Houston DWI Attorney

Our Houston DWI Lawyers Can Help You Secure a Favorable Resolution Following Your Driving While Intoxicated Arrest

Houston is an enormous town in geographical size while having woefully few taxi cabs to serve its population. Thus, many people who party in Houston end up drinking and driving at the end of the night and then going to jail after being pulled over by a police officer. If you made that costly decision, then you will need a clever and experienced Houston DWI lawyer in your corner if you want to have a chance of winning an acquittal or at least limiting the negative consequences. You not only need an attorney who understands DWI laws and punitive measures, but also has spent plenty of time in the Harris County courts learning its ways and means.

The state of Texas allows a great deal of latitude when it comes to punishments for various drunken driving offenses, taking into account the circumstances and history of the offender involved in each crime. Even if the facts of your case don’t permit beating the charges, you still need an experienced attorney to get the court to apply leniency. At Grossman Law Offices, our Houston DWI lawyers have been helping people deal with drunken driving charges for over 20 years, so we know how to help you achieve the best possible result to your case. In the time we’ve been dealing with DWI cases, we’ve dealt with practically every type of charge and a wide variety of details.

After handling so many other cases, we know that people who have been accused of drunken driving are usually confused and scared about how the charge will shake up their lives. Our Houston DWI attorneys have learned that one of the most effective ways to help an accused drunken driver is to merely explain how DWI cases work. Once you’ve learned about the law, processes, and punishments involved with a DWI, you can make the critical choices about how to move forward with your case. Not only are you facing the prospects of going to jail, paying huge fines, and losing your driver’s license, but your reputation can take a serious hit with a conviction. In the Internet age, anyone can find your embarrassing DWI history with an easy online background check. If you want to have the best chances of controlling the negative fallout of your DWI arrest or possibly secure an acquittal, you can’t handle your own case or entrust it to an inexperienced lawyer who is still wet behind the ears after law school. You need the help of a Houston drunken driving criminal attorney with a sizable amount of experience handling these cases. Our attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have logged the necessary drunken driving cases to help you with yours, so contact us now for a free consultation at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free). Until you decide to call, please feel free to read the rest of this article and arm yourself with information about DWI and other drunken driving offenses.

How DWI Offenders Differ from Other Criminals

In most crime – say robbery or murder – the criminal has every intention of hurting someone else without their actions. However, that’s not the nature of a DWI offender, who has just been reckless or careless and made the bad decision to driver after having too much to drink. Otherwise, this person is likely an upstanding citizen. Moreover, the alcohol is just as much to blame as the person, since it impairs one’s normal ability to make rational decisions as well as perform physical task. When someone is intoxicated, he or she is incapable of realizing he or she is unable to drive due to the loss of reasoning skills. Since drunken drivers are usually unknowing or unintentional criminals, the court takes this into accounting when doling out punishment, offering quite a great of leeway in terms of punishments. Those drunken drivers who presented little threat to society can secure less damaging punitive measures than those who present a greater threat to the public good. However, you will need an experienced and knowledgeable Houston DWI attorney in your corner if you want to prove that you are just made a one-time error and present very little hazard to people moving forward. If the court doesn’t know who you are, it will pursue the stiffest penalty it can get. At Grossman Law Offices, our attorneys have been dealing with drunken driving cases for more than 20 years, and if there are grounds for getting you off the hook, we will find them. However, if the evidence against you is simply to concrete to overcome, we will help you work out the best possible resolution with the prosecution.

Examining Basic Criminal Law in this Country

While we hope we’re not offending your intelligence with the next couple of paragraphs, we must first review the basics of American criminal law before we delve into DWI litigation in more depth. In this country, the Constitution forms the foundation of our legal system, proving all citizens with basic rights – most notably in the first 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights. When a person is charged with a crime, he or she has certain rights that the arresting officer must respect. To convict someone accuse of any crime, the state must show that he or she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

On the other hand, the government also enjoys certain rights no matter what the level: federal, state, or local. So long as their rulings do not directly impede upon the jurisdiction of a higher court, each court has the right to create and enforce its own laws that reflect community standards. To grasp this notion, let’s examine the way different jurisdictions deal with laws regarding the use of cell phones while driving. Studies have shown an alarmingly high rate of car accidents resulting from drivers who were talking or texting at the time of the accident. The federal government has passed no law regarding cell phone usage, but some states like New Jersey and New York have banned motorists from the use of cell phones not equipped with hands-free devices. In Texas, the State Legislature tried to outlaw the use of cell phones in school zones back in September, but Governor Rick Perry used his veto power to prevent the new bill from becoming a law. On the local level, on the other hand, many cities and towns around Texas have taken it upon themselves to ban mobile phone usage while in school zones. Every jurisdiction has the right to rule its own opinion about the use of cell phones while driving so long as its new law does not contradict that of a greater jurisdiction.

In turn, when the jurisdiction’s law is broken, then it can determine the penalty and procedure for settling the issue. Of course, there are limits to this concept. Harris County can’t chop off a finger because a driver was talking on a cell phone in a school zone. Some communities will require the offender to appear in person to pay the fine, while others will permit payment by phone, Internet, or mail. If the offender chooses to fight the charges, then he or she has every right to argue his or her case in court. On the other hand, the procedures for this occurs will be at the whim of the jurisdiction.

When a crime violates federal laws, like terrorism or bank robbing, then pursuing charges and assessing punishment is the domain of the federal court system, which has no limit within the United States.

Courts don’t just have their own laws and procedures, but it’s almost as if they have their own personalities due to the fact that the different ways of doing things create a unique flavor to every jurisdiction. It’s the same concept as the way every football stadium exists for the same purpose – exhibiting and watching football games – but they each go about doing so in slightly different ways. Some have more seats than others, some are indoors and others outdoors, some have grass and others turf. All courts weigh justice and assess penalties to wrongdoers, but they each have their own ways of coming to this end. If you are going to find the best possible resolution to your case, then you must find the help of a well-seasoned Houston DWI lawyer who knows the ways that the Harris County courts, prosecutors, and judges to do business.

The consequences of a DWI conviction can be quite severe – extensive fines, loss of driving privileges and possibly even prison time. You can’t take the chance of handling your own case with such severe punishment awaiting you if you should fail. In order to take the best course of action, you need to sit down and discuss your case with a Houston DWI lawyer who has dealt with hundreds of these cases and know what to expect. If the evidence against you is strong, then you obviously can tell you that have significant incentive for arranging a plea agreement. What you might not be aware of, however, is that the prosecution also has motivation to work out a plea bargain. When prosecutors lose too many cases, especially those with negative societal stigmas like drunken driving, then they risk losing their jobs. In the case of the prosecution, this reality is not even that fair, since prosecutors cannot do their job effectively unless the arresting officer did his or her job effectively in making the traffic stop, placing the suspect under arrest, and gathering evidence. Even if the evidence appears to be strong, a clever and experienced Texas drunken driving attorney can still sometimes get a jury to question the accuracy of the evidence, creating reasonable doubt that leads to an acquittal. A prosecutor can protect his or her winning percentage and safeguard his or her job by agreeing to a plea bargain that goes down as a W.

What a Skilled Houston DWI Attorney Can Do to Help You

The Texas State Legislature has crafted DWI laws for the purposes of punishing offenders according to not only the damage they’ve already caused to society, but the continued risk of future harm they pose. Thus, repeat offenders and drunken drivers who cause accidents are punished much more severely than someone who was pulled over while barely over the legal limit in committing a first offense. You need a Houston DWI attorney who is capable of getting the court to view you as a minimal threat.

At Grossman Law Offices, our Houston drunken driving criminal lawyers have dealt with nearly every conceivable circumstance and type of drunken driving offense, so we know instinctively the best method for resolving a case and are quite capable of arguing a case in court or negotiating an acceptable plea agreement. Police have established practices for investigating crimes, and our firm has a proven and effective method of handling DWI cases. Before doing anything else, we’ll want to meet with you personally and hear your side of the story about how you came to be in your present predicament. Whether you meet with our firm or another, we must stress the importance of being honest with your attorney. Should you stretch the truth, blatantly lie, or omit important details, this will only hurt your case in the long run. By misleading your attorney, you’re only causing him or her to build a strategy based upon false information and that’s a house of cards waiting to come tumbling down. Once we know your side of the story, we’re going to want to know what kind of case the prosecution has and the punishment it will be seeking against you. Fortunately, the court orders both sides in a trial to exchange information during the discovery period. Our familiarity with the Harris County courts should make this process go smoothly and swiftly. After we know all of the facts on both sides of the case, then and only then, will we determine whether or not we should go to trial and how to attack the case if we do opt for the courtroom.

Basic DWI Facts

Okay, now that we’ve made sure you comprehend the basics of law in this country, we can begin examining the specifics of DWI laws.

Obviously, you’re unfortunately already aware that driving while intoxicated is against the law, or you would have no reason to have read this far. You likely knew that fact before you even got arrested. Most people, however, don’t fully comprehend what “intoxicated” means in relation to DWI. While they are usually aware that someone is considered intoxicated when his or her blood alcohol concentration exceeds .08 percent, there’s a second definition of intoxication in relation to DWI. A person is considered legally drunk while driving in this state when he or she has lost “normal physical and mental abilities.” In fact, the legal BAC level of intoxication was lowered from .10 percent in the 1980s after scientific studies determined most people lose normal mental and physical abilities at .08 percent BAC.

Based solely upon the second definition of intoxication, it’s very difficult for courts to convict a suspected drunken driver because the determination of drunkenness is based completely on the police officer’s opinion. Over time, Texas courts have come to recognize the second DWI standard as referring to what is normal for the specific driver in question and not just for an average driver in general. If the officer just met you when he or she pulled you over, then how can he or she know how your behavior differs from your normal behavior?

Thus, Texas law enforcement officers are instructed to always attempt to get some sort of a BAC test before arresting a DWI suspect – always. The laws in Texas changed back in September, giving law enforcement officers another reason to try to secure a breathalyzer or other BAC test. The Texas State Legislature created a second category of DWI called Extreme or Aggravated DWI that more severely punishes drivers who record BAC scores over .15 percent. It shouldn’t be surprising that studies have shown that the severity of drunken driving accidents tends to escalate with the degree of drunkenness of the driver. The new law hopes to discourage blackout drunks from getting behind the wheel by punishing them more harshly than mildly intoxicated drivers. In order to do so, the police officer must administer a BAC test of some sort.

No matter what form of DWI you have been accused of committing, our Houston DWI lawyers are prepared to help you with your case.

Debating a Plea Bargain vs. a Trial

Taking your case to court is probably your best bet, if there are weaknesses in the state’s case or if your rights were tread upon in some regard by the arresting officer. In some cases, our Houston drunken driving attorneys have even been able to get a judge to make an order of summary judgment, throwing the prosecution’s case out of court.

For most drivers who are charged with DWI, on the contrary, the state collected evidence fairly and developed a strong case. Years of making DWI arrests and investigating cases has enabled Texas law enforcement agencies to develop tried and true methods for making traffic stops, questioning suspected drunken drivers, and gathering evidence to prove the cases against them. When an office spots a car driving erratically, he or she will pull in behind the vehicle and begin videotaping the way the car is driving. Next, he or she will turn on his lights and pull the suspect over, making sure to align the cruiser in such a way as to capture the subsequent interview on tape. The officer will then ask the suspect to step out of the car, so he or she can observe the physical behavior of the suspect during questioning. During this interview, the officer follows explicit regulations for the questions he or she asks. If the officer suspects from the answers given that the driver may be drunk, then the officer will ask the driver to take a field sobriety test, like a nystagmus test that tracks eye movement, a balancing test that determines physical acuity, or a recitation test that gauges mental sharpness. If the driver cannot perform the roadside test or refuses to take several field sobriety tests, then the officer will ask the driver to take a breathalyzer. If the driver tests a BAC below .08 percent, then he or she will be free to go. However, if the driver refuses to take the breathalyzer test or fails it, then the officer places the driver under arrest. Declining to take the breathalyzer will also lead to the driver’s immediate loss of his or her driver’s license. In some cases, the circumstances of the breathalyzer test enable a good lawyer to get the jury to question the accuracy of a BAC test. Although, most drivers who tested intoxicated on a breathalyzer or other BAC test would be far wiser to work out a plea agreement then take their chances of winning over a jury that is likely somewhat biased by its natural preconceptions about drunken drivers. At Grossman Law Offices, we know that we’re capable of winning most drunken driving case, but we also know that even the best arguments sometimes fall on deaf ears. We’re dedicate to pursing the legal path that gives you the best chances of securing the most favorable outcome to your case.

If you attempt to go to trial and lose, then you will likely face much more severe consequences than if you had the forethought to work out a plea agreement.

Blood Alcohol Concentration in Texas DWI Cases

As we’ve already mentioned and you in all likelihood already knew anyway, .08 percent BAC is the established, demonstrable level of intoxication in Texas all other states in the union. In order to measure the BAC level of suspects, Texas police officers use one of the three different methods:

• Measure the grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
• Measure the grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
• Measure the grams of alcohol per 67 milliliters of urine.

When you’ve been hanging out with your friends and drinking all night long, it’s not likely that you’re going to be able to track your own level of drunkenness no matter how intelligent you are and are armed with a drink conversion chart. There is no argument that a BAC test is a much better measuring stick to assess someone’s level of intoxication, but BAC tests are still flawed and not 100 percent reliable in every situation. All three types of BAC tests used in Texas base their formulas on some sort of mean level of body chemistry. Thus, if a person’s urine, blood, or breath is abnormal for some reason, the tests will not be accurate. Moreover, a suspected drunken driver could be ruled intoxicated by one means of testing and sober by another.

Examining Inaccuracies with Breathalyzer Tests

Putting aside fluctuations in body chemistry for a moment, the passage of time can also cause a significant challenge to the accuracy of BAC tests. To prove the guilt of a drunken driver, the state must establish that he or she was actually intoxicated at the time he or she was driving. In most cases, BAC tests aren’t given until at least 45 minutes after the driver was pulled over and with blood tests, the delay can often be closer to two hours. If the driver records an intoxicated blood test 90 minutes after he or she as stopped, does that really prove the driver was intoxicated while driving?

As the clock keeps ticking, the DWI suspect’s body is processing the alcohol through his or her system and this process can throw off the test results both in favor of the driver and against him or her, depending upon the circumstances. Different mitigating factors can affect how quickly this process occurs: the driver’s weight, the speed of his or her metabolism, the amount of food ingested before and during drinking, the rate at which he or she drank, and the various different alcohol types consumed. Consider a situation in which a driver had a large amount of alcohol to drink but stopped consuming liquor and switched to water long before driving home. The person drove erratically, leading to a DWI traffic stop. The driver asked for a blood test and in the ensuing 90 minutes, the driver’s BAC falls before it was tested at .07; although, he or she was likely legally intoxicated when stopped. On the other hand, someone who kept drinking right up until the point of driving away from a bar might not actually have been intoxicated when stopped. As time passed waiting to take a BAC test, the driver digests more alcohol into his or her system, leading to a BAC test over the legal limit and the arrest of the driver.

If a failed BAC test led to your incarceration and DWI charge, you shouldn’t just assume you have no chance of winning your case. After you’ve sat down and discussed your situation with a trial-tested Houston DWI lawyer, you might learn that your BAC could be inaccurate and susceptible to a challenge in court.

Testing for BAC along the Side of the Road

Sadly, blood tests are the most reliable and accurate BAC test, allowing for the storing and retesting of the sample, but they’re also the most difficult to conduct by the side of the road and do not produce instantaneous results. Administration of a blood test by an officer in the field simply is not safe or practical. If the blood test waits until the suspect has arrived at the police station, then the accuracy of the test may slip away with minutes off the clock. Thus, protocol in Texas calls for officers to request suspected drunken drivers to take breathalyzer tests.

Throughout the state of Texas, law enforcement officers rely upon the Intoxilyzer 5000 to perform breathalyzer tests. This machine measures the amount of alcohol in the breath using infrared light sensors, but its computer technology is 30 years old and thus hard to depend upon. Still, this is the breathalyzer of choice, making life-altering calculations for suspected drunken drivers. Bringing the accuracy of the Intoxilyzer 5000 more into question, the manufacturer will not guarantee its findings, and only law enforcement offices may test the device’s accuracy.

While there are some examples of cases in which the Intoxilyzer 5000 has mistaken non-alcoholic substances for alcohol, the far greater problem with these machines derives from the way it measures BAC using the average blood-to-breath ratio of 2,100 to 1. Most people just don’t have an average blood-to-breath ratio, and in extreme cases of deviation from the norm, breathalyzer tests cannot be relied upon. Someone whose blood-to-breath ratio is atypically high will score an inaccurately low BAC on the Intoxilyzer 5000, and abnormally low blood-to-breath ratio skews an Intoxilyzer 5000 test too high.

Given all of this information, the aspect of the Intoxilyzer 5000 that always leaves our attorneys scratching their heads is that the machine could be far more reliable if it were used to the full extent of its powers. Another BAC tested called a gas chromatography test provides a far more accurate assessment of blood alcohol concentration, and the Intoxilyzer 5000 can store breath samples, allowing this test to be conducted when it is convenient. Unfortunately, convictions appear to be a higher priority to the Texas Department of Public Safety than ensuring that justice has been served, for the DPS will not require that officers save breath samples or perform the gas chromatography test on them.

The good news for you is that you may be able to win an acquittal even if you have failed a breathalyzer test. An aggressive and knowledgeable Texas DWI attorney, given the right situation and set of circumstances, may be able to get a jury to question the veracity of the breathalyzer test upon which your arrest was based.

DWI Penalties in Texas

The punishment that will be assigned to a convicted drunken driver stems from the harm caused by the incident in question, as well as, the driver’s previous DWI history. While prison is a possibility with every DWI offense, probation is far more likely unless someone has been assaulted or killed in the accident. In order to help you better understand what you might be facing if convicted, we’ve provided the following list of the various drunken driving offenses:

• First-time DWI - So long as the driver’s BAC was less than .15 percent, a first-time DWI conviction is considered a Class B misdemeanor and is punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 180 days, a maximum fine of $2,000, and a driver’s license revocation ranging from 90 to 365 days.

• Extreme or Aggravated DWI - On the other hand, when the convicted driver’s recorded BAC soared over .15 percent, then he or she has committed a Class A misdemeanor and receives a much stiffer punishment – a maximum prison sentence of two years and a fine as high as $4,000.

• Second-time DWI - Upon being convicted a second time, a DWI offender’s punishment also increases, for a second DWI conviction is also a Class A misdemeanor threatening a maximum of $4,000 in fines, a two-year driver’s license suspension, and between 180 days and two years in prison.

• Third-time DWI - The purpose of DWI laws is to punish offenders who present a greater threat to the public more harshly, so a third DWI conviction amps up the punitive measures to respond to the offender’s inability to curb his or her dangerous behavior. A third DWI is classified as a 3rd-degree felony and be punished with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, a required suspension of driving privileges for 10 years and a maximum fine of $10,0000.

• Open Containers - When a driver drinks while actually driving, then the driver’s punishment only gets more severe for violating a Texas law that prohibits drivers from having open containers holding alcohol in the car with them. Being found guilty of this crime can add up to six additional days in prison and a fine of $2,000 to any punishment doled out for the actual DWI offense.

• Driver’s License Surcharges - If a driver wants to reacquire his or her driving privileges after having his or her driver’s license revoked for a DWI offense, the state of Texas forces him or her to pay additional fines on top of those assigned by the court. Convicted DWI offenders wishing to reinstate their licenses must pay an annual surcharge for the first three years after reinstating the license – $1,000 per year for first-time offenders, $1,500 per year for second-time offenders, and $2,000 per year for third-time offenders. If the DWI in question was an Aggravated DWI, then the surcharge is twice that for a standard DWI. If a person is convicted of more than one DWI in a three-year span, then he or she must pay multiple surcharges to retain driving privileges in overlapping years. Thus, it’s not unheard of for DWI offenders to pay $5,000 per year in surcharges and an extremely rare case could result in $9,000 owed in one year.

• Intoxication Assault - Since DWI laws are designed to protect the public from greater harm, drunken drivers who injure others in accidents receive stiffer fines and penalties designed to curtail their behavior. When someone is found guilty of hurting someone else in a drunken driving accident, that crime is called intoxication assault, a 3rd-degree felony punishable with a maximum jail sentence of 10 years and a fine as high as $10,000. When convicted of this offense, a drunken driver is required to spend at least 30 days in prison, and someone found guilty of intoxication assault with a deadly weapon is completely prohibited from probation.

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• Intoxication Manslaughter - When a driver is found guilty of killing someone in a drunken driving accident, then this is called intoxication manslaughter, the only DWI crime treated more seriously then intoxication assault. This crime is classified as a 2nd-degree felony and requires those convicted to spend at least 120 days in prison. The imposed sentence can be as long as 20 years, and the fine as high as $10,000.

• Community Supervision - While the mandatory prison sentences imposed on people who commit intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter can be attention-getting, most people convicted of other drunken driving offenses will only be sentenced to probation.

  While far more preferred than going to prison, probation is still not a cakewalk. First, the probationer must pay more -- $60 per month for a supervisory fee during the length of the probation. Then, the drunken driver will be required to report to a probation officer monthly to confirm that he or she is complying with the conditions of his or her probation. These stipulations usually include: maintaining employment, abstaining from alcohol and breaking the law, keeping away from bars and bad influences, fulfilling community service obligations, making all fine payments as scheduled, and attending alcohol awareness classes. In order to confirm that a probationer is refraining from drinking, the probation officer may require a monthly urine test, with that likelihood increasing dramatically when the offense involved drugs as well as alcohol. If the probationer fails to meet all of the probationary requirements, his or her probation could be revoked, sending him or her to prison for the length of he sentence that had been doled out by the court. As time rolls by and you develop trust with your probation officer, he or she may allow you to forgo appearing in person every month in exchange for mailing in a probation report, but that is at the discretion of the particular probation officer.

  When a drunken driver has been convicted of multiple offenses, he or she will forced to install an interlock device on the ignition of his or her car and is barred from driving any vehicle that has not been outfitted with such a device. An interlock mechanism forces a driver to breath into the machine in order to start the car. Should the interlock detect alcohol on the driver’s breath, then the car will not start, the device cannot be tested again for two hours, the driver’s probation officer will be notified of the failed test that could lead to a revoked probation. In cases where the driver cleans up his or her behavior and never drinks during the entire term of probation, merely having the interlock device on the car can be extremely embarrassing. Everyone who enters the car – employers, clients, dates, in-laws – will all know the driver has been convicted of multiple DWIs.

  In some rare cases, drunken driving offenses can be expunged from the driver’s record, but even in these cases the conviction remains on the driving record of the offender, causing increased insurance payments for the next decade.

• Texas DWI with A Minor in the Vehicle - When the adult driving a child around becomes too intoxicated, the child doesn’t have the option of refusing to get in the car. In order to safeguard such children, the state of Texas has created a separate category of DWI that is treated like child endangerment: DWI with a minor in the vehicle. This crime is a state felony that is treated very seriously with a maximum fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to two years. When investigating DWI with a minor in the vehicle, police are far more likely to make an arrest without a BAC test, for they will take action to protect the children. For a single parent convicted of this offense, the consequences can be far greater – destruction of his or her family. An ex-husband or wife could use this conviction to take away custody of the child(ren) or deny visitation. Furthermore, an in-law or child protective services could also possible step in and deny custody.

In order to secure the best possible outcome to your case, you need the skilled guidance of an experienced Houston DWI attorney – no matter what drunken driving crime with which you have been accused. Our criminal drunken driving lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been handling these cases for more than 20 years, so we know how to help.

The Rights of DWI Suspects in Texas

While you’re provided the Freedom of Speech at the beginning of the Constitution’s Top 10 list, that doesn’t mean you should exercise this right when stopped and questioned for suspected drunken driving. Instead of reaming out the investigating officer, you’d be far wiser just to do what you’re asked and remain polite and cooperative. If you anger the officer, you’re only making your situation worse. You are permitted the right to refuse to answer the questions you’re asked, but do you think this is going to make you look guilty or innocent on the video the jury will view later? Right, guilty. If the police officer questioning you starts to believe you may be drunk, he or she will next ask you to take a field sobriety test. Since you can be determined to be drunk if you have lost normal mental and physical ability, you have every right to decline to take a field sobriety test based upon your physical or mental limitations under normal conditions. For instance, if you have dyslexia and bad knees, you’re not going to be able to stand on one leg and recite the alphabet backwards on your best day. Thus, you can refuse to take this test.

However, if you repeatedly decline to take these sobriety tests, you’re going to look very guilty on the video. By repeatedly declining these tests, you also push the officer to eventually request that you take a breathalyzer test. As we’ve explained, the Intoxilyzer 5000 can often produce less than reliable results, so you can refuse to take it. Just remember that this means your driver’s license will be revoked, and you will also be arrested. Once you are taken to the police station, you will then be afforded the option of a BAC blood test. If the blood test results prove you were not intoxicated, then you will not be charged and will likely get your driver’s license reinstated. In the event you won’t take a blood test, the arresting office will try to track down a judge to sign a warrant to extract your fluids for testing against your will. However, that’s not always possible since most DWIs occur late at night.

In many communities around the state of Texas, this protocol is evolving. Since drinking and driving tends to increase on celebratory holiday weekends like New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and Independence Day, judges in many jurisdictions are now providing pre-authorized warrants that permit blood extraction from unwilling suspects on these weekends. All the arresting officer needs to do is fill in the blanks on the form. In fact, San Antonio’s Bexar County has extended this policy to all weekends from Labor Day until the end of 2011 on an experimental basis. This is very important to remember for people who’ve been stopped for DWI after taking drugs in addition to drinking alcohol. These drugs fly under the radar on a breathalyzer test but will be detected and documented by a blood test.

If you failed a breathalyzer or a blood test or merely was arrested after refusing to be tested, our Houston DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices can help you resolve your legal situation and find a resolution with which you can live.

A Little More You Need to Know About Intoxication Assault and Intoxication Manslaughter

When someone is suspected of intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter after injuring or killing someone else in a car accident and police suspect alcohol was involved, the driver’s blood will be tested with or without his or her consent. Furthermore, this is not the only advantage enjoyed by the prosecution, as it also has a very easy standard of proof and can likely rely on the prejudices the jurors have against dangerous drunken drivers. The prosecution need not prove malicious intent in order to secure a conviction – only that someone was injured or killed in an accident with a driver who was drunk. When this stacked deck cannot be defeated, the consequences for the convicted offender are as severe as they get for drunken driving offenses: 10 years in prison for intoxication assault, 20 years for intoxication manslaughter and $10,000 fines for either offense.

You need a skilled and seasoned Houston drunken driving lawyer to battle any drunken driving charge. If you try to deal with your own case when facing intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter charges and their stiff punishment, then you’re bordering on lunacy.

Minors Under 21 DUI and DWI

While minors are generally people under the age of 18 when it comes to most American laws, anyone under 21 is a minor when it comes to drunken driving laws, stemming from the legal drinking age being 21 in this country. Since minors are barred from drinking any booze, they’re prohibited from driving with any amount of alcohol in their system at all – a crime called Driving Under the Influence (DUI). If you recently moved to Texas from another state, then these laws may be somewhat confusing since in many states the term DUI is to describe the crime of DWI in Texas. While teens convicted of DUI do not face the harsh punishments reserved for DWI offenders, you still need the help of a reliable Houston drunken driving attorney to obtain the most favorable outcome allowable if you or your teenager was arrested for a DUI.

When stopped by police and questioned for suspected DUI, minors will face the same procedures and enjoy the same rights as adults suspected of DWI. But, just like adults, minors face consequences for refusing to take breathalyzer tests. Minors refusing a breathalyzer during a first DUI conviction will have their driver’s license revoked for 120 days with the length of the suspension rises to 240 days for a second declined breathalyzer. On the other hand, the suspension for a failed breathalyzer on a DUI is only 60 days. Thus, minors are usually better off relenting to take a breathalyzer test, since waiting for a blood test will not allow them to sober up enough to pass. If the blood test detects any alcohol in the blood, then the minor is guilty. This is not necessarily the case for a second DUI conviction, as a failed breathalyzer then carries a driver’s license suspension of up to one year.

If a minor appears to be an alcoholic or a drug addict who cannot curtail his or her dangerous behavior, then the court can permanently revoke the minor’s driver’s license or send the offender to rehab.

Minors who drink to extreme excess are also not immune from being charged with a DWI or Aggravated DWI. If these minors are 17 or older, then they may be tried as adults, facing the same punishments as adults. Younger minors, on the other hand, could be sent to juvenile detention for committing DWI.

First-time DUI

A minor found guilty of a first-time DUI has committed a Class C misdemeanor which carried no threat of jail time and instead punished with 20-40 hours of community service and a 15-hour alcohol awareness class. Furthermore, the minor’s parents must attend all court sessions, and may also be ordered to go to alcohol awareness class with the minor. There is a small upside to a first-time DUI: it’s the only drunken driving crime that can be completely expunged from the driver’s legal record. So long as the minor is given deferred adjudication and completes all of the requirements of his or her community supervision, then he or she can have the conviction expunged upon his or her 21st birthday.

Second-time DUI

A second DUI differs from the first in two ways. First, the minor will now be required to complete 60 hours of community service. Second, while the minor still qualifies for deferred adjudication, he or she is no longer permitted to expunge the conviction.

Third-time DUI

When a drunken driving minor refuses to change his or behavior, a third-time DUI conviction becomes far more serious. Classified as a Class B misdemeanor, a third DUI carries the threat of much more grownup punishments: a prison sentence of 180 days for anyone over 17 and a fine ranging from $500 to $2,000.

When you or your teenager so or daughter chose to drive after having even one drink, an extremely bad decision was made. Don’t add fuel to the fire of foolish decisions by attempting to handle your DUI case without the help of an experience and knowledgeable Houston DWI lawyer whom you can trust.

ALR Hearing Following Driver’s License Suspension for a Refused Breathalyzer Test

After declining to take a breathalyzer test, your driver’s license will be confiscated and revoked by the arresting officer. Before taking you to prison, however, the officer will issue you a provision driver’s license good for the next 40 days to give you time to challenge the revocation.

Next, either the officer or the DPS will send you notification of the intention to revoke your driver’s license for 180 days. Upon receipt of this notification, you have 15 days to request an Administrative License Revocation Hearing (ALR Hearing) at which your lawyer can attempt to argue your license should not be suspended.

If the court cannot schedule your ALR Hearing before the 40-day temporary license subsides, as is usually the case, then the temporary licenses automatically extends until the ALR Hearing. If you were able to pass a blood test after being arrested, then your lawyer should be able to get your license reinstated. If you fail in your attempt to challenge the revocation, you are permitted another 30-day period to appeal, which then extends the provisional license for another 90 days. An eventual acquittal brings the driver’s license suspension to an end.

At Grossman Law Offices, our Houston DWI lawyers may be able to get your driver’s license back at full privileges even if it was revoked. Thus, don’t lose hope, just find the right attorney.

Occupational Driver’s Licenses

Our Houston DWI lawyers may even be able to help you get back behind the wheel if you lose your ALR Hearing. The state of Texas knows that people need a way of getting to and from work or school and taking care of their families – even those who have been convicted of DWI. Thus, DWI offenders may apply for an Occupational Driver’s License (ODL) that allow driving to and from work and other pre-approved and necessary locales. However, ODLs greatly limit driving and come at a high price. The ODL holder is required to keep a driving log on which all trips much be tracked, noting the date, the time of departure, time of return, miles driven, intended destination, and reason for the trip.

Successful ODL application depends upon following the procedural requirements set forth by the Harris County courts. When someone doesn’t follow the required procedure to a T, the court may deny the license or fail to allow travel to all requested locations. Your best chance of getting your driving privileges back is to find a Houston DWI attorney who knows the required procedures in Harris County backwards and forwards.

DWI Offenses Differ a Great Deal from Public Intoxication

Not only are DWI and public intoxication (PI) entirely different crimes, but in Texas they even define intoxication differently. According to PI laws, someone is intoxicated when he or she presents a danger to him or herself or others due to excessive drunkenness.

When someone is suspected of DWI, the Texas DPS has established concrete protocol for how to investigate and arrest the suspect. When it comes to PI, there is no established set of procedures to make an arrest and gather evidence. The only requirement is that a police officer thinks the person is drunk and danger to him or herself.

For obvious reasons, someone who is committing PI by falling asleep on the curb outside a bar presents far less danger to society, than someone driving the wrong way down a one-way street in an sport utility vehicle. Ergo, PI punishment is not nearly as damaging as that for DWI, and it’s only a Class C misdemeanor carrying a $500 fine and no jail time. Unless you feel a PI charge was unfair, you don’t need a lawyer to resolve your case – just a check for $500. Not like a DWI arrest in which you must have the help of a trustworthy and time-tested Houston DWI lawyer to secure the best possible outcome.

Driving is Not a Right

While the Constitution provides you many rights, driving is not one of them. Rather, driving is a privilege afforded by the state. If you have shown you don’t deserve this privilege, then the state can revoke it. This is how the state justifies taking away your driver’s license if you decline to take a breathalyzer test. What would happen if Texas didn’t take this step? Nobody would agree to a breathalyzer, all drunken drivers would go free, and the roads of Texas at night would be even more dangerous than they are today. By revoking your driver’s license, the state gives you a reason to agree to the test. Additionally, a declined test can be presented as evidence against you at trial. When you stop and consider the situation, you should remember that a good Houston DWI attorney could get damning breathalyzer results excluded due to the circumstances, so you’re usually better off agreeing to be tested.

Whether or not you relent to be tested, you need to remember that the video system in the officer’s car is recording everything you do and say. Thus, the appearance of sobriety can be just as helpful as the appearance of intoxication can be harmful.

The “right to an attorney” is also NOT among the rights you enjoy during the initial traffic stop – you can’t get your lawyer on the phone as you’re being questioned. You only have a right to counsel when being interrogated about a criminal investigation and not in a standard traffic stop. As we mentioned earlier, you do have “the right to remain silent” and can refuse to answer any question you’re asked. Just remember that this was infuriate the officer and make him or her more motivated to put you in handcuffs.

The Houston DWI Lawyers at Grossman Law Offices Can Help You

In the past 20 years, the Houston drunken driving attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have helped hundreds of people accused of DWI and other drunken driving charges. No matter what the specifics of your case, we will know how to help you secure the best possible resolution allowable by the circumstances. Moreover, we’ve been trying cases and negotiating plea agreements in Harris County for many years, so we can make sure all of the procedures of the court are followed correctly.

After you’ve told us the details of your case and we’ve learned about the prosecution’s evidence against you, we’ll know whether or not a trial a plea bargain is your best option. We can be of assistance no matter what crime you’ve been charged with – if you failed a breathalyzer or merely refused to take one, if you injured another person in a drunken driving wreck, if you’re a teen who got pulled over an hour after drinking your first beer, or if you’re a parent who got pulled over with the kids in the car after having wine glass too many at a dinner party. We can help you with any DWI charge, giving you all the benefit of our years of experience, as well as, our time and resources. Call us now for a free consultation to learn how we can be of assistance at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free). Once we’ve talked with you, we can begin helping you determine the best course of action. You don’t have to go through this alone, so don’t.