DWI, the Legislature has been clear that a person may refuse under penalty of a possible license suspension.)

The police and activist judges have contravened the law passed by the Legislature. Cases involving overreaching police must be vigorously attacked by an aggressive, intelligent lawyer.