Posted on October 10, 2020 in Uncategorized

A recent two-car crash in Harris County demonstrates how tragic car accidents can be. The September 11, 2020, crash near Greenhouse and Morton roads sent four people to the hospital, including two children. Three of the injured were life-flighted to nearby hospitals, and police suspect one of the drivers was intoxicated.

We all know that driving while intoxicated is wrong, but if you're arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) with injuries to others, don't panic. A tragic accident doesn't mean that an arrest means you will be automatically convicted of DWI, but you should be aware of the possible consequences.

Driving While Intoxicated

A driver is considered intoxicated in Texas if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is.08% or higher. Or, if the driver is impaired by drugs or alcohol, regardless of their BAC. See Tex. Penal Code § 49.01, et seq. (2001). A driver is "impaired" if they don't have normal use of their physical or mental faculties.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

Police around the Lone Star State are stepping up their efforts to enforce DWI laws and gaining national attention. An Alton Police Officer was recently applauded for his efforts in personally arresting at least 55 people for DWI- about half of the department's total for the year so far.

The Impact of Overzealous Policing

When officers are instructed to take a zero-tolerance attitude towards DWI drivers, many take an "arrest first, ask questions later" approach. This is especially true if police are given DWI quotas to meet each month. Drivers may be arrested on the slightest suspicion of driving while intoxicated and be hauled off in handcuffs despite passing field sobriety tests and remaining cooperative with authorities. This is wrong because it is not illegal to drive a car after you consuming alcohol so long as you did not drink so much that you exceeded the legal limit of intoxication.

Penalties for DWI can be significant. Given the high stakes, one would expert police to err on the side of caution before arresting someone. With these DWI enforcement campaigns, quotas, and all-star teams in place, though, caution may be thrown to the wind.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

In 2007, Dallas County established the first Conviction Integrity Unit in the United States. Since that time, they've spread across the state of Texas and the U.S. Now, these specialized units are helping to exonerate wrongfully convicted criminals in the largest counties in Texas.

A recent Star-Telegram article reported on the case of a 40-year old Texas man sentenced to 50 years in prison for shooting a man in 1997 when he was 17. His victim, who had killed a close friend, recovered. But the 50-year sentence resulted from a conviction for engaging in organized crime. After investigation, the Tarrant County Conviction Integrity Unit believes that while he was guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a crime with a lower maximum sentence, he wasn't a member of a gang or any organized crime organization. Now, a state district judge, the Tarrant County district attorney, and the Tarrant County sheriff support the effort to lessen his sentence.

Conviction Integrity Units

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

Every year, the Texas Department of Safety steps up enforcement over the Labor Day weekend. The three-day weekend results in more people on the road, parties, and more people drinking and driving. During Labor Day 2019, the Texas DPS reported handing out more than 102,000 citations and warnings. DPS also made 489 driving while intoxicated arrests, 358 fugitive arrests, and 354 felony arrests.

Police across the state announced in advance that they would step up enforcement during a weekend that traditionally has more drunk drivers on the road. The numbers for 2020 aren't in yet, but police in Harris County arrested 30 people for DWI in just one small area of the county over the Labor Day weekend.

What is DWI?

A Texas driver with a blood alcohol content higher than.08% is legally intoxicated, and police can charge them with driving while intoxicated (DWI). But a driver is also intoxicated if they are driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol regardless of blood alcohol content. See Tex. Penal Code § 49.04. This offense is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a minimum of 72 hours in jail. If your blood alcohol content exceeds.15%, it is a Class A misdemeanor.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

If you are charged with DWI in Texas in an accident where others have sustained bodily or severe bodily injuries, you can face additional or enhanced charges. But what happens if you are injured yourself in the accident?

This question comes front-and-center with a recent news report in which a woman in Hauppage, New York was pulled from her burning vehicle after it crashed into a utility pole. She was quickly rescued from the wreckage by two onlookers who observed the accident, and fortunately neither the woman nor anyone else was seriously injured. However, when the police arrived and conducted an investigation, they suspected DWI. The woman was soon arrested.

The situation could have turned out much differently for the driver. How would events have unfolded if she had needed to go to the hospital? What happens with a DWI arrest if you are in need of medical attention?

Your Health Comes First...

Under the law, a person's immediate health needs always take priority over any legal or criminal troubles. If police arrive on the scene of an accident where you are injured, they have an obligation to provide you with medical treatment first and investigate later. They will (or should) hold off on booking you until an EMT has checked you out at the scene and determined whether further medical treatment is necessary-including a trip to the emergency room. That said, being injured in an accident where you were the driver won't necessarily preclude a possible DWI arrest if police have reason to suspect you. It simply means you may face those charges when you are well enough to be sent home.

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

Three members of the Texas Thin Blue Line Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club died in July after being struck by a drunk driver in the middle of the afternoon. The accident happened on Highway 16 between Medina and Kerrville while the group was out for a ride celebrating the club's 11th birthday.

The driver allegedly crossed the center line into the group, killing the victims and injuring four more motorcyclists. Police charged the driver with driving while intoxicated (DWI) and multiple counts of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. While the incident is a horrifying reminder of what can happen when someone drinks and gets behind the wheel, it's also a reminder that the same DWI laws apply to both drivers of cars and motorcycles.

Driving While Intoxicated in Texas

Texas law defines intoxication as:

"(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

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

On Saturday June 27, police officers in Put-in-Bay, Ohio responded to a call that someone had driven their vehicle off the road and into Lake Erie. When they arrived, they found Jeremiah Braswell, a rookie receiver for the St. Louis Cardinals, still inside the car. According to reports, his speech was slurred and he had no recollection of how his vehicle got into the lake. Upon failing a breathalyzer test, Braswell was arrested and charged with drunk driving.

Braswell had only signed with the Cardinals the previous month out of college and has yet to play a game with them. But he is by far not the only instance of a professional athlete making news headlines for DUI and DWI arrests. The list includes a long line of famous athletes from all sports disciplines, including Carl Lewis, Darryl Strawberry, Michael Phelps, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a host of others. At one point a few years ago, at least 30 percent of arrests involving NFL players were drunk-driving related.

A Look at the Stats

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

A 15-year-old boy was recently killed in a crash with a wrong-way driver in Frisco, Texas. The boy was traveling with his family just before midnight on the Dallas North Tollway when they crashed with a vehicle that was traveling the wrong way. The boy's sister was hurt in the accident and their parents were critically injured.

According to the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), the wrong way driver ignored several "One-Way," signs, four "Do Not Enter" and four "Wrong Way" signs before getting onto an exit ramp equipped with raised pavement markers and reflective arrows showing the correct direction of travel. The wrong-way driver was also killed in the crash.

According to court records, Frisco police arrested the wrong-way driver for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in 2016. Officials are awaiting toxicology test results to see if he was impaired at the time of the crash, though the NTTA said that, "to date, every wrong-way crash NTTA has recorded has involved a driver who was impaired."

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

In September 2017, a 72-year-old driver in Brazos County pulled out in front of another vehicle, causing a collision. When police responded to the crash, the driver admitted he had been drinking, and testing showed him over the legal limit. Three months later, a jury convicted him of DWI.

At the man's sentencing in February 2020, the judge handed down a 15-year prison sentence. The reason cited? It was the driver's seventeenth DWI conviction.

If you understand Texas DWI law, you know this driver got off easy with a 15-year sentence. Texas law is remarkably stern toward recidivist (repeat) DWI offenders. The penalties for first and second DWI offenses are strict enough; but once you reach three or more offenses, you'll definitely need the help of a good attorney because you're now in felony territory, and the stakes just got much higher.

Possible Penalties for Recidivist DWI in Texas

Although Texas law effectively stops counting DWI convictions at "three or more," the law is still structured so the possible criminal penalties get progressively more severe with each conviction. Here's a quick overview of how it works:

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 Posted on September 09, 2020 in Uncategorized

A DWI arrest in Texas, even on a first offense, can have profound ramifications for the family of the person arrested. But what if two or more family members-for example, a husband and wife-face DWI charges simultaneously?

A pair of arrests in Arlington, Texas, recently brought this question to the forefront. As the Dallas Morning News reports, a woman was pulled over at around 2:45 AM on a Thursday in late May for driving with no headlights. After conducting a sobriety test, police arrested her on charges of DWI. About an hour later, the woman's boyfriend, presumably unaware of her arrest, tracked her phone to the police station and told officers he was "looking for his girlfriend." Police suspected that he, too, was intoxicated, and since he had driven to the station, they arrested him for DWI, as well.

A More Complicated Situation

When more than one adult in a household with responsibilities faces DWI arrest or conviction, it can wreak havoc in the home on several levels, especially if there are dependents in the house. For example:

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