Posted on September 09, 2022 in Uncategorized

Sometimes, a car crash can end tragically, especially if the driver attempts to evade the police. A recent deadly crash demonstrates how police chases can sometimes end.

Police Chase in North Houston

The chase began when police attempted to pull over a car driving without headlights, suspecting the driver might be impaired. According to officers, the car initially slowed down but then sped off, trying to avoid the stop, and lost the police. When police caught up to the driver, he had crashed into a pole on West Montgomery Road off Ella Boulevard. Fortunately, there were no passengers, but the driver was deceased.

DWI in Texas

Driving while intoxicated in Texas means that you:

• No longer have the normal use of your mental or physical faculties, or
• You have a blood alcohol content over the legal limit of.08%, or.04% if you are driving a commercial vehicle with a commercial driver's license.

But a DWI in Texas doesn't require that you have a BAC over the legal limit. The police can also arrest you if they believe you no longer have your normal mental or physical faculties while driving. This is a highly subjective standard and can lead to an arrest simply based on your performance during questioning and road sobriety tests. There are many reasons you might fail a field sobriety test that aren't related to alcohol consumption. If you have a medical condition, are disabled or elderly, have poor balance or coordination, or have a speech or hearing impediment, the police can wrongly interpret your behavior as evidence of intoxication.

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 Posted on September 09, 2022 in Uncategorized

Attorney Doug. Murphy recently received the 2023 Lawyer of the Year for DWI Defense recognition by Best Lawyers. This prominent award from U.S. News & World Report is based entirely on peer review surveys of the quality of legal services provided by each lawyer. Best Lawyers has recognized Doug every year since 2013.

Lawyer of the Year Selection Process

Best Lawyers has used the same transparent methodology, incorporating a rigorous peer review process, for more than 40 years. Best Lawyers designed the process to capture the consensus opinions about the professional abilities of top lawyers in each area and each area of the law. This prestigious award is based solely on peer reviews from fellow attorneys.

• Lawyer of the Year Nominations

While any lawyer can nominate another lawyer for Lawyer of the Year recognition, only attorneys in private practice are eligible for the award. Corporate attorneys are not eligible, and lawyers may not nominate themselves. The primary sources of nominations are typically clients, other lawyers, and marketing teams, but the number of nominations an attorney receives will not affect the results.

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 Posted on March 03, 2022 in Uncategorized

If the police arrest you for a DWI, you have rights. We've all seen the legal dramas, and we know that we're innocent until proven guilty. As a result, you may assume that the police and prosecutors will treat you as innocent accordingly. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. On Thanksgiving day, UFC welterweight Geoff Neal was arrested for DWI, demonstrating the due process that everyone should receive after an arrest.

Arrest for DWI and Weapons Charges

Police arrested Neal in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving for DWI ad unlawfully carrying a weapon in Texas. Neal's attorney stated that he volunteered for a blood test at the time of his arrest, and they believe the results will exonerate him. The results could take anywhere from six weeks to six months to come back. His attorney wasn't aware of the probable cause for the arrest because police had not yet released the arrest report to him.

The prosecutors won't produce a case file until those results come back. His attorney also explained that Neal was legally carrying a licensed weapon in his car and was only charged because it is illegal to have a firearm in your possession while committing a crime. Prosecutors will drop the weapons charge if his BAC is below.08%.

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 Posted on March 03, 2022 in Uncategorized

If you're a professional driver, you undoubtedly understand the importance of safety on the road. You also know that your employer, and the people of Texas, trust you to keep your passengers and others on the road as safe as possible. If the police suspect you of breaking that trust and drinking while driving, the consequences can be serious. That's what a professional ambulance driver in Georgia recently discovered.

DWI Ambulance Crash

On November 12, an ambulance left the road and rolled over into a ditch about 20 miles outside Atlanta. According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the accident killed a 66-year-old unrestrained passenger who was riding in the back. The driver, suspected of driving while drinking, faces charges of driving with an open container, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, and "DUI combination less safe," which allows Georgia police to charge someone driving under the legal BAC limit but is driving "less safe." The ambulance driver would likely face similar charges if this had happened in Texas.

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 Posted on March 03, 2022 in Uncategorized

It's always frightening when the police pull you over for a suspected DWI, but if you have kids in the car, it can be even more serious. Did you know that a DWI with kids in the car can also result in felony charges? That's what a Harris County man recently discovered.

Driving Erratically with Kids

According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, in the early morning hours of November 21, 2021, a DWI unit observed a man driving a white pickup truck erratically. When police attempted to stop the man, he refused, leading deputies on a 12-mile chase, reaching up to 100 mph.

Police said the man eventually stopped the truck and left the vehicle with an infant in his arms. There were four children in the car during the pursuit, including the infant. The oldest of the children was 8. The sheriff's office reported that deputies did not realize children were in the car until after the man stopped. None of the children were injured, but the man faces several felony charges, including child endangerment, evading in a motor vehicle, and possibly driving while intoxicated.

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 Posted on February 02, 2022 in Uncategorized

It's happened to many of us. You go out with friends for a night on the town. You have a few drinks, and you decide to take a nap in your car before heading home to make sure you're safe to drive. But then a police car pulls up behind your parked car, and the officer knocks on your window. Uh oh. But did you know that sleeping in your car while intoxicated can result in a DWI charge? A prominent business owner in Young County, Texas, recently faced this situation.

DWI Passed Out in a Car

Before Thanksgiving, police were dispatched to a suspicious car in Wichita Falls. Police allegedly discovered the man passed out in the driver's side of a black Tahoe. He woke up, and police reported he was "incoherent" when police told him to exit the vehicle. The police reported in the probable cause warrant that he struggled to get out of the car, held on to the door while getting out, and then stumbled when his foot hit the ground.

Reportedly he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and failed to complete a field sobriety test on a gravel road. When the police told him they were checking his eyes for signs of insobriety, he said, "not on a gravel road." He then refused to tell police whether he was refusing to complete a field sobriety test, and the police arrested him. He refused BAC testing, so police transported him to an emergency room and obtained a warrant. Police charged him with DWI, second offense.

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 Posted on February 02, 2022 in Uncategorized

When you're facing a possible arrest for a DWI stop, you may be panicked and unsure how to act or what to say. But it's important to remember that an arrest for a DWI does not mean a court will convict you. You are innocent until proven guilty, and you can't panic or appear uncooperative to the police. If you do, you could get hurt. The family of a Houston-area man is now grieving after their son's arrest interaction with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

On October 10, 2021, a Houston man was involved in a single-car accident. When the police arrived on the scene, they arrested him for an open Justice of the Peace Warrant – he had an unpaid fine of $279.70 for failure to appear in court for not having a driver's license. After police handcuffed him and placed him in the vehicle, police allege he was uncooperative, and they tased him with a "drive skin." In a "drive skin," police place electrodes directly on the body and then use the taser. According to his attorney, "they send 50,000 volts directly into your body. He received that kind of treatment after he had been handcuffed after he was placed in the police vehicle."

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 Posted on February 02, 2022 in Uncategorized

An arrest for a DWI is a frightening experience. You may be unsure what's happened or why you're facing an arrest when you don't believe you were drunk. Plus, you don't know what will happen next or the consequences if a court convicts you. Even worse, you can end up in jail overnight or until the court decides to release you on bail or bond. Unfortunately, the horrible things we've all heard about what can happen in lock-up can be true, as a Texas man recently discovered while in Harris County detention after a DWI arrest.

Attacked in Harris County Lock Up

On November 29, 2021, police arrested the man for DWI with a child in the car, a state jail felony. After feeling unsafe in his unit, police moved him to a holding center but moved him back at 3 pm. When he said he felt unsafe after other inmates were throwing gang signs, guards refused to move him, even after saying he would "pleasure himself" in the cell if they didn't. When he proceeded to do so, other inmates asked the guard if they should jump the man. The guard reportedly replied, "Hurry up. I'm about to get off work."

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 Posted on February 02, 2022 in Uncategorized

When serving in the military in Texas, you're probably more concerned with injuries during a deployment or in the field than getting arrested for drunk driving. But for National Guard troops recently stationed at the U.S.-Mexican border, DWI charges turned out to be a big concern.

National Guard Arrests on the Border

According to a recent investigation from the Army Times:

Leaders initiated more than 1,200 legal actions, including nonjudicial punishments, property loss investigations, Army Regulation 15-6 investigations, and more. That's nearly one legal action for every three soldiers. At least 16 soldiers from the mission were arrested or confined for charges including drugs, sexual assault and manslaughter. During the same time period, only three soldiers in Kuwait, a comparable deployment locale with more soldiers, were arraigned for court-martial.

Soldiers also faced more than three times as many car accidents as usual, including 500 incidents involving $630,000 in damages. Troops also faced three deaths, including one soldier who died in a suspected DUI. Alcohol-related incidents reportedly became so bad that senior leaders issued breathalyzers.

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 Posted on February 02, 2022 in Uncategorized

When you see those blue lights flashing behind you, it can be frightening, particularly if you've had a drink or two and you worry that the police may think you're intoxicated. But it's always best to pull over. Continuing to drive, making the police think you're trying to flee the jurisdiction, will never end well, and it could get you in even more trouble. A Shelbyville man recently discovered how dangerous it could be when you attempt to flee the police from one jurisdiction into another.

Flight from Shelby County to St. Augustine County

According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, on November 30, 2021, police spotted the 32-year-old man when they went to a Shelby residence for a welfare check. The police knew he had an outstanding warrant and followed as he attempted to flee in a car across a ditch. The man then led police on a chase through Shelby County. As he approached the St. Augustine County line, an officer from that county's sheriff's department did a PIT maneuver, bringing the chase to an end. Police then took him into custody, and he now faces charges of:

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