Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

How, you might wonder, could a polite little offer of consideration hurt? The answer is plenty, when the intent is to convince an officer making a vehicle stop to forgo a DWI charge. Don't add a daunting bribery charge to a manageable DWI violation. Don't make things go from winnable to potentially worse.

This December 2020 media account of an Alamo resident's alleged actions supplies our instructional example. According to the report, a McAllen police officer wrote in his probable-cause affidavit that he stopped the Alamo resident's vehicle along McAllen's Houston Avenue and confronted him outside the vehicle after the vehicle sped through two red lights. The report alleges the officer smelled alcohol on the vehicle operator whose slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and admission of a little drinking led the officer to an open alcohol container in the vehicle.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

Every year has its big DWI stories, and the year 2020 has been no exception. The pandemic seems to lead almost every 2020 headline, and DWI coverage is no exception. But 2020 has had its share of other big DWI stories. In this blog series, we will review what 2020's top Texas DWI stories can teach us about defending DWI charges.

The Pandemic Shuffles DWI Trends

Wow, what a difference a global pandemic can make. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic turned upside down industry after industry and trend after trend. Cruise ships, airlines, theaters, resorts, and restaurants shut down in droves, trashing those industries. By contrast, online retailers, video-conferencing services, delivery services, and a lot of big tech companies had solid if not banner years. And the stock market miraculously bounced back to records.

Big pandemic-driven economic patterns influenced these and other industry dynamics. For instance, the pandemic ended the longest U.S. economic expansion on record, longer than a decade. The pandemic produced the largest U.S. economic quarterly contraction on record, shrinking the economy by 9.1%. For perspective, that economic contraction was three times larger than the previous largest contraction. The U.S. lost over 20-million jobs in the contraction. Household spending plummeted but over the summer regained its lost ground.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

The prior 2020 Texas big DWI story addressed the concerning spread of a new but unreliable oral-fluid technology from which to infer blood-alcohol levels. Nationally recognized DWI specialist Doug Murphy stays on top of these trends to ensure that those charged with DWI offenses have the best representation. Consider here another 2020 Texas-DWI development affecting how Texas authorities process DWI charges.

The year 2020 in Texas marked something of a DWI watershed as the first full year of DWI deferred adjudications. In 2019, the Texas legislature adopted HB 3582 opening a longstanding Texas deferred-adjudication program to certain DWI offenders. Texas courts hearing DWI charges may now hold certain first-time DWI offenders' confession to the charge, allowing the offender to complete a diversion program, after which the court dismisses the charge. The broader Texas diversion program had been on the books for decades but closed to DWI offenders. The amendment opening diversion to DWI offenders took effect September 1, 2019, making 2020 its first full year of implementation.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

If a "driving while intoxicated" (DWI) accident involves injury, that can result in increased penalties, but what happens if the DWI results in an injury to a police officer? That is the scenario posed by a recent incident in the Sunnyside area of Houston. According to an ABC13 news report, a driver allegedly failed to yield while making a right turn, striking a southbound police cruiser. The officer driving the cruiser was said to have been taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The police were reportedly investigating the crash as a DWI.

How does an officer's injury impact a DWI charge?

If DWI results in serious bodily injury, that can be charged as an intoxication assault. While that is usually a third-degree felony, if the injured person is a police officer , then it's enhanced to a first-degree felony, with possible penalties of a 5-99 year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

The prior big 2020 Texas DWI story had to do with how the pandemic roiled the pattern of DWI violations and prosecutions, specifically in the Houston area. Everyone knows that 2020 has been unlike any other year, which has been just as true for DWI prosecutions.

Another big 2020 DWI story is the continuing advance of DWI technologies affecting the incidence of DWI violations and repeat offenses. Late 2019 saw federal legislation introduced to require by 2024 that motor vehicles have advanced alcohol-detection devices preventing the vehicle from starting if the operator had illegal blood-alcohol levels. That federal legislation would vastly broaden current state laws requiring certain DWI offenders to install such devices on any operated vehicle.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given everything else going on politically in 2020, the federal legislation did not advance to become law in 2020. Ignition devices nonetheless made additional advances in 2020. A recent National Conference of State Legislatures report states that several more states in 2020 joined the many states already requiring DWI offenders to install advanced alcohol-detection devices on operated vehicles. Indeed, Texas Transportation Code 521.246 authorizes ignition interlock devices for first-time DWI offenders who wish to retain their driver's license while requiring ignition interlock devices for repeat offenders.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

Police are investigating after a 25-year-old recently died in the Rowlett City Jail. Police found the man sleeping in his truck in an apartment complex parking lot after receiving a call of a possible drunk driver on the road. Police woke him and arrested him for driving while intoxicated. Later, police also charged him with possession of marijuana and other controlled substances. They then processed him into the Rowlett City Jail.

Rowlett Detention Officers later found the man unresponsive in his cell. They performed CPR and moved him to an area hospital via ambulance, where medical professionals later pronounced him dead. His cause of death is unknown. If the police arrest you for DWI, it can be scary, and you may not know what to do or even what you can do or request from the police. So, it's important to understand what happens after a DWI arrest and what you should do to avoid it.

What Happens After a DWI Arrest?

Once the police arrest you for a DWI, they'll administer a blood alcohol test if they haven't already. The BAC is typically a breathalyzer test or a blood test. If you refused the test, the police will get a warrant for a blood test. They will then take you to the police station for booking. You do not have to speak to the police or answer their questions.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

On October 17, 2020, a celebrity gossip website announced that reality TV star Michelle Theriot-"Gramma Mimi" on TLC's hit show Outdaughtered-had been arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Theriot reportedly failed multiple field sobriety tests, and the website alleged she tried to cover up the smell of alcohol with a strong perfume or cologne.

Public figures arrested for DWI need an expert attorney right away.

According to the article, Theriot gave at least two different versions of the facts relating to her alcohol use to the police. Even if the police have reasonable suspicion to stop a driver, a driver is under no obligation to give them any information relating to the traffic stop. Instead, all a driver has to answer is to politely say, "I want my lawyer." Upon hearing this, the police must stop asking you questions. That is important, not only in terms of limiting the evidence against you, but it also reduces the amount of information in the arrest record-which could be used in news articles or gossip columns.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

According to KTSM, El Paso, Texas, police recently arrested a man for driving while intoxicated. The suspect was purportedly driving erratically before the police pulled him over; then, he abandoned his vehicle and led police on a foot chase. After he was caught, he allegedly had a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of.202-almost two-and-a-half times the legal limit (.08). The police booked the suspect for a "3^rd or more" offense of "driving while intoxicated" (DWI) and evading arrest. Further, the man reportedly had previous convictions for DWIs and two outstanding warrants for other DWIs and evasions of arrest. From the perspective of a DWI Defense Specialist, it is extremely important to understand the facts at the root of each of these allegations, as well as the impact on potential penalties, in order to develop the strongest defense strategy.

The news report is unclear in terms of how many previous convictions the suspect had on his record. We also don't know what punishment the driver received for these convictions-if the driver had only been required to pay a fine or if he had served any jail time. If we were defense attorneys for the suspect, this is crucial information because, for those who have three or more DWI convictions, any subsequent DWI can be charged as a third-degree felony DWI, with a jail sentence of 2-10 years. Further, if the earlier convictions resulted in incarceration, then any later offense can be charged as a second-degree felony (with a sentence of up to 20 years). If it's a third DWI with two or more jail sentences, then it is an enhanced felony-with a possible sentence of 25 years-to-life.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

Social media is part of our lives now. Whether we go out with friends or have a family party, we know that photos and videos will end up on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat. Facebook is the new family photo album, and we've all gotten used to seeing our happy moments on the internet for all of our friends to see. While having a convenient record of fun events can be wonderful, social media also has a downside. What happens when moments you'd prefer to keep private end up online for the world to see, including the prosecutor on your DWI case and potential jurors?

I think we can all agree that getting arrested is one of the worst moments of your life. Even if you've done nothing wrong, it's humiliating and frightening. Having it happen in public or with many witnesses can be even more humbling. But what happens if people around you post what happened on social media channels? What if they post about an outing or event that happened before your DWI arrest? In another recent post, we discussed how you should avoid using social media after a DWI arrest. In this post, we'll discuss how to handle social media accounts and what other people post about you.

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 Posted on December 12,2020 in Uncategorized

KBTX, a Bryan, Texas, station, recently reported that police had arrested an area resident for "driving while intoxicated" (DWI). According to the news report, the alleged offender crashed his vehicle into a semi-truck, and, shortly after contact, his own vehicle caught fire. Thankfully, no one was injured in the accident, but damage to the vehicles was, of course, substantial.

DWI cases are always serious, but they are much more of a concern when there is an accident.

A car accident may result in significantly increased penalties for a DWI charge. Typically, a first-offense DWI is a class B misdemeanor; however, prosecutors may increase the severity of the charges if an accident has occurred. In addition to DWI charges, you could also be charged with other related crimes, such as reckless damage or criminal mischief. The exact charges will depend on both the amount of the alcohol the driver consumed and the damage caused by the accident.

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