Lubbock DWI Lawyer

After Being Arrested for a DWI in Lubbock, You Need an Experienced Attorney You Can Trust

Throughout the Lone Star State, Texas Tech is known as a bit of a party school, making Lubbock one of the most raucous towns in West Texas. Therefore, for a city of its size, Lubbock has an uncommonly high drunken driving rate, and its law enforcement officers stop and arrest a high number of people for driving while intoxicated and other drunken driving offenses. In order to secure the best possible outcome to your DWI arrest, you’re going to need the help of a shrewd and seasoned Lubbock DWI attorney.

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In a county seat like Lubbock that has its own law school, it’s pretty easy to locate a lawyer, but you don’t just want any attorney. You’re looking for a lawyer who knows drunken driving laws just as well as the unique qualities of the Lubbock County courts. Attorney Keith Purdue of Grossman Law Offices is a proud alum of the Texas Tech University School of Law.

There is a wide range of punishment for DWI crimes, and you need someone with significant familiarity with drunken driving laws to secure the resolution you deserve. By securing a Lubbock DWI attorney who is well known within the local court systems, you position yourself to secure the best outcome the law allows. Finding a lawyer who is willing to take your money and escort you to trial without doing anything more to help you than hoping for a break from the jury is easy in Lubbock. At Grossman Law Offices, our Lubbock DWI attorneys offer our full array of resources, experience and time to Texans who have gotten themselves into DWI trouble. We’re devoted to exhausting all venues to find the best viable verdict or plea bargain for our clients.

After being arrested for a DWI offense, you’re probably more than a little frightened and confused. That’s why our lawyers have put together this informative article, for we believe the best way to ease your concerns is by letting you know a little bit more about what you can expect throughout the DWI criminal trial process. While you likely already realize that you could be facing prison time and will definitely be fined and have your driving privileges revoked if you are convicted, you probably don’t realize that’s not the end of your punishment. On top of the punitive measures taken by the court, you will also be subjected to a severe hit to your reputation, as well as, present and future employability. Anyone can do a background check and discover the conviction on your record. Only a clever and trial-tested Lubbock DWI lawyer gives the best chance of securing the resolution to your case that you desire. For 20 years, the lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been helping Texans accused of drunken driving offenses, so we’ve seen hundreds of cases and dealt with practically every eventuality that can arise. Call us now, and we will give you the opportunity to take advantage of a free and confidential consultation at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free).

Through our immense experience, we’ve become aware of the anger and impotency you feel in regard to your precarious legal situation, and we’re here to ease your worries and concerns.

DWI is a Different Type of Crime, with a Different Kind of Criminal

Most crimes are committed by criminals who meant to break the law and who don’t mind willfully hurting someone else, but this is not the case with DWI offenders, who are normal "everyday Joes" who just suffered an error in judgment while intoxicated. It’s important to remember that someone who is intoxicated has lost normal physical and mental acuity, including the ability to make rational decisions. Thus, while such a person should be punished, the state can take into account the individual and the severity of the crime to dole out a lighter punishment than someone who intentionally assaults or robs another citizen. On the other hand, just because the state can allow for leniency in a drunken driving case doesn’t mean that it is going to do so. In order to get the judge and jury to see you as someone who just made a solitary mistake and deserves a second chance, you need a Lubbock DWI attorney who has familiarity with hundreds of other cases and is a known entity within the Lubbock County courts. Even if the facts of your case do not warrant a not guilty verdict, a skilled and experienced attorney may be able to still help you attain the best possible outcome to your case.

The Basics of Criminal Law in the United States

Before we begin describing the specific details of legal process involved with criminal trials involving drunken driving, we must first make certain that you comprehend basic knowledge about the U.S. justice system in general. We hope you know these things already and are not too insulted by our repetition. All American citizens are guaranteed certain rights by the United States Constitution, particularly the first 10 amendments called the Bill of Rights. This document ratified into law in 1788 forms the basis of American law. Any person who is charged with a crime in this country is afforded certain rights that must be respected by the arresting officer in the means by which he or she investigates the crime and treats the suspect. Moreover, the court must prove a suspect is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before convicting him or her.

States, counties, cities, towns, and villages can all create their own laws to enforce community standards, so long as those laws don’t conflict with greater, overlapping jurisdictions. To better understand the nature of a jurisdiction’s ability to rule itself, let’s take a look at the laws involved with driving and using cell phones. In the state of Texas, Governor Rick Perry recently vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal to drive in school zones while texting. Despite the fact this bill was named after a South Plains girl, Alex Brown, who was killed in a school zone by a driver who was texting, Lubbock has not taken its right to individually ban this act. Around the state, that’s not the case. Several communities in the Dallas area had already banned the use of cell phones in school zone, even when using hands-free devices. Until the state government passes a law, each individual community can establish its own basis of right and wrong concerning cell phones and driving. Elsewhere in the country, some states, including New York and New Jersey, have banned the use of cell phones while driving entirely.

If someone drives through a school zone while texting in a jurisdiction where that is illegal, then the community has the right to enforce the law as it sees fit – within limits. The state of New Jersey can’t sentence someone to 10 years in prison for talking on a cell phone while driving. When someone violates any law in a jurisdiction, then he or she must follow the procedures established by that municipality to rectify the situation. If you want to pay the citation, some communities will allow you to do so by mail, others will let you do it online, and still others required you to appear in person. No matter what you’ve been charged with, you always have the right to a day in court to challenge the charge.

On the other hand, the federal government reserves the right to rule over major crimes like terrorism or robbing a bank that have an effect on all states and all communities without any limit to its jurisdiction.

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While the purpose of all courts is to dispense justice, they all go about achieving that end my vastly different means. No, a judge can’t just indiscriminately hand our ludicrous sentences or come to court in the nude under his or her robes. However, individual jurisdictions and judges do have leeway in establishing their own procedures and punishments. From one community to another, courtroom rules and procedures will change to such an extent that lawyers often say that a court has its own personality. Think of it like football stadiums. They all have the same reason for existence – providing a place for football teams to play and their fans to watch football. However, not all stadiums are alike. Some, like AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock are open air and provide fairly modest season for just over 60,000 screaming Red Raider fans. Others, like Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium are indoors with retractable roofs and room for more than 100,000. The prices will be different in each stadium, as will the views of the game, and the concessions offered. This analogy translates well to how one court can differ from the next. To achieve the best possible outcome to your drunken driving case, you need a DWI attorney who knows the Lubbock courts and how to handle its procedures.

If you are convicted of a drunken driving offense, you could be sent to prison, you’re your license, and fined many thousands of dollars. You can’t risk those consequences by attempting to represent yourself or turning to an inexperienced lawyer. While you are afforded the right to a trial, a wise lawyer knows that venue does not always provide the best solution for the defendant. In many cases, the defendant can improve his or her situation dramatically by coming to terms on a plea agreement. While this might surprise you, both the defendant and prosecution usually have motivation to plea bargain. What you have to gain is obvious – if the evidence against you is too strong then you can significantly lessen the punishment when convicted. However, the prosecutor also has motivation for finalizing a plea agreement. When prosecutors lose DWI cases, they draw ire from the district attorney above them. When prosecutors fail too many times, then they will no longer be working as prosecutors. What makes this situation even more precarious for the prosecutor is the possibility that the case is doomed if the arresting officer did conduct the traffic stop or gather evidence properly and with respect to the suspect’s rights. In some instances, a clever and experienced Lubbock DWI lawyer can help his or her client secure an acquittal even when the arresting officer has flawlessly gathered evidence because BAC testing can sometimes be discredited. With his or her job at stake in the long run, prosecutors have every incentive to negotiate a plea agreement and avoid an unanticipated loss in the courtroom.

How a Lubbock DWI Attorney Can be of Assistance

No matter what wisdom the old saying, “justice is blind,” is trying to impart, the reality when it comes to DWI laws in Texas is that justice keeps its eyes wide open and allows for leeway in terms of punitive measures. The law is concerned with ensuring that criminals are punished according to the hazard they present to the greater food; thus, the harm caused by the drunken driver and his or her past DWI and criminal history are taken into account when punishment is assigned. You need a Lubbock DWI lawyer who can make the judge and jury see you as a person who made a mistake and not just a suspect who committed a crime. Before the court hears any evidence, the prosecution will assume the worse and pursue the maximum sentence against a DWI offender.

After two decades trying and arranging plea agreements for all kinds of drunken driving offenses, our Lubbock drunken driving lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have settled into a routine procedure we know is effective for dealing with DWI cases. To begin, we need to sit down with you and hear your version of the facts. Whether you meet with our firm or another, we have to stress how important it is to be open and truthful with your lawyer. What you have to say will help determine the strategy your attorney is going to devise. If that strategy is based upon faulty facts, then your lawyer will have a defective trial strategy that will doom any chance you had of success. Once we know your side of the story, we want to know how that compares to the arresting officer’s version of events, what evidence the prosecution has, and what punishment they will be pursuing against you. During any court proceeding, the defense and prosecution must share the evidence they plan to use in court with each other. However, our familiarity with the Lubbock County courts and its prosecutors only greases the squeaky wheel and makes the process go along much faster. Once we know how your version of facts jives with the prosecution’s case, we can plan a strategy for working toward the best possible solution. If the prosecution’s case has weaknesses, then we will attack them in court, and if not, then we’ll negotiate the best possible plea agreement. No matter what we deem to be the best mode of recourse we will make sure you understand why we’ve chosen that avenue and then keep you informed of any changes in your case as they develop.

What is a DWI Exactly?

Now, let us delve into the specifics of DWI, beginning with the basic facts about the laws, the blood alcohol content tests, and then the actual crimes and punishments.

Obviously, you’re already aware that it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle in the United States while legally intoxicated. However, do you know what “legally intoxicated” means? If you answered having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent, then you’re right and wrong. There are two legal definitions of intoxication, and that’s one of them. The other definition of intoxication is when a person has consumed enough alcohol to lose “normal physical and mental abilities.” You may also be wondering why .08 percent was chosen as the legal limit of intoxication. In fact, the legal limit was .10 percent throughout most of the country until the late 1980s when scientific studies revealed that .08 percent was the actual point at which a person’s mental and physical faculties become so negatively affected as to become a danger.

On the other hand, the second definition is far less rigid and open for discussion and debate. In Texas, the state does not consider this standard to mean what is typical for an average driver, but what is in fact normal behavior for the specific driver in question. But, if the arresting officer has never met you, how will he or she know what your normal physical abilities are and whether or not those abilities are impaired?

Quite simply, this explains why police officers are instructed to do everything they can to get a suspected drunken driver to take a BAC test of some sort. Very seldom, will a drunken driver get convicted solely based upon the officer’s opinion that the driver was intoxicated. There’s also a fairly new reason why law enforcement officers are motivated to secure a BAC test. At the beginning of September, a new law went into effect, creating a separate DWI offense known alternately as either Extreme or Aggravated DWI for any drunken drivers who are proven to have been driving with a BAC over .15 percent. In most cases, the most severe and harmful DWI wrecks occur when blackout drunks get behind the wheel, so this new law has been designed to punish these people. We will discuss how Extreme DWI punishment differs from normal DWI later on in this article.

At Grossman Law Offices, our Lubbock DWI attorneys know how to help you if you have been charged with Extreme DWI or if you have been arrested for normal DWI, whether or not you took a BAC test. We can help guide you to the most favorable solution to your case.

Blood Alcohol Concentration in Texas DWI Cases

As we’ve already mentioned, and you likely already knew, .08 percent is the measurable limit of intoxication. Did you know, however, that Texas police agencies have three methods for measuring BAC? They are:

• The amount of grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
• The amount of grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
• The amount of grams of alcohol per 67 milliliters of urine.

Not even Albert Einstein could keep track of his own BAC after six or seven drinks, and you’re definitely not going to be able keep tabs on how drunk you are after a night of revelry. No one is going to argue that BAC tests aren’t much more reliable than a handheld BAC conversion chart. Conversely, only a fool would argue that BAC tests are infallible. Certain circumstances can lead to inaccurate results from BAC tests. In order to calculate BAC off a blood, breath, or urine sample, each method has a formula based upon the body chemistry of a regular person. The problem with this method is that very few people actually have normal body chemistry. Thus, by one method, a person could be considered legally sober, and by another intoxicated. And, it’s important to remember that a police officer doesn’t need a failed DWI test to arrest you for a drunken driving offense.

How Breathalyzers can be Inaccurate

In addition, elapsed time can often times provide the biggest challenge to the reliability of BAC tests. Even when a breathalyzer test is administered on the scene, it usually doesn’t take place until 30-45 minutes after the initial stop. If the driver requests a blood test, then the BAC test won’t be taken until as long as 90 minutes or two hours after the traffic stop. If a driver tests a BAC over .08 percent 90 minutes after being arrested for drunken driving does that prove the driver was intoxicated at the time he or she was driving? Not always.

As the driver awaits to take the BAC test, his or her body processes the alcohol, with the speed depending on a number of factors: the driver’s weight, the speed at which he or she drank, and the amount of food he or she had to eat before, during, or after drinking. As a result, 90 minutes can wreak havoc on the accuracy of a BAC test, both in favor of the driver and the prosecution. Let us explain. A person could have responsibly stopped drinking an hour or two before he or she was going to attempt to drive home only to get pulled over. At the time of the traffic stop, this person was barely over the legal limit, but he or she requested a blood test. In the time between the stop and the test, the person’s BAC drops down to .07 percent, and he or she goes free. On the other hand, another person could have foolishly taken a couple of shots right before getting into the car. This person was actually still legally sober when pulled over immediately after getting onto the road. In the ensuing me before taking a BAC test, the driver’s BAC rises to .09 percent based upon the added shots, and that person is arrested.

If a failed BAC test led to your arrest for any drunken driving offense, then you need to discuss the details of your case with a skilled and savvy Lubbock DWI lawyer, who can help you determine if the BAC test was reliable or not. If your BAC test was in any way questionable, the DWI attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can convince the jury to ignore them.

Texas DWI Testing Procedures

If someone could figure out a safe way of administering a blood test on the roadside, then blood tests would be the most reliable means of BAC testing. Plus, they allow the blood sample to be easily stored and tested again later for confirmation. Questions with safety and implementation just don’t allow a blood test to be given in the field. Thus, law enforcement officers must turn to breathalyzer tests in the field.

Looking into the breathalyzer used throughout Texas, the Intoxilyzer 5000, does nothing to assuage any concerns over the efficacy of breathalyzer testing. The machine uses infrared light detectors to spot the presence of alcohol on the breath. While that sounds futuristic and high-tech, the Intoxilyzer 5000 uses 30-year-old computer technology, but it’s still the breathalyzer of choice in Texas. Causing even more questions about it’s use, the manufacturer won’t issue a guarantee for its results, and only law enforcement agents are permitted to test them for accuracy.

Not only has the Intoxilyzer 5000 mistaken harmless substances for alcohol, but it’s formulas also can lead to inaccurate results in certain people. In order to calculate BAC, the Intoxilyzer 5000 uses a mathematical formula centered upon the average blood to breath ratio of a normal person: 2,100/1. Disturbing the reliability of the formula, people can have a blood to breath ratio as high as 3,100/1 or as low as 1,100/1, and someone with an abnormally high blood to breath ratio will have an inaccurately low BAC when tested and vice versa for someone with an abnormally high BAC.

The problems with the Intoxilyzer 5000 go from troublesome to maddening when you consider that it has the capability to be a much more accurate testing device if law enforcement would only take advantage of it. While the breathalyzer itself isn’t always accurate, a second, much more reliable test called a gas chromatography test can be conducted later on, and the Intoxilyzer 5000 has the built-in ability to store breath samples. Still, the Texas Department of Public Safety does not mandate or even encourage law enforcement personnel to utilize the storing feature of the Intoxilyzer 5000 nor perform gas chromatography tests.

What all of this means to you is that you’re fate is not sealed in stone just because you’ve failed a BAC test. The circumstances of your BAC test might enable our Lubbock DWI lawyers to convince the jury to ignore the results of the breathalyzer or blood test.

DWI Plea Bargains vs. Going to Court and Other Options

As we mentioned earlier on in this article, your lawyer needs you be honest, so he or she can make the correct assessment of your case, leading to the right decisions. If the state’s evidence is insufficient or if the rights of the defendant were tread upon during the traffic stop of subsequent investigation, then we will take the case to court and secure an acquittal. In some cases, the state will have such little proof that we may be able to get the judge to throw the case out of court.

Unfortunately for you, examples of summary judgments being awarded in DWI cases are fairly rare, and most police officers in this state have been well-trained in how to properly gather evidence in a DWI traffic stop. Investigative techniques have been mastered over decades of enforcing DWI laws, and most police officers follow their department’s protocol religiously. When a law enforcement officer notices someone he or she suspects might be a drunken driver, the officer will begin following the suspect and running video on his cruiser’s surveillance camera to document the erratic driving. Once the driver is pulled over, the officer will align his or her car so that the camera continues recording the entire interaction with the suspect. The officer will then ask the driver to step out of the car and respond to a series of questions. If the office believes the driver may be drunk due to the answers given, then he or she will ask the driver to undergo some form of roadside sobriety test or a combination of them. If the driver refuses to take the field sobriety test, as is his or her right, or does not perform well on it, then he or she will be asked to take a breathalyzer. Just like with the field sobriety test, the driver is within his or her rights to refuse a breathalyzer, but that act will lead to being arrested immediately. If the breathalyzer test reveals the BAC of the driver to be less than .08 percent, then the driver will be free to go on his or her way. Anyone who fails the test will be placed under arrest and taken to jail. Even though there are the problems with the reliability of breathalyzer tests that we have already brought up, you’re still likely better off arranging for a plea agreement if you have failed a breathalyzer test because to get a jury to ignore a positive BAC test your lawyer is going to have to get them to overcome their negative preconceptions of drunken drivers. At Grossman Law Offices, our lawyers know it’s always possible to get a jury to overlook a breathalyzer test, but that doesn’t mean it’s always going to happen.

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If you decide to go to trail and lose, then the prosecution isn’t going to show any leniency with the sentence it seeks. After you have cost the court its time and resources by demanding a jury trial, the prosecution is not likely to offer you deferred adjudication or a reduced probation period.

Texas DWI Penalties

As we’ve stated, the DWI offenders’ previous drunken driving history, and the severity of the current DWI charge will determine the punishment. Although, probation will be commonly allowed for most drunken driving offenses. Here is a brief list of the various drunken driving offenses and the maximum penalties that go along with each:

First-time DWI

When a driver is convicted of a first DWI, and his or her BAC is less than .15 percent, then that is classified as a Class B misdemeanor, which can be punished with a maximum of 180 days in jail, a fine not to exceed $2,000 and a driver’s license revocation ranging from 90 days to a year.

Extreme DWI

If the first-time DWI offender had a BAC more than .15 percent, then the offense bumps up to a Class A Misdemeanor, which features a much harsher maximum sentence of 180 days to two years in prison and a fine of $4,000.

Second-time DWI

When someone is convicted of a second DWI, it I also a Class A misdemeanor that carries the same punitive measures as an Aggravated DWI.

Third-time DWI

Since DWI laws were created to give people an incentive to avoid drinking and driving, the punishment gets significantly more severe with each arrest. Thus, a third DWI is a 3d-degree felony, with a possible prison sentence of 10 years, a maximum fine of $10,000, and a driver’s license suspension of two years.

Open Containers

If the driver was so foolish as to have been arrested for drunken driving while he or she had an open container in the car, then that offense adds a minimum of six days in prison, and a fine as high as $2,000 to the punishment already dispensed for the DWI offense.

Driver’s License Surcharges

If someone has his or her driver’s license suspended after receiving a DWI, then that person will have to pay an annual surcharge for three years in order to maintain driving privileges once the suspension comes to an end. If the driver’s BAC was less than .15 percent for a first-time DWI, then the annual surcharge is $1,000 for three years. For a second DWI in a decade-period, the fine goes up to $1,500 each year for three years and then rises to $2,000 annually for a third DWI. When the driver’s BAC is greater than .15 percent, the annual surcharge doubles. Also, if any driver is convicted of more than one DWI in a three-year period, then he or she will be forced to pay multiple surcharges during the overlapping timeframe. Thus, it’s possible for someone to be forced to pay as much as $9,000 per year to drive legally, and surcharges of $5,000 per year are not uncommon.

Intoxication Assault

Keeping in line with the push toward reducing the hazards presented by drunken drivers, any drunk driver who harms another person in an accident receives extremely harsh treatment. This crime known as intoxication assault is a 3rd-degree felony that can be punished with up 10 years in jail and a fine as high as $10,000. Moreover, some jail time is mandatory.

Intoxication Manslaughter

The only DWI offense treated more severely than intoxication assault is intoxication manslaughter. This is a 2nd-degree felony, which like intoxication assault carries some mandatory prison time. The jail sentence on intoxication manslaughter can be as long as 20 years, the fine can be as high as $10,000.

Community Supervision

While intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter both come with mandatory jail time – at least 30 days for assault and 120 days for manslaughter. Moreover, probation is barred for intoxication assault with a deadly weapon. For all other DWI offenses, probation is a possibility and likelihood.

While probation is preferable to prison for most people, it’s still not something a sane person would want. To begin, you will be assigned a probation officer by the court, and you will be required to meet with this officer once per month, paying a supervision fee of $60 (although the judge in Lubbock County has the discretion for making this sum larger or smaller depending upon the specific circumstances). It’s your probation officer’s job to ensure that you are complying with all of the terms of your probation. You will be forbidden from drinking, spending times in drinking establishments or with people who are bad influences, and cannot break the law. Moreover, you will be expected to maintain continued employment, conform to the payment schedule for any fines and fees, perform all of your community service hours, and attend 15 hours of alcohol awareness classes. If you build a rapport with your probation officer by meeting all of the expectations of community service, then he or she may permit you to report in person occasionally, mailing in probation report forms in the months you don’t appear. On the other hand, if your probation officer suspects you may be drinking or using illegal drugs, then he or she can require you to take random urine tests. This will be far more likely if your DWI also involved drug usage.

For someone who has committed multiple drunken driving offenses, an interlock device will also be a requirement of probation, but this will not concern first-time DWI offenders. Such a mechanism is hooked up to the car’s ignition, causing a driver to blow a sober breath sample into it in order to start the car. If the interlock device detects alcohol on the driver’s breath, then the car won’t start and the interlock device will not allow another test for two hours. Even when the driver is able to start the car without a problem, just having an interlock device installed on the car can cause embarrassment in front of friends, dates, or co-workers. Moreover, any failed interlock device test will be reported to your probation officer and could result in your probation being revoked.

Only a very small fraction of drunken driving offenses can be completely expunged form the driver’s legal record, and even then the offense still remains on his or her driving record, inflating insurance rates for the next decade. Thus, anyone convicted of a DWI will never be able to erase the negative fallout.

To limit the repercussions of your DWI offense, you need a knowledgeable and capable Lubbock DWI attorney guiding you through the legal process to resolve your case. In the past 20 years, the attorneys At Grossman Law Offices have dealt with hundreds of cases involving drunken drivers; thus, we’re ready to handle the circumstances of any case. If the details of the case disallow an acquittal, we will do everything we can to lessen the strain on your future.

Underage (Under 21) Drunk Driving Charges

In most areas of law, a person is considered an adult when he or she turns 18. However, the legal drinking age is 21, so anyone under 21 is considered a minor when it comes to the laws governing drinking and driving. Since they are prohibited from drinking alcohol, anyone under 21 may not legally drive after having consumed any alcohol at all. Doing so is referred to in Texas as Driving Under the Influence (DUI). This can be a little confusing since other states refer to what Texas defines as DWI as DUI; whereas, those states use DWI to refer only to drivers who drive while using illegal drugs. While the punishment is not as serve for a DUI as a DWI, you still need a skilled Lubbock DWI attorney if your you or your teenager has received a DUI.

While a minor doesn’t have the right to legally consume alcohol, he or she does enjoy the same rights as an adult when being stopped for suspicion of drunken driving. They can decline to take field sobriety tests and breathalyzers, but just like adults, they will pay dearly for doing so. Minors who refuse breathalyzer tests will be arrested and have their driver’s license revoked for 120 days for a first DUI and 240 days for a second offense. If a teen has been drinking and driving, he or she would be wise to relent to a breathalyzer test because that limits the driver’s license suspension to only 60 days for a first DUI offense. Unlike an adult who might be able to sober up enough to pass a BAC test after an hour, a minor cannot process all of the alcohol through his or her system. If a minor has been drinking, eventually he or she is going to have to take a BAC test which will provide the evidence for a DUI. On the other hand, when someone refuses a breathalyzer for a second DUI, the driver’s license suspension is a year, giving teenagers incentive to refuse a breathalyzer for a second offense.

Any minor who the court deems has a serious drinking or drug problem can be stripped of his or her license permanently until his or her 21st birthday and may also be ordered to attend rehab.

In addition to DUI, minors may also be charged with DWI when their BAC is over .08 percent or Extreme DWI when their BAC is greater than .15 percent. Minors who are 17-years-old or older will be tried as adults for DWI and face the same sentences, while those under 17 can be sent to juvenile detention.

First-time DUI

A first-time DUI is a Class C misdemeanor, requiring the minor’s parents to attend every court session and the convicted minor to complete 20-40 hours of community service. Moreover, the convicted minor must go to alcohol awareness class, and his or her parents may be ordered to serve as escort. A first-time DUI does have one advantage of other drunken driving offenses, it’s the only offense that can be expunged from the minor’s record, provided he or she completes a deferred adjudication program and then turns 21 and files the appropriate expunction request.

Second-time DUI

The main difference between punishment for a second DUI and the first is that expunction is no longer an option; even though, deferred adjudication is still permissible. differ only slightly from the first. Furthermore, community service hours increase to 60.

Third-time DUI

For a third DUI, a minor is treated almost exactly like an adult who has been convicted of a DWI, as a third DUI conviction is a Class B misdemeanor, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 180 days for minors over 17 and a fine between $500 and $2,000.

You, your teenager son, or your teenager daughter has already done something the whole family regrets, or you wouldn’t be sitting in front of your computer reading these words. Don’t add to those regrets by hiring an inexperienced attorney or trying to handle your own case. Hire a clever, trial-tested Lubbock DWI attorney to whom both the Lubbock County courts and DWI laws and processes are second nature.

Texas DWI & Child Endangerment

Children don’t have the option of telling their parents they don’t want to get into the car with them after they’ve had too much to drink; thus, the state of Texas attempts to safeguard these children who are not capable of looking out for themselves. To do so, the Texas State Legislature created a separate category of DWI known as DWI with a minor in a vehicle. Now, DWI with a minor in a vehicle is a form a child endangerment, which is classified as a state felony punishable with up to two years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. This crime comes with an even worse punishment for single parents – potentially losing their children’s custody to the ex-spouse or even the state due to concerns over the parent’s fitness as a parent. While police officers won’t generally arrest someone for a DWI without a failed or refused BAC test, they will cross that line when it comes to DWI with a minor in the vehicle in order to protect the child from harm.

With the prospect of the destruction of your family at risk, you simply must have a skilled and seasoned Lubbock DWI lawyer in your corner looking out for your family’s future. Only a DWI lawyer with strong familiarity with Lubbock’s procedures will stand the best chance of getting the evidence against you excluded.

Your Rights in a DWI Case

The Constitution preserves your right to say anything you’d like to the police officer who pulls you over, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best idea to exercise that right. The best bet is to remain calm and courteous to the officer – he or she is only trying to do his or her job and make our Texas roadways safer. At first, you will be asked to step out of your car and answer some questions. You don’t have to answer. You have the right to remain silent, but this will only anger the officer further and make him or her more motivated to arrest you. If your do answer and sound as if you may be intoxicated, then you will be asked to take some form of roadside sobriety test. If you have reason to suspect that you would not be able to pass this test under normal conditions, then you have every right to explain yourself and refuse. Remember: the standard for intoxication is when someone has consumed so much drugs or alcohol that he or she has lost “normal mental and physical abilities.” Thus, if you have two surgically repaired knees, you’re not going to be able to stand on one knee and balance for a minute and a half while reciting the alphabet backwards.

Don’t expect to rely on this loophole repeatedly. If you decline too many different kinds of roadside sobriety tests, then you appear to be extremely guilty on the video, and the officer is only going to switch gears and ask that you take a breathalyzer test. Moreover, the officer will only shift gears and request that you take a breathalyzer test instead. Since breathalyzers are well-known to be flawed, as we’ve explained, you have the right to refuse to take the test. You just need to know that this will result in the officer confiscating your license and arresting you immediately. At the police station, you will have the option of taking a blood test, but who know how its accuracy will be affected by the length of time that has passed since you were pulled over. In many cases, the officer will try to corral a warrant to withdraw your blood against your will, but this will take a good deal of time and in many cases is impossible.

On certain holiday weekends, in certain jurisdictions, judges give police officers preauthorization to take blood samples from DWI suspects without their consent. Since drinking and driving is a bigger problem around New Year’s Eve, Labor Day, or the Fourth of July, judges in certain communities around Texas give their law enforcement officers the right to draw blood without the driver’s consent on these days. Stating with Labor Day 2011, San Antonio and the rest of Bexar instituted this policy for all weekends for the remainder of the year. Not only is this important to know if you’ve been drinking, but someone who has been taking drugs, as well, would be much better off agreeing to the breathalyzer test which will not document the drug usage.

If you have failed or refused to take any kind of BAC test, then you need the help of talented and trial-tested Lubbock DWI lawyer. At Grossman Law Offices, we will evaluate the circumstances of your BAC test and see if there is any grounds to get the jury to believe the test results are suspect.

More on Texas Intoxication Assault and Manslaughter Charges

Just like someone suspected of a DWI on a holiday weekend in certain cities, anyone charged with intoxication manslaughter or intoxication assault will have his or her blood tested for BAC regardless of whether or not the suspect agrees with it. Moreover, anyone accused will need to beat not only the evidence but the prejudice the average person off the street has against someone who has committed such an offense. The burden of proof is fairly easy for the prosecution to satisfy – that someone was hurt or killed in the accident, that you were involved in the accident, and that you were intoxicated at the time. If you can’t win that uphill battle against one of these charges the consequences are devastating – up to 10 years in prison for intoxication assault, 20 years for intoxication manslaughter and a fine as high as $10,000 for each offense.

To be frank, it’s never a good idea to represent yourself in any legal proceeding beyond paying a moving violation. With the severe consequences of intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter, it’s downright lunacy to tackle your case without a clever and seasoned Lubbock DWI attorney.

ALR Hearing After a DWI

When a driver of any age tells a police officer that he or she doesn’t want to take a breathalyzer test, then the lawman or woman will confiscate your driver’s license and suspend it. Since you are not guilty until a court has declared you so, the office then issues a temporary driver’s license good for the next 40 days.

As you probably have learned, the DPS or the officer will then notify the driver of the state’s intention to revoke the license, giving the driver 15 days to submit a request for an Administrative License Revocation Hearing (or an ALR hearing) to contest the license suspension.

However, the 40 days on the temporary license could pass before the ALR hearing can be scheduled. If your lawyer presents sufficient evidence to the judge that your license should not have been suspended, then the revocation will be lifted. But, if the judge is stalwart, then the defendant is afforded a 30-day period to appeal the ALR decision, which will in turn extend the provisional license for another three months. Also, should you win your court case, then the driver’s license suspension will also be lifted.

Don’t give up hope if you have had your license revoked, call Grossman Law Offices, and our Lubbock DWI attorneys can help you get back in the driver’s seat.

Occupational Driver's Licenses

You’re not necessarily done driving for six months because you lose an ALR hearing. There’s something our Lubbock DWI lawyers can do to help you drive again sooner. The state of Texas wants to make its roads safer, but it also realizes people need to get to work and school and provide for their families. Let’s face it, public transportation throughout Texas and particularly in Lubbock is pathetic. Thus, the state allows people who’ve had their driver’s licenses suspended due to most DWI offenses to apply for Occupational Driver’s Licenses (ODLs). Don’t get too excited, an ODL does not permit free and unlimited driving, and they’re very expensive to obtain. Drivers are only allowed to drive to work and other necessary locations. Every time a driver who possesses an ODL gets behind the wheel, he or she must track all information about the trip in a journal: the date, time leaving, destination, time returning, and total miles driven on the trip.

In order to obtain an ODL, an application must be prepared according to the parameters set by the Lubbock County courts. Failure to follow the guidelines could result in the rejection of the ODL. If you want to make sure you’re driving to work and not walking, then you need a Lubbock DWI lawyer to get the ODL you need.

Differences Between Public Intoxication and DWI

Despite what you and most people might think, DWI shares very little in common with public intoxication (P.I.). The term intoxication is even defined differently in connection with each of these two offenses. You already know the DWI definition, but someone can be arrested for public intoxication when a police officer suspects that the person has become a hazard to him or herself and other people around them.

While law enforcement agencies have well-established, time-tested methods for investigating DWI, there are no such protocols in place for P.I. All that is needed is a person who has been drinking alcohol and a police officer who thinks he or she has become a danger to him or herself and others.

While people who have been charged with P.I. are considered dangerous, the state considers that danger to be significantly less than someone who has committed drunken driving. A drunk following asleep on a bar stool presents far less peril for the public than one who falls asleep behind the wheel of a Cadillac. Thus, the state punishes people convicted of P.I. far less severely – it’s a Class C misdemeanor punishable only with a fine of $500 and no jail time. Therefore, unless you want to contest a P.I. charge, then you won’t need a lawyer, only the money. Whereas, if you have been charged with drunken driving, you will need the assistance of a Lubbock DWI lawyer.

Your Rights When Stopped Under Suspicion of a DWI

While you do have rights when being stopped and questioned by a police officer, driving is a privilege and not a right. You do have the right to refuse a BAC test, but the state has the right to revoke your driving privileges if you choose to do so. From a logical standpoint, you can even see why the state must do this. If they permitted drivers to refuse breathalyzer tests unpunished, then every drunk driver would do it. The state even takes this a step further by permitting a refused BAC test to be presented as evidence in the trial. Since a driver’s license suspension is much shorter for a failed BAC and a clever Lubbock DWI attorney might be able to get the court to see the test as flawed, it might be a good idea just to relent to the test.

No matter what option you take, remember to be on your best behavior, since everything you do is being recorded. The appearance of sobriety can be just as helpful to your case as the appearance of drunkenness can be harmful.

While you may think you have the “right to an attorney,” this right only refers to when you are facing criminal interrogation and not just a random traffic stop. As we mentioned earlier, you can evoke your Miranda “right to remain silent.”

Grossman Law Offices Can Help

After 20 years helping hundreds of Texans who’ve been charged with drunken driving offenses, he Lubbock DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices know how to deliver the best possible resolution to any DWI case. Not only do we understand all of the vagaries involved with DWI laws, but also all of the complex procedures inherent with the Lubbock County courts. There just isn’t a drunken driving circumstance we don’t know how to handle.

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While it would be completely unethical for a lawyer to guarantee that you will win your case, we can guarantee you that we will do everything in our power to help you. Other lawyers will pledge their support while just taking your money. Our firm offers you our full attention, knowledge and resources. No matter who you are and what DWI offense you’ve been charged with – a minor who got caught driving around after drinking his or her first beer, a drunken driver who injured someone else in a collision, a parent who got pulled over with the kids in the backseat after one glass of wine too many, or someone who declined to take a BAC test – we know how to help. For a free and confidential consultation to find out how we can help, contact us now at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free). We want to listen to your story, answer your nagging questions, and let you know what we can do to make your situation better.