Posted on July 24,2020 in DWI

What is the definition of "Driving While Intoxicated"?

So in Texas DWI is an acronym for "Driving While Intoxicated." Now we've all heard the phrase don't drink and drive. Believe it or not, that's not actually the law. There's a lot of phrases people use like being hammered, being drunk, being tipsy that actually have no legal meaning. In Texas, the key term is intoxication. The law says you cannot be intoxicated and drive a vehicle on a public roadway.

What are the definitions of intoxication in Texas?

So in Texas intoxication has three distinct definitions. The first is the loss of your mental faculties, the second is the loss of the normal use of your physical faculties, and the third is having a blood-alcohol concentration above 0.08.

Can I go to jail for a DWI charge?

So you can certainly go to jail for DWI in Texas. Even a DWI first carries a punishment range up to 180 days in the county jail. Obviously, as you progress, DWI second, a DWI third the punishment ranges get more severe and the possibility of going to jail becomes very much more real.

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in DWI

So, this is not the time to be looking at general practitioners or family law lawyers that do a little criminal defense on the side. DWI law is incredibly complicated and constantly changing. You're going to want to look at people who specialize in criminal offense and who specialize in DWI defense. You're going to want to look at reviews, awards, more specifically you're going to want to look for people who used to be DWI prosecutors. People who are used to working on the other side of the table, people who used to work with police officers and judges in prosecuting DWI cases.

How long do I have to get my DWI taken care of?

Expect to move quickly. You have 15 days following your DWI arrest to challenge your license suspension. What this practically means is that if you want to continue driving, you need to move quickly in hiring that DWI or criminal defense attorney. A good DWI lawyer will start working on your case immediately, both in crafting a defense as well as devising a plan to keep you driving.

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in DWI

What is the difference between DWI and DWI with a child passenger?

So the Texas Legislature has continually added additional and stricter DWI offenses. In 2003 they added DWI with a child passenger and they enhanced the punishment range on this offense from a traditional misdemeanor offense to a state jail facility offense. Now a state jail offense in the state of Texas is punishable by up to two years in the state jail facility, with a minimum confinement of 180 days and up to a ten thousand dollar fine. It's important to note with this offense that it doesn't matter if the child is a member of your family, it doesn't matter if anybody was hurt or injured, the allegation alone that you had a child under the age of 15 in your vehicle, and you were alleged to be intoxicated is enough to support this felony offense.

What are other complications involved with DWI with a child passenger?

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in DWI

An immediate concern for a lot of people following a DWI arrest is how am I going to continue to drive. I've got to go to work; I've got to take my kids to school; I need to run errands and go to the grocery store. For people who find themselves in this kind of situation, oftentimes, an occupational driver's license is the perfect solution. An Occupational driver's license is simply a court-ordered driver's license that allows you to drive during your suspension. These occupational drivers licenses aren't good for up to two years which is usually enough time to serve out your suspension as well as reobtain your regular Class-C Texas driver's license.

What are the benefits of an occupational license?

So the good news is that Texas has really loosened the restrictions regarding occupational driver's licenses. You can now quickly obtain one that will allow you to drive for work, school, run day to day errands like going to the grocery store. Additionally, these occupational driver's licenses can now be used in multiple counties. So if you need to travel for work, you can also use one of these for that.

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in Criminal Defense

An order of nondisclosure is the legal mechanism we use to seal the records of an arrest and the court proceedings following a special kind of probation called "Deferred Adjudication." People sometimes are surprised to find out that they're arrested for a crime, they go to court, their attorney does a good job and they receive deferred adjudication. They successfully complete all the terms of their probation and they get their case dismissed. Then, later in life, during a routine background check for a job or for a house, the records of the arrest and the court proceedings still pop up, and this is because they have not taken the affirmative step of obtaining an order of nondisclosure to seal all those records from private background checks.

What does an order for nondisclosure do?

So what an order of nondisclosure does is, it's gonna seal the records of your arrest and court proceedings from all private background checks. So if you're in San Antonio and you're applying for a job at HEB or Valero and they run that background check on you, it's not going to pop up at all. This is much better than having to go into your job interview and explain that -- yes you were arrested, you completed your probation, and the case was dismissed. With an order of non-disclosure, you won't have to mention the arrest at all.

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in DWI

So generally in Texas, we think of driving while intoxicated cases as misdemeanors, and they usually are. However, there are two circumstances in which a DWI may be filed as a felony offense. The first can happen to anyone, whether you've never been in trouble for, whether you have never been arrested, whether you've never had a DWI, and that is DWI with a child passenger. Now, this is a situation in which an individual is charged with DWI with the additional factor of having a child under the age of 15 in the vehicle at the time of the offense. This is going to be a state jail felony and in Texas, state jail felonies can carry up to two years in the state jail facility with a minimum confinement of 180 days, and up to a ten thousand dollar fine.

Additional Felony DWI offenses

So the second time we see driving while intoxicated cases filed as felonies is on a third offense or more. So this is a situation in which somebody has two prior DWI convictions at the time of the DWI third arrest. Now, in Texas, DWI thirds are treated as felonies and they're treated very seriously. A third degree felony punishable by between two and ten years in prison, and up to a $10,000 dollar fine. Now, the judge and the prosecutor are going to take a special interest in your case if you have a DWI third. They're going to see it not as a one-time mistake but signs that an individual has a habitual problem with alcohol.

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 Posted on July 24,2020 in Criminal Defense

An Expunction is a legal mechanism we use to completely destroy and erase any records of an arrest and a legal prosecution. We use it following a not guilty verdict or a complete dismissal of charges by the state of Texas. Simply put, with an expunction all records are completely destroyed and you are put back like the arrest simply had never occurred; not the FBI, not the government, not the police are gonna have access to the records of your arrest in court proceedings. 

If found not guilty, can professionals still see my case?

We've seen it so many times over the years where somebody is arrested for a crime. They go to court and the charges are dropped; the case is dismissed. They simply are not guilty. Years later, during a routine background check for a job or for a housing application, the arrest and the court proceedings pop up and cause them difficulties. The truth is unless you take that affirmative step of getting an order of expunction, it's still gonna pop up on criminal background checks. 

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 Posted on July 23,2020 in Juvenile Law

The initial hearing in a juvenile case is called the detention hearing. It's the first time you'll see your child in court and the first time your judge will have an opportunity to speak with you, your attorney and your child.

What determines my child's release?

So the judge in the hearings can do two things. The first is they're gonna make a probable cause finding based on testimony from the probation office, police reports, videos, pictures to make that determination as to whether or not there's reason to believe your child committed a crime. If they do make that finding, they'll be on to the second part of the hearing which is the big part -- the release or detain determination. In that decision-making process, the judge willl look to the Texas Family Code which lays out a criteria in which children should be released and when they should be detained.

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 Posted on July 23,2020 in DWI

So in Texas we have a few different variations of the DWI statute. We have a DWI 1st, we also have a DWI 2nd, and then a DWI 3rd statute if you've been previously convicted of a DWI. We have a DWI open container, which is the offense if you have a can of beer or other opened container of alcohol in the vehicle with you. We have a DWI with a child passenger under the age of 15, as well as a DWI reserved for if you have a blood-alcohol concentration that is double the legal limit.

Which DWI charge is considered to be worse?

So generally speaking, just like any other crimes, felonies are treated more seriously than misdemeanors. In DWI statutes felonies are going to be things like DWI 3rd or more as well as DWI with a child passenger, as well as anything involving a DWI and injury to another driver.

Should I plead guilty if charged with a DWI?

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 Posted on July 23,2020 in Criminal Defense

So running from the police in Texas is called "Evading Arrest," and you can absolutely get arrested for it. If an officer is attempting to lawfully detain or arrest you and you take off you can be subject to this crime. By way of a quick example, we sometimes see this charge when people are being pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Instead of pulling over they decide to gun it or take off. Now in addition to what would otherwise be a minor traffic violation, you'll pick up an evading arrest charge.

How much trouble can I get into if I run from the Police?

So it depends. If you run on foot, that's generally a misdemeanor charge. However, if you run in a vehicle or a car, you can pick up a felony charge. If you run on foot and then you decide to jump into a vehicle, you'll pick up a felony charge. Worst thing that can possibly happen is during the chase, whether on foot or whether in a vehicle, the officer hurts himself. We've definitely seen situations where an officer is chasing down an individual, sprains his ankle or hurts himself on a chain-link fence, all of a sudden you have a very serious felony charge on your hands.

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