Frisco DWI Attorney

Our Texas Attorneys Can Help You if You've Been Charged With Driving While Intoxicated in Frisco Texas

As a conservative, suburban county with very little violent crime, Collin County is known as a place that cracks down hard on drunken driving, with a relatively high per capita rate of DWI arrests and a willingness to pursue the maximum punishment against offenders. At the same time, Frisco and neighboring cities like Allen, Prosper, Celina, and Melissa are growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and McKinney was third.

With all of the people flooding into Frisco, that translates to even more arrests for drunken driving. If you are one of unfortunate people facing the possibility of a conviction for Driving While Intoxicated or some other drunken driving offense, then you must secure the assistance of an experienced and clever Frisco DWI lawyer in order to secure the best possible outcome to your case. Not only do you need an advocate who understands the idiosyncrasies of DWI laws but also one who has tried many cases in the Collin County courts down in McKinney and knows how they conduct business. Only someone with these qualifications gives you the best chance of securing an acquittal or at the very least obtaining the most lenient outcome to your case. In a city like Frisco, it’s not hard to find a lawyer – you probably have three or four living on your street as neighbors. Anyone with a law degree will gladly accept your case for the chance to make a quick buck by walking you through court while doing little more than hoping the prosecution and court take it easy on you. At Grossman Law Offices, however, our Frisco DWI attorneys treat you and all of our clients like their cases matter, applying our years of expertise with drunken driving cases to the unique circumstances of every client’s legal situation. We are devoted to exhausting every legal venue to make sure our clients attain the best resolution to their case allowable by the facts.

When facing a DWI charge, most people comprehend that a conviction brings the assurance of stiff monetary penalties and a temporary driver’s license revocation, as well as, the possibility of time spent behind bars. However, not everyone realizes that a DWI conviction can have far-reaching effects into the future, damaging the convicted offender’s reputation and employability for many years. Those who attempt to handle their own cases or hire an inexperienced attorney who doesn’t know what he or she is doing usually end up regretting their decisions to do so. At Grossman Law Offices, our Frisco DWI lawyers have been helping Texans resolve DWI cases in Collin County and elsewhere in North Texas for more than 20 years. Call us now for a free and confidential consultation at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free) in order to discover how we can help you. We give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have and learn your possible legal options without committing to spending a dime, so call us now.

Until you pick up the phone, we wanted to provide you with some basic information about drunken driving laws and the DWI legal process in the state of Texas. After helping hundreds of Texans accused of drunken driving, we know how scary it can be to face a DWI charge and all of the uncertainty that can bring to your future. The only way to assuage your trepidation is by arming yourself with knowledge. Only by learning about DWI can you make the right decisions to secure the best outcome to your case.

DWI Offenders are a Different Breed of Criminal

When someone commits a crime like breaking and entering or murder, the criminal intends to hurt the victim, but this isn’t the case with DWI. People who drink and drive don’t intend to hurt anyone, but rather they’re normally law-abiding citizens who just make ill-advised decisions to drive after having too much drink. If you didn’t know, in addition to negatively affecting physical ability, alcohol impairs one’s ability to make rational decisions. Thus, when someone has had too much to drink, he or she loses the rational skills to determine if he or she can still drive a car effectively. In other words, anyone who drives while drinking any amount of alcohol could potentially commit DWI. On the other hand, anyone committing DWI is still treated like an intentional criminal, compelling the prosecution to seek a maximum sentence unless a skilled Frisco DWI attorney is able to convince the court that the defendant deserves the court’s leniency. You need a skilled advocate to hear the words “not guilty” or at the very least convince the Collin Courts that you have made a lone bad decision and present very little threat to the public moving forward.

We hope this article will answer the following questions for you:

• What can a criminal drunken driving lawyer do to assist me?
• Can a DWI conviction be expunged from my record?
• Do people who get convicted of DWI get sent to jail? If so, for how long?
• Is a DWI conviction going to be expensive?
• Is it necessary to go to court for my DWI case, or is it better to arrange a plea bargain?
• What happens to someone who refuses to take a breathalyzer test?
• What happens to someone who is convicted of a DWI?

The Basics of American Criminal Law

Until we’ve verified that you at least have a basic understanding of criminal law and individual rights in general, we can’t very well begin discussing the specifics of DWI laws and procedures. With the first 10 Amendments known as the Bill of Rights providing a guideline for individual rights, the Constitution forms the legal foundation for the American legal system – also laying out the specific rights and duties of the government. You are afforded certain rights that must be respected by police when they make an arrest and conduct an investigation and by the prosecution when it takes your case to court. In order to convict you, the state must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Just like you are afforded certain rights, so is the government at each level – federal, state, and local. Each jurisdiction may create and maintain community standards with the passing of laws and establishments of punishments for breaking those laws so long as those laws do not violate the rights of the individual or contradict the laws of a higher and overlapping governmental authority.

To understand this concept better, let’s examine the ways different jurisdictions handle laws governing driving while using cellular telephones. Recent studies have shown that driving while talking on the phone, and moreover texting on the phone, is much more dangerous than driving undistracted. The Texas State Legislature attempted to address this problem by passing a bill that would ban the use of cell phones while driving through school zones. However, Governor Rick Perry vetoed the bill, citing his belief in less government regulation of the individual. Still, many communities around the state, like Frisco, have taken it upon themselves to outlaw driving through school zones at a local level; since, Gov. Perry's veto didn’t forbid cities and towns from creating their own regulations. Elsewhere in the country, some areas take a much harder stance against cell phones and driving. New York and New Jersey have banned the use of cell phones while driving anywhere unless those phones have been equipped with a hands-free device like a Blue Tooth. Therefore, Newark can’t decide to permit driving and talking on the phone because it would contradict the law that had been established by the state of New Jersey.

When it comes to more serious crimes like terrorism and bank-robbing, the federal government takes over jurisdiction and enjoys no geographical limits to its authority within the United States.

Along with the right to create its own laws, each jurisdiction also enjoys the rights to establish its own punishments for violating those laws and its own procedures for dealing with offenders – within reason. You cannot be ordered to appear in court in the nude, nor can you be sentenced to 10 years in prison for talking on a cell phone while driving through a school zone. There is a range of accepted punishment for each classification of crime, and every court and judge has the right to determine how his or her court will be run. Among lawyers, we actually say that each court has its own personality. This is not unlike anything else – malls for instance. Every mall exists for the same reason – for stores to sell their goods and shoppers to find a wide variety of stores in one small area. However, every mall is different. They have different stores, offer different food options, are different sizes, and some are indoors while others are outdoors. The same concept holds true for courts, which all dispense justice but go about doing so by different means. In order to secure the best outcome to your case when you’ve been accused of drunken driving in Frisco, you need the assistance of a Frisco DWI attorney who understands how the Collin County courts operate and has built strong working relationships with the prosecution.

If convicted of DWI, you will be fined large sums of money, stripped of your driver’s license, and subjected to the possibility of spending time in prison. While you are afforded the right to your day in court to argue your innocence, should you take that opportunity? When it comes to DWI cases, the accused often faces such a mountain of evidence that he or she would be well-advised to work out a plea agreement that curtails the consequences. However, most people don’t realize that the prosecution has significant incentive for arranging a plea bargain, as well. When prosecutors lose one DWI case, it’s not that big of a deal. However, if prosecutors make a habit of losing DWI cases, then they will be terminated in short order. For prosecutors, this is a cold and brutal reality, since their success often depends on the competent skills of the police officers who make the arrests. When the arresting officer violates the rights of the accused either in the method of making the DWI stop, the arrest, or the investigation, then the prosecutor’s case is ruined. Even if the officer who made the arrests conducted his or herself flawlessly, a skilled and seasoned Frisco DWI lawyer may be able to convince a jury into reconsidering the validity of the evidence and ruling in favor of the defendant. By agreeing to a plea bargain, the prosecution prevents any chance of losing the case and protects his or her own reputation and job.

What a Frisco DWI Lawyer Can Do to Help You

In order to address the severity of the crime committed and the hazard presented by different drunken drivers with varying DWI histories, the state of Texas allows for a wide range of punishments for DWI. The severity of the punishment delivered by the court is usually in accordance with the perceived threat the particular offender poses to the public moving forward. If the judge or jury has the option of assigning a punishment of up to 180 days, it will pursue the maximum sentence until an experienced Frisco DWI attorney convinces them that the defendant deserves a more lenient sentence.

At Grossman Law Offices, we’ve spent more than 20 years handling DWI cases and learning the procedures of the Collin County courts, so we know how to get the jury to accept that one of our clients made a one-time error in judgment and presents very little continued danger to the state of Texas.

After more than two decades handling DWI cases, Grossman Law Offices has developed a protocol for how to handle cases. Once you give us a call for an initial consultation, we will want to set up a face-to-face meeting where we listen to your side of the story of how you got arrested. We will want to hear all of the details of the night in question from the moment you went out for the night until you were bailed out of jail. We must stress the importance of your honesty when relaying your version of events. Should you mislead your lawyer, then it will only lead to the development of the wrong trial strategy for which you will pay – not your attorney. After hearing you tell your tale, we will then want to see the prosecution’s evidence and learn what punishment it will pursue. Granted, the prosecution is required to share this information during the discovery period, but the strong relationships our Frisco DWI attorneys have built with the prosecution in Collin County eases out any delays in this process. When we’ve gathered all of the evidence and know all of the facts of the case, then we will determine the best way to proceed – either forming a strategy for trial or making a plea offer to the prosecution. Whichever means we use to resolve a case, we make certain to keep our clients informed of any developments or changes in the case as they arise.

Weighing a Plea Agreement against Your Prospects at Trial

The reason why you must be honest with your attorney is that what you have to say affects whether or not your Frisco DWI lawyer will decide to go to trial or negotiate a plea bargain. If there is some reason to question the reliability of the test used to determine the defendant’s Blood Alcohol Concentration or if there is a problem with some facet of the evidence, then our attorneys will want to go to trial and fight for your acquittal. In rare cases, the evidence will be so overwhelmingly weak that our attorneys will be able to petition the judge for a summary judgment that throws the case out of court, allowing the accused to even expunge the arrest from his or her record.

In most Texas drunken driving cases, though, no summary judgment is possible because law enforcement agencies in this state have time-tested methods for gathering evidence against DWI suspects, and officers are trained to follow the mandated procedures precisely. When an officer suspects a driver of being intoxicated, he or she will begin following the vehicle in question while turning on the surveillance system in the police cruiser and recording the driving of the suspect. Should the suspect then break any laws or continue driving in an erratic fashion, then the officer will pull the suspect over, aligning his or her cruiser to tape the interview that ensues next. When questioning the suspect, the officer will follow the established outline of queries. If the suspect sounds intoxicated when answering or admits to drinking, then the officer will conduct field sobriety tests on camera that are designed to show the suspect’s lack of physical and mental acuity. If the driver performs poorly, then the officer requests the driver to take a breathalyzer test to determine the suspect’s BAC. Failure or refusal to take the breathalyzer then leads to the suspect’s arrest. When that evidentiary procedure is followed, only a savvy and experienced Frisco DWI lawyer will be able to overcome the power of the evidence and secure an acquittal. Even the best lawyer is subject to the whims and prejudices against drunken drivers held by most jurors; thus, most people accused of DWI are best off working out a plea bargain.

When DWI defendants work out a plea agreement, they benefit by receiving the lesser end of the allowable punishment – usually obtaining probation and sometimes even deferred adjudication.

Determining the wisest course of action for you again depends entirely on your ability to be truthful with your representation.

Examining Texas DWI in More Depth

Okay, we’ve made certain that you understand your rights and the benefits of a plea bargain, so now we can move on to a more specific discussion of DWI laws and procedures. Don’t let our comments about plea bargains discourage you – with the help of the right Frisco DWI attorney, it is possible to secure an outright acquittal in a DWI case. Perhaps you will be able to better gauge your chances at trial after we got into more depth about DWI details.

Before you were ever arrested for DWI, our lawyers will bet that you knew it was illegal to drink and drive – pretty much everyone knows that. However, most people don’t understand the specifics of how someone is determined to be intoxicated when driving. In Texas, there are two standards for ruling someone to be intoxicated – when the person’s BAC is .08 percent or higher or when the person has lost “normal physical and mental abilities” as a result of consuming too much alcohol or drugs.

While the .08 BAC standard can be proven with fairly concrete evidence, the second intoxication standard is much more difficult to prove, for it doesn’t refer to “normal” physical and mental behavior for all drivers but only the specific suspect. Therefore, how can a policeman or woman make that determination when he or she has presumably never met the driver and doesn’t know what his or her normal behavior should be?

In Texas, this ambiguity has led to a mandate among law enforcement agencies to request suspects to take a breathalyzer test before making an arrest. Anyone who refuses the breathalyzer test is also arrested before being given a blood test to determine BAC back at the police station. There is a second motivation for police officers to pursue a BAC test before making an arrest – Texas actually has two different categories of DWI depending upon BAC level. Offenders who record BAC levels above .15 percent have committed Aggravated or Extreme DWI and are subject to much stiffer penalties, punishments, and driver’s license surcharges than drunken drivers with BAC levels between .08 and .15 percent. We will discuss these specifics later on in this article.

At Grossman Law Offices, our Frisco DWI lawyers have the skills to help you whether you were arrested after a failed or refused breathalyzer, a failed blood test, or merely a police officer’s belief that you had lost normal physical and mental abilities.

The Rights of DWI Suspects

When you’ve been pulled over while driving after you’ve had a few drinks, the most important thing to remember is to keep your cool. Sure, you enjoy Freedom of Speech in this country, allowing you to say whatever you’d like to the arresting officer. However, you’d be far better off to courteously answer all of the officer’s questions and comply with all of his or her requests. When asked to perform some form of field sobriety test, however, you should only agree to take the test if you feel that you’d be able to pass it under normal conditions. If some physical or mental limitation would prevent you from passing the test, then you can politely refuse. For example, if you’ve had several knee operations on both knees, then you’re probably not going to be able to balance on one leg for an extended period of time and walking a line may be even be difficult. If this is the case, then you have every right to decline the test.

Although, there is a major caveat to this right. If you repeatedly refuse field sobriety tests, then you’re going to look like you’re making the excuses of a guilty man or woman on the video that the jury will see later. Furthermore, the officer will only move along to requesting a breathalyzer test. You also have the right to decline a breathalyzer, for, as we will discuss later on in this article, these tests can be faulty under certain circumstances. However, there is a major consequence, as the officer will revoke your driver’s license and place you under arrest. The refused breathalyzer can be used as evidence against you at trial, and if found guilty your driver’s license will be suspended for 180 days for refusing the breathalyzer. When taken to lock-up, those who refuse breathalyzers are given the option of taking more accurate blood tests to determine BAC. If the suspect refuses, then the officer will attempt to obtain a warrant to extract the suspect’s blood, but in many cases this will be impossible since most judges are sleeping when most drunken drivers are driving.

Of note, the practice of blood testing is changing around the state of Texas. In response to an increased likelihood of drunken driving on certain holiday weekends, such as New Year’s Eve, Cinco de Mayo, and the Fourth of July, judges in certain communities, including Collin County, are now preauthorizing warrants to extract blood without the consent of the suspect. Thus, a DWI suspect should take into consideration where he or she is and what time of year it is before refusing a breathalyzer test. This is particularly important for a suspect who has used drugs, as well as, had something to drink, for a blood test will provide evidence of the drug usage that would go unnoticed by a breathalyzer test. In San Antonio’s Bexar County, this practice has actually been put into play for all weekends on a test basis.

To protect your rights if you’ve been accused of drunken driving, you need the assistance of a knowledgeable and experienced Frisco DWI attorney whether you failed a BAC test or just refused to take one. At Grossman Law Offices, our lawyers will make certain that any evidence used against you in a DWI trial was obtained legally, or the jury will never set eyes on it.

BAC in Texas DWI Cases

Unfortunately, you were forced to learn more than you wanted to know about BAC before you ever found this article with a Google search. As we’ve already mentioned, .08 percent is the legal dividing line between a driver who is considered legally sober and one who is considered legally intoxicated. However, what does it mean to have a BAC of .08 percent? Essentially, it means that .08 percent of the blood running through the suspect’s circulatory system is alcohol. The reason this seemingly random number has been selected instead of a more round number like .10 percent is that .08 percent BAC is the scientifically established point at which most people begin to lose normal physical and mental ability. In fact, the legal level of intoxication during a DWI used to be .10 percent until the federal government used withheld highway funding to force state governments to lower the bar to .08 percent in response to scientific findings. In order to measure BAC, Texas law enforcement agencies can use one of three means:

• Measuring the grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
• Measuring the grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
• Or measuring the grams of alcohol per 67 milliliters of urine.

No matter how intelligent you are, it’s neat to impossible to accurately keep tabs on how intoxicated you have become after a nightlong drinking binge. Eventually, you lose track of how much you’ve had to drink. Any of these BAC measuring methods is far more accurate than self tracking, but none of them are completely infallible either. Each means for testing BAC relies upon a formula based off the typical body chemistry of an average person. However, not everyone has the same body chemistry, making it likely that a person could test intoxicated by one testing method only to be found sober by another. Of course, DWI arrests can be made based completely on the arresting officer’s contention that the suspect was drunk, but proving that the driver’s “normal physical and mental abilities” were negatively affected is very difficult to establish in court without a corroborating BAC test of some sort.

Explaining the Unreliability of BAC Tests

Perhaps the greatest problem with the accuracy of BAC testing is the time that passes between when the driver is stopped and when he or she actually takes the BAC test. In order to convict a suspect of DWI, the state needs to be able to prove that the defendant was drunk while he or she was actually driving the motor vehicle. However, a breathalyzer test won’t be give until at least 30 minutes after the traffic stop, while a blood test won’t be taken until at least an hour after the stop in most cases and sometimes as long as two hours.

When it comes to the history of the world, one hour is not going to make much of a difference, but when it comes to BAC testing, one hour can completely throw off the accuracy of the test. As time passes by, and the suspect waits to have his or her BAC tested, his or her body is processing the alcohol, with the rate fluctuating depending upon multiple factors: the driver’s weight, how much he or she had to eat along with the alcohol, the speed of his or her metabolism, the types of alcohol consumed, and the rate of consumption. Thus, it’s possible under certain circumstances for the elapsed time before a BAC test to throw off the accuracy of the BAC results either in favor or against the driver. Let us explain. Say one driver has a substantial amount of alcohol to drink early in the night, but he or she stops a couple of hours before driving home. When this driver departs in his or her car, he or she is legally intoxicated and then stopped and questioned for DWI by a police officer. The driver refuses a BAC test and it able to sober up enough to pass a blood test that is given 75 minutes later. On the other hand, another driver drinks moderately throughout the course of the night but gets goaded into taking a couple of shots immediately before departure in his or her car. This driver is stopped with a BAC just below the legal limit and also requests a blood test, but the ensuing time permits the driver’s BAC to rise above .08 percent, leading to his or her arrest.

If a substantial amount of time passed between when you were pulled over and when your BAC was tested, then a clever, trial-tested Frisco DWI lawyer may be able to get a jury to ignore the findings of the test and find you not guilty.

Breathalyzer Tests in Texas

Which type of BAC testing to use is a bit of a Catch 22-situation. While blood tests provide the most accurate results and also allow for storage and re-testing of the sample, law enforcement officers cannot safely administer these tests along the side of the road. Meanwhile, the amount of time that passes before such a test can be given at the police station often calls into question the accuracy of the test. Faced with this unsolvable problem, Texas law enforcement agencies turn to breathalyzer tests, which may be far less accurate than blood tests but can easily be administered roadside with hand-held breathalyzer devices.

For the purposes of breathalyzer testing, Texas law enforcement agencies turn to a device called the Intoxilyzer 5000, which detects alcohol on the breath using infrared sensors. The problems and questions presented by the Intoxilyzer 5000, however, are plentiful. First, the machine relies upon computer technology that is 30 years old. No reasonable person would use a 10-year-old computer to balance the budget let alone make life-altering legal determinations.

Thus, it should come as no shock that the Intoxilyzer 5000 has in rare occasions mistaken other items for alcohol like mouthwash, fingernail polish, or asthma medication. On the other hand, far more common inaccuracies stem from the means by which the Intoxilyzer 5000 calculates BAC after detecting blood on the breath. The mechanism uses the average blood-to-breath ratio for a normal human being of 2,100 to 1 to make its calculations. In reality, a person’s BAC can range anywhere from 3,100-1,100 to 1. When someone’s blood-to-breath ratio is abnormally high, that person’s BAC will score inaccurately low, and when someone’s blood-to-breath ratio is abnormally low, his or her BAC will record as inaccurately high when measured with the Intoxilyzer 5000. Extremes in lung capacity, body composition, muscle mass, weight, and height can all also have an effect on the accuracy of Intoxilyzer 5000 tests.

Compounding concerns over the Intoxilyzer 5000, its manufacturer will not issue a guarantee of its results, and Texas law enforcement agencies do not permit anyone other than officers to test the accuracy of the devices.

However, the greatest problem that our firm has with the Intoxilyzer 5000 is the fact that it could be far more accurate if all of its functions were utilized by Texas police agencies. The Intoxilyzer 5000 can easily store breath samples, and there is another non-portable breath test called a gas chromatography test that is far more accurate. The Texas Department of Public Safety, however, will neither require its officers to store the breath samples nor conduct the gas chromatography test. If they did so, then wrongfully accused drivers may be permitted to go free. From this fact, we can only conclude that Texas law enforcement would rather see convictions than justice.

Even the most hardened, no-nonsense Texas Ranger must admit that the Intoxilyzer 5000 has its flaws. Sometimes, those flaws can lead to inaccurate test results. When this comes to your case, you shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that you’re going to be convicted just because you failed a breathalyzer test. You need to discuss your case with a skilled and seasoned Frisco DWI attorney like those at Grossman Law Offices to discover whether the circumstances of your breathalyzer test call into question the accuracy of the test’s findings. So, call us now.

Penalties for DWI in Texas

Since different drunken drivers present different degrees of danger to the general public, DWI laws in the state of Texas allow for a wide range of punishment. How strenuously a convicted offender will be punished depends upon his or her previous history of drunken driving convictions and the severity of the harm caused by this particular offense. So that you can understand the possible punishments you may be assigned both for the current charge against you and any future DWI arrests, here is a list of the various DWI offenses and their maximum punishments:

• First-time DWI - Grouped as a Class B misdemeanor, a first DWI conviction in which the driver’s BAC is between .08 and .15 percent carries the threat of 180 days in jail, a maximum fine of $2,000, and a driver’s license revocation ranging from 90 to 365 days.
• Extreme or Aggravated DWI - When a driver’s BAC rises above .15 percent, then his or her crime ramps up to a Class A misdemeanor, with jail time increasing to a maximum sentence of two years, and the fine rising to $4,000. The driver’s license suspension will likely be the maximum allowable for the first, second, or third DWI conviction.
• Second-time DWI - A second DWI conviction leads to a punishment much like that for Extreme DWI, as this is also a Class A misdemeanor punishable with a maximum fine of $4,000, a driver’s license suspension of up to two years, and up to one year behind bars.
• Third-time DWI - Since DWI punishments are designed to discourage drunken driving, the punitive measures rise dramatically for a third DWI conviction, which is classified as a 3rd-degree felony with a prison sentence as long as 10 years, a mandatory driver’s license revocation of two years, and a fine as high as $10,000.
• Open Containers - In the state of Texas, drivers are forbidden from carrying an open container holding any alcohol in the cab of the car or truck they’re operating. Those who are convicted of drunken driving who also ignore this law only add punishment to their sentence for the DWI – up to six additional days and a maximum additional fine of $2,000.
• Driver’s License Surcharges - When a driver has had his or her driver’s license revoked for drunken driving and wants to drive again unrestricted after the suspension ends, then the fines assessed by the state get even greater. In order to reacquire driving privileges, the offender must pay a surcharge annually for the first three years after the suspension ends, with the price depending upon the offense. For a standard first-time DWI conviction, the price is $1,000 each year, and that goes up to $1,500 per year for a second conviction in a 10-year span, and $2,000 per year for a third. When any of these convictions is an Extreme DWI, then the price doubles, and anyone who irresponsibly is convicted of more than one DWI in a three-year period must pay the surcharges simultaneously. Thus, if you had two extreme DWIs in a three year period, then you will be forced to pay $5,000 per year in any overlapping years to obtain the right to drive. It’s possible for someone to owe as much as $9,000 in surcharges.
• Intoxication Assault - Since drunken driving laws were created to protect the greater public, the punishment increases when someone is harmed as a result of a drunken driving accident. This is considered to be a 3rd-degree felony, with a maximum time in jail of two to 10 years, and a fine as high as $10,000. Moreover, an intoxication assault conviction requires the offender to spend at least 30 days behind bars before probation is permitted. When somebody commits intoxication assault with a deadly weapon, then he or she is not eligible for probation at all.
• Intoxication Manslaughter - The only DWI crime punished more stringently than intoxication assault in Texas is the only crime worse – when a drunken driver kills someone else in an accident. Intoxication manslaughter is a 2nd-degree felony bringing the possibility of a 20-year prison stint, and a maximum fine of $10,000. Anyone convicted of intoxication manslaughter is required to spend at least four months in prison.
• Community Supervision - While the sentences for intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter and required time behind bars are eye-opening, most people convicted of other drunken driving offenses will only be sentenced to community supervised probation. Now, we don’t mean to downplay your responsibilities if sentenced to probation because failure to comply with the terms of your probation could lead to the revocation of your probation, resulting in your incarceration for the entirety of your sentence. Your probation requirements will likely include: reporting monthly to a probation officer and paying a $50 fee for the purpose, as well as, maintaining constant employment, paying all fines and fees as scheduled, refraining from drinking, adhering to all laws, avoiding bad influences like bars and heavy-drinking friends, fulfilling all community service responsibilities, and passing an alcohol awareness class. The probation officer also may test probationers for drugs and alcohol with occasional urine tests, but that is up to his or her discretion. Some probation officers may allow probationers to report by mail in alternating months once trust has been established, but that is up to the discretion of the particular officer and still requires the payment of the monthly supervision fee.

Those drunken drivers who are convicted of multiple offenses can also count on the installation of am ignition interlock device on their cars once their driver’s license suspension has ended. In order to start the car, the driver must breathe into the device, which is a small breathalyzer. Should it detect alcohol on the driver’s breath, then the car will not start, another test cannot be taken for two hours, and the probation officer will be notified of the evidence that the probationer has been drinking. The probationer is forbidden from driving any car not outfitted with such a device. Even when a driver complies with all of the terms of his or her probation and is able to engage the interlock device with every blow, just having the device in the car is an embarrassment sure to cause the wrong impression with dates, bosses, family members, clients, and co-workers.

When you are convicted of any of these DWI offenses as an adult, the conviction will remain on your legal record forever, and anyone smart enough to do an Internet background check will know about your checkered past. Even in the very rare instance when a DWI conviction can be expunged, it still remains on the driving record of the offender and will cause high insurance rates for the next decade to come.

If you or someone you love has been charged with any sort of a DWI, you need to seek the protection of a skilled and savvy Frisco DWI attorney. After handling drunken driving cases in Collin County for more than 20 years, we’ve encountered every type of case and learned the ropes of the local courts and judges. We can help no matter what the circumstances of your arrest.

ALR Hearing after Your License is Revoked for Refusing a Breathalyzer

As we’ve mentioned, when a law enforcement officer asks a DWI suspect to take a breathalyzer test, and the suspect refuses to do so, then the officer will confiscate and revoke the suspect’s driver’s license. However, this doesn’t mean that the license is officially suspended just yet, since the suspect deserves his or her day in court before the revocation is finalized. Until that time, the officer will issue the suspect a temporary license that runs for 40 days officially.

After the arrest, the suspect will receive notification of the license suspension by mail from either the DPS or the arresting officer, and then the offender has 15 days to officially ask for an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) Hearing to challenge the status of the driver’s license suspension.

In most instances, the ALR Hearing cannot be scheduled within the 40 days provided by the provisional license because the courts in Collin County are overloaded with cases. In that event, the provisional license is extended until such as time as the ALR Hearing can take place. If you were able to pass a blood test after refusing the breathalyzer, then a good Frisco DWI attorney should have no trouble convincing the judge presiding over the ALR Hearing to end repeal the driver’s license revocation. Moreover, if you are found innocent at trial, then the judge will also usually overturn the suspension. If you lose the ALR Hearing, on the other hand, you then have 30 days to appeal the ruling. By doing so, you again extend the provisional license – this time for 90 days.

If you refused a breathalyzer test and think you’ve lost your license, then don’t despair. Our Frisco DWI attorneys at Grossman Law Offices may be able to get you on the road again without restrictions.

Occupational Driver’s Licenses

Should you lose your ALR Hearing or be found guilty of a drunken driving offense, then your driver’s license is going to be suspended; however, a competent Frisco DWI lawyer will have no problem getting some of your driving privileges back, albeit, on a limited basis. The state of Texas understands that all people – even convicted drunken drivers – need a way of getting to and from work or school and taking care of their children and families. While the public transportation system in the Metroplex has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades, most people still need automotive transportation in a sprawling metropolitan area like Dallas-Fort Worth. The state knows this, so it allows convicted drunken drivers who’ve had their driver’s licenses revoked to apply for Occupational Drivers’ Licenses (ODLs). However, an ODL greatly restricts driving and is very expensive – between $500 and $1,000 depending upon the jurisdiction. Any driver holding an ODL can only driver to preapproved locations within the area and must keep track of all details of all trips in a travel log – the date, the time of departure, time of return, intended destination, reason for trip, and miles driven.

In order to convince the court to grant an ODL, the defendant’s lawyer must petition the judge in the specific format required by his or her court. The petition must contain detailed information about the DWI crime that was committed, the need for the ODL, and a detailed list of all of the needed destinations. If you attempt to apply for an ODL on your own and don’t follow the parameters expected by the court, then you’re taking the chance the judge will reject your petition, forcing you to ride the bus and rails. Our Frisco DWI attorneys at Grossman Law Offices know how to properly apply for an ODL in Collin County, so we can alleviate your concerns about how you’re getting to work. Just because your license has been revoked and you’ve lost your ALR Hearing doesn’t mean you’re done driving. Call us now to find out how to get the steering wheel back in your hands.

Public Intoxication and DWI are NOT the Same

While the crimes of Public Intoxication (PI) and DWI both share the word “intoxication,” they don’t have much in common beyond that. Actually, the two crimes even define “intoxication” differently. According to the laws governing PI, someone is considered to be intoxicated when he or she has become a danger to him or herself as a result of over-consumption of alcohol. The differences between PI and DWI only begin there.

While Texas law enforcement officers have an established routine for investigating a DWI suspect as we’ve already explained, no such system exists for officers to make an arrest for PI. Officers make PI arrests based solely on their own judgment that the suspect has become too drunk for anyone’s good.

Since alcohol-related laws are designed to protect the public, the punishment for PI is considerably less. Think about it – someone who passes out sitting on a bus bench after having too much to drink isn’t as much of a danger as someone driving a VW Microbus after having too much to drink. Public intoxication is classified as a Class C misdemeanor and threatens no jail time – only a $500 fine. In most instances, you will not need a lawyer to resolve a PI charge; all you need is a check for $500. You would only need an attorney to challenge a PI arrest in the event of an unfair charge, such as if you were arrested for PI due to lewd behavior caused by Tourette Syndrome. On the other hand, if you’ve been arrested for any form of drunken driving, then you will need a clever and experienced Frisco DWI lawyer to guide you through the legal process and secure the best outcome possible to your case.

Texas DWI & Child Endangerment

The fate of children who have parents who drink and drive is quite shaky, since the kids don’t have the option of refusing to get in the car. In order to protect such children, the state of Texas has created a separate category called DWI with a minor in the vehicle that classifies this crime as a state felony and a form of child endangerment. Anyone convicted of this crime can be sentenced to a maximum of two years behind bars and fined as much as $10,000. While these are quite stiff penalties, they can be just the beginning of the devastating punishment. Single parents risk losing custody of their children to the ex-husband or ex-wife, in-laws, or parents and could otherwise lose visitation rights as well. In some cases, the state could even get involved and Child Protective Services could assume custody of the children. In order to protect children from the dangers of drinking and driving parents, police will often make arrests in suspected cases of DWI with a minor in the vehicle without even obtaining a breathalyzer. When it comes to protecting children, the arresting officer will err on the side of caution.

If you’re up against a charge of DWI with a minor in the vehicle, you need to put the fate of your family in the hands of a savvy and seasoned Frisco DWI attorney. This isn’t about avoiding a stain on your permanent record or losing your driver’s license – it’s about keeping your family together. You need the help of someone who knows how to call into question the strength of the state’s evidence and the arresting officer’s claims of your drunkenness. At Grossman Law Offices, we have the experience to convince a jury that your children were in no danger at the time of your arrest.

More Information About Intoxication Assault and Intoxication Manslaughter

When faced with intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter charges, the defendant is also up against several disadvantages. First, when someone is hurt or killed in a traffic accident in which alcohol is suspected to play a role, then all parties who were operating motor vehicles that were involved in the accident will have their blood extracted for BAC testing with or without their consent. Second, the state’s burden of proof is fairly easy to meet, as the prosecution must only prove that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident and was driving a car. They need not even prove that the drunken driver was wholly responsible for the wreck. Third, in order to win an acquittal in an intoxication manslaughter or intoxication assault case, the defendant’s lawyer must be able to overcome the sizable prejudices the jurors likely have against people who commit heinous acts like injuring or killing someone else in a drunken driving accident. With consequences that include guaranteed jail time, a fine of as much as $10,000, and as long as 20 years in prison, you must have the help of a highly skilled and well-seasoned Frisco DWI attorney if you’ve been charged with intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter.

Minors Under 21 DWI and DUI

When a drunken driving suspect has yet to reach the legal drinking age of 21, the laws are entirely different. Generally speaking, someone is considered an adult from a legal perspective in this country when he or she turns 18-years-old. However, in terms of alcohol-related laws, a person is considered a minor until he or she turns 21 and can drink legally. Since those under 21 are banned entirely from drinking, they’re not permitted to drive a car in Texas with any amount of alcohol in their system. Any minor who drives after drinking alcohol is committing the crime of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

In terms of rights when questioned about a DUI, minors essentially have the same rights as adults suspected of DWI. They may refuse to take field sobriety tests for physical reasons and may turn down a request to take a breathalyzer test. Just like adults, the choice to reject a breathalyzer results in a driver’s license revocation for minors – 120 days for the first DUI conviction and 240 days for a second. When a minor takes and fails a breathalyzer, however, his or her driver’s license will only be revoked for 60 days for a first-time DUI. Thus, for a first time DUI, the minor would be wise to relent to the breathalyzer, but a second DUI conviction carries the possibility of a year-long driver’s license suspension for a failed breathalyzer.

In the event a minor appears to have problems with drug addiction or alcoholism, the court can decide to revoke his or her driver’s license until he or she turns 21 or could assign the minor to mandatory rehab.

In addition to being charged with a DUI, a teen can be arrested for DWI, if he or she has a BAC ranging from .08 to .15 percent or Extreme DWI when BAC rises above .15 percent. Just like those over 21, minors who are 17 or older face a maximum jail term of 180 days for a DWI conviction, while those 16 or younger could spend time in juvenile detention.

First-time DUI

While not featuring the severe punishment of a DWI conviction, a first-time DUI conviction is nothing to look forward to. This is a Class C misdemeanor that the court punishes with between 20-40 hours of community service and mandatory attendance in an alcohol awareness program. Any minor accused of DUI must be accompanied to court by a parent or legal guardian, and the parents may also be required to attend the alcohol awareness class, as well. There is an upside to a first DUI conviction: the defendant is eligible for deferred adjudication and can expunge the conviction completely from his or her record upon completion of deferred adjudication and then turning 21-years-old.

Second-time DUI

A second DUI is still a Class C misdemeanor, but the amount of community service hours are increased to 60, and the conviction may no longer be expunged, though, deferred adjudication is still allowable. The alcohol awareness class must also be repeated.

Third-time DUI

When a minor is convicted of a third DUI, the crime is treated very much like a first DWI. It’s a Class B misdemeanor, carrying the threat of 180 days behind bars for those over 17, and a fine between $500 and $2,000. No deferred adjudication is permitted.

The cold hard fact of the matter is that you wouldn’t have Googled this article and wouldn’t be reading these words if you or your teenager hadn’t done something regrettable. Don’t add to your second guesses by attempting to handle the DUI case on your own or turning to a cheap, inexperienced attorney. You need to find a skilled and knowledgeable Frisco DWI lawyer whom you can trust.

Additional Information About DWI Suspects’ Rights

While we’ve already told you what you can and can’t do when stopped for questioning about a DWI, you need to always remember that all of your actions are being videotaped by the camera in the officer’s car.

No matter what you think after years hearing the Miranda Rights read while watching cop shows on TV, you don’t have “the right to an attorney” when you are sitting beside the road under investigation for a DWI. You only retain this right after you’ve been arrested and are being questioned during a criminal investigation. On the other hand, you do have the right to remain silent, but you should remember that silence in the face of the police officer’s questions will invariably make you look guilty on the video. Furthermore, your silence will likely make the officer angry and increase the likelihood of your being arrested.

Despite your preconceptions, driving is a privilege afforded by the state of Texas, and not your innate right as an American. Thus, the state has the right to compel you to take a breathalyzer test by revoking your license if you choose not to do so. Consider for a moment what would happen if the state didn’t take this action – nobody would relent to take BAC tests. As a result, all drunken drivers would go free, and driving at night would be slightly more safe than playing Russian roulette. Thus, the state threatens punitive action against anyone who opts not to take a breathalyzer and can even use the refusal as evidence against this person in court.

Grossman Law Offices is Here for You

For more than two decades, the Frisco DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been finding ways to help Texans accused of DWI in Collin County and all over Texas. Not only have we mastered the intricacies of DWI law, but we also know all of the ins and outs of the legal machinations in Collin County. While we can’t promise we can deliver a not guilty verdict, we can assure you that we will devote our expertise, knowledge, and resources to ensuring that you find the best possible resolution to your legal situation.

We can help you no matter what kind of drunken drive you’re facing – if you’re a minor who got pulled over after drinking one wine cooler, if you’re a parent who got stopped after one drink too many while you had the kids in the car, if you’re an adult who killed or injured someone in a drunken driving accident, or if you refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. We know how to help you all. To learn what we can do for you, call us now for a free and private consultation at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free). You can tell us what happened, and we will answer all of your questions and explain what we can do to help. You can’t afford to go through this challenging time alone, so call us now.