Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

According to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, the crime lab of the Houston Department of Public Safety is under investigation after a set of blood samples from a felony DWI arrest were mistakenly mailed to a defense attorney that is not involved in the case. The Texas Forensic Science Commission has announced the issue would be taken up at their quarterly meeting on October 5, 2018.

The blood sample was taken in northern Texas during the DWI investigation. It was sent by law enforcement to the Department of Public Safety lab in Garland, Texas. However, due to a recent resignation, the Garland lab has been woefully understaffed. To clear the bottleneck, other labs have been testing samples in order to help the Garland lab catch up.

In this case, after the Houston lab completed the test the sample was intended to be returned to the Garland lab. There, the results of the testing would be forwarded to the arresting officers in northern Texas. Instead, the results were mailed to a criminal defense attorney in Houston that was entirely unrelated to the case.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

Micaya White, a standout on the University of Texas Volleyball team, will finally get her day in court to dispute driving while intoxicated charges stemming from a 2017 arrest. The trial is scheduled to begin on January 14 of next year.

White, the 2018 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, was arrested on the evening of March 18, 2017, on suspicion of DWI. According to the police report, White was pulled over by law enforcement for following another vehicle too closely and driving without headlights. The arrest affidavit reflects that White admitted to drinking to shots of vodka. The report also states she failed a field sobriety test. White was charged with DWI, released on bail, and ultimately pleaded not guilty to the charge.

What to Expect During a DWI Trial

No two Houston DWI trials are ever exactly the same, but they all follow the same general format. Both your defense attorney and the prosecutor will have a chance to present their arguments to a jury of your peers. A judge will hear the case and resolve any disputes over legal issues that might come up.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

An off-duty Houston police officer was temporarily relieved of her duty this week after she was arrested under the suspicion of driving while intoxicated following a traffic accident. The stakes are higher for the law enforcement officer than a typical first-offense DWI however, as her 13-year-old daughter was a passenger.

Cassandra Crosby, an 11-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, was taken into custody after causing a collision at the intersection of Fondren and South Main in southwest Houston. The accident occurred on Sunday, September 9, at approximately 8 p.m.

According to court records, Crosby was the cause of a vehicle collision after illegally entering an intersection with flashing red lights in all directions. After the accident, Crosby pulled her vehicle into the parking lot of a nearby business. When patrol officers arrived and made contact with her, they allege to have detected the smell of alcohol while speaking with her. After initially claiming she had only had one or two glasses of wine, Crosby admitted that she had drunk an entire bottle before getting in her vehicle.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

The month of August was a busy one for the Houston Police Department. In all, Houston PD arrested 54 drivers on felony charges related to alcohol. At nearly two felony DWI arrests per day, this number may seem high. However, the number of felony arrests fell compared to August of last year.

The vast majority of the DWI felony arrests were for third-offense DWI charges. However, ten of the 54 drivers were charged with DWI with a child passenger. Additionally, one person was charged with intoxicated manslaughter. Those arrested came from all walks of life, representing a broad spectrum of races and genders.

Alcohol-Related Felonies in Texas

For the most part, those charged with DWIs are first-time offenders facing misdemeanor charges. It is rare in those cases for the offenders to face any additional jail time other than at the time of their arrest. However, there are four different types of alcohol-related charges that are felonies under Texas law. They are third or subsequent DWIs, DWI with a child passenger, intoxicated assault, and intoxicated manslaughter.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

Earlier this summer a Harris County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on suspicion of DWI when she drove her car into wet cement. According to reports, the deputy was driving at approximately 11 PM on a Tuesday evening when she ran through construction barrels. She was able to drive the vehicle more than 100 feet before it became lodged in the wet cement. A forklift was required to remove the deputy's vehicle from the construction zone after she was able to get out. The estimated cost of the damage caused by the accident is approximately $2 million dollars.

The deputy was arrested for her second DWI when she failed a field sobriety test. She later admitted in court that she had consumed at least four large beers before getting into her vehicle that night. In addition to criminal charges for her second DWI, the deputy can also face criminal charges for property damage caused by the accident.

DWI Accidents Causing Property Damage

DWIs are taken very seriously in Texas. The stakes can become even greater when a DWI involves an accident. When a DWI accident causes property damage, drivers can face criminal charges in addition to those for DWI. Possible charges can include reckless damage and criminal mischief.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

In Montgomery County, the District Attorney's Office refers the stretch of time between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the "100 Deadliest Days of Summer." Why? More drivers tend to get behind the wheel while intoxicated during the summer months. In an effort to keep the public safe, the DA's office works with local law enforcement to crack down on DWI and BWI offenders. This past summer, 982 DWI arrests were made in Montgomery County during these 100 deadliest days. That's nearly 10 DWI arrests every day.

Breakdown of DWI Arrests in Montgomery County TX

Police in Montgomery County were busy this past summer. According to reports, most arrests made during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer affected first-time DWI offenders. In fact, two-thirds of all arrests were for first-time DWIs. Sixteen percent of arrests were for second-time DWIs, while nearly 10 percent were for a third or subsequent DWI.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

In 2014, the Texas Court of Appeals determined that the state's DWI implied consent law was unconstitutional. Under the law, all drivers were automatically required to submit to chemical testing when requested by a police officer. In other words, getting behind the wheel triggered consent for testing if you were pulled over for DWI. There was no right to refuse testing. Police had the right to test your breath or blood without a warrant.

The Court of Appeals found that the implied consent law was a violation of the Fourth Amendment. In turn, drivers in Texas are no longer required to comply with an officer's request to provide a sample of their breath or blood. The fact that a driver refuses chemical testing can't be used as evidence against them in a criminal DWI case. Police can, however, still make an arrest based on other evidence or request a search warrant to obtain a sample of a driver's blood.

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 Posted on September 09,2018 in Uncategorized

It's not uncommon to see a spike in DWI arrests in the summer. This is certainly true in August when summer begins to come to a close. Last month, Houston police arrested more than 50 people on felony DWI charges alone.

Driving while intoxicated, particularly for first-time offenders, is typically a misdemeanor offense in Houston. Felony charges are typically only applicable when a driver has multiple DWI infractions, causes harm, or puts a young child in danger.

Felony DWI: Multiple DWI Convictions

First and second-time DWIs are generally misdemeanor offenses in Houston. However, once you have two DWI convictions, any subsequent DWIs will be felonies. It doesn't matter how long ago your two prior DWI convictions occurred. Any prior DWI convictions will trigger felony charges for future arrests.

Third DWI: A third DWI is a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by:

• Imprisonment: 2 to 10 years

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 Posted on July 07,2018 in Uncategorized

It's a common misconception in Texas and across the United States that just because someone dies in a motor vehicle accident or other crash, that a person will be criminally charged for that death.

Just today, in Houston, Harris County, Texas, a construction worker was fatally run over by a forklift, driven by another worker.

In Texas, there are two things to consider when deciding whether charges will be filed. First, was the person responsible for or cause the death of the victim? And second, was there at least criminal negligence on the part of the actor?

Texas law states that "a person is criminally responsible if the result would not have occurred but for his conduct, operating either alone or concurrently with another cause, unless the concurrent cause was clearly sufficient to produce the result and the conduct of the actor clearly insufficient."

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 Posted on June 06,2018 in Uncategorized

When you are driving a car in Texas, looking down at your phone or smart watch to read a text from a friend seems harmless, but under Texas law, it's now illegal and you could be arrested on the spot.

In 2017 alone, there were over half a million reported accidents on Texas roadways according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Of those, a little over 100,000 involved some type of distracted driving (driver distraction, inattention or cell phone use). And of those 100,687 distracted driving crashes, 444 resulted in death (a 7% decrease from 2016) and 2,889 resulted in serious bodily injury.

According to a 2015 study by the Transport Research Laboratory, a driver looking at an Apple Watch would take 2.32 seconds to react when an emergency maneuver is required, compared to just 0.9 seconds for a driver talking to a passenger. A driver using a smartphone reacted in 1.85 seconds.

On September 1, 2017, in an effort to continue the downward trend of distracted driving fatalities, the Texas Legislature outlawed the reading, writing, and sending of electronic communications, i.e., text messages and emails, while driving.

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