Park Cities DWI Lawyer

Have You Been Arrested for a Drunken Driving Related Offense in University Park or Highland Park? Call Texas DWI Attorney Michael Grossman

As one of the highest-end neighborhoods in the Metroplex, the Park Cities is known for cracking down hard on any lawbreakers. With the presence of a school like SMU where many of the students like to have a good time – sometimes too good of a time – the combination leads to an uncommonly high rate of arrests for driving while intoxicated. If you’ve been charged with drunken driving in Highland Park or University Park, then you will need the assistance of a skilled and experienced Park Cities DWI attorney in order to secure the best possible resolution to your case.

While you need a lawyer who has experience handling DWI cases, you also require the help of someone who has spent years handling cases in the Dallas County courts both so that your advocate knows the procedures of the court and has developed working interactions with the prosecutors. Granted, this is Dallas County, and you literally and figuratively have thousands of lawyers from which to choose. You can easily find a lawyer willing to cash your checks and hold your hand while doing little more than hoping the court will take it easy on you. However, at Grossman Law Offices, our Park Cities DWI lawyers have spent more than 20 years handling DWI cases, and we devote our full time, knowledge, and resources to trying to find a way to secure the best possible outcome for all of our clients who have been accused of DWI. We know you’re overwhelmed by your situation, and you need the learned help of experts. We’re here for you.

First, you must understand the gravity of your situation. Not only are you facing the possibility of going to prison and will definitely be fiend and lose your driver’s license if convicted, but you will also carry the stigma of your drunken driving arrest into the future, negatively affecting your ability to get sensitive jobs. You need to approach your current legal situation with the seriousness it demands. For more than two decades, the Highland Park DWI attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been finding ways to assist people who have been thrust into the same frightening situation in which you find yourself mired. Since you probably don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to a DWI defense, we’re here to lead you through this challenging process. To find out what we can do for you, give us a call any time day or night at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free) for a free and confidential consultation. We’re here to listen to your story and explain your legal options.

After years of helping people who’ve been accused of DWI, we know what you’re likely feeling right now – you’re confused, angry, and at least a little scared. We’ve found that the best way to deal with those feelings is to learn about the legal process involved with a DWI case. Knowledge is power. Thus, we’ve assembled this article designed to inform you about the DWI legal process. Read on and remain calm. You will get through this.

DWI Criminals Are Different

Compared to most other criminals, like burglars and murderers who intend to hurt their victims, DWI offenders are regularly law-abiding citizens who make bad decisions and generally lack malicious intent. Becoming intoxicated does more than negatively affect one’s ability to perform physical functions; it also impairs one’s ability to make sound decisions. Thus, someone who is intoxicated is incapable of realizing he or she is too drunk to drive. If you, or anyone else, make the mistake of drinking on any given day or night when you will also be driving, then you could end up surpassing the legal limit and inadvertently driving while intoxicated.

Thus, the laws in the state of Texas take this into account and provide a wide range of different punishments for drunken driving that can take into account the specific driver, whether or not he or she has a past history of drunken driving, and whether anyone was hurt by the crime in question. Although, the prosecution in any given case will assume the worst about the offender and pursue the stiffest penalty possible until it learns otherwise. Depending upon the details of your particular situation, a clever, trial-tested Park Cities drunken driving criminal lawyer may be able to help you beat the charges and secure a not guilty verdict. If not, a good Highland Park DWI lawyer can make sure the judge and jury come to see you as someone who just made a lone mistake and deserves leniency.

Understanding the Rights of the Individual and the State in this Country

Before we begin explaining how DWI cases work, we must first verify that you understand a little bit about the American legal system. We apologize if this seems like a review of high school government class. All Americans and our various levels of government are afforded certain rights by the Constitution. Individual rights are outlined in the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. When a police officer detains and arrests you or gathers evidence with an investigation, then he or she must respect your rights. In order to convict you, the prosecution must be able to prove your guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In contrast, the government, whether local, state, or federal, has the right to create community standards and enforce those community standards with laws and punishments, so long as those laws do not directly contradict those of a higher authority within the government or violate the Constitutional rights of individuals. To get a better handle on this idea, let’s examine the way different jurisdictions approach the concept of driving while using cell phones. Recent studies have shown that driving while talking or texting on a cell phone is much more dangerous than operating a motor vehicle undistracted. Some people believe texting while driving is roughly as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. In response to these concerns, the Texas State Legislature attempted to outlaw driving through school zones while using a wireless device back in September, but Governor Rick Perry was inspired by his belief in less government intervention to veto this bill. However, Perry didn’t forbid individual communities from outlawing cell phone usage in school zones. Therefore, many communities like Highland Park have done so, while others have made no changes in their policies. Elsewhere in the country, New York and New Jersey have both banned the use of cell phones while driving anywhere unless the driver has been outfitted with a hands-free device. Thus, Suffolk County in New York cannot decide to go rogue and pass a law stating drivers can driver while talking on the phone because that law would conflict with the state law.

For serious crimes like an act of terrorism or robbing a bank, the federal government has jurisdiction and is unbound by the limits of any other jurisdiction in this country.

If you have the experience that our Highland Park DWI attorneys have compiled throughout various cases around the state, then you would know that every jurisdiction has different procedures and methods for dispensing law and conducting business in court. Every judge has the right to put his or her own personal touch on the way his or her court is run. Among lawyers, we like to say that each court has its own personality. Courts are much like universities in this regard. All schools, whether its SMU, the University of Texas, or Harvard, exist for the same purpose – to serve as a place of higher education for students to enrich themselves with knowledge and degrees. However, no two universities are exactly the same. They have different-sized student bodies, unique architecture, various degrees, and distinct athletic options and level of skill. Courts are much the same in that they all weigh and dispense justice, but no two go about dong it in exactly the same manner. We’ve been handling cases the Dallas County courts for more than two decades, so we know the personality of its courts and can easily guide you through the legal procedures involved in your DWI case. If convicted, you risk being sent to jail and will definitely be fined and stripped of your license for several months. Thus, your reasons for arranging a plea bargain if the evidence against you is too strong are obvious. Less obvious is the likelihood that the prosecution has significant reason to sit down and work out a plea bargain too. When trying someone for DWI, prosecutors are expected to win. When they fail to do so consistently, then they will usually be fired. Making this reality fairly cruel, the prosecutor’s success often depends upon the level of competency of the arresting officer. If the officer fails to gather enough evidence or stomps on the rights of the accused when making the arrest or investigating the crime, then the prosecutor stands very little chance of winning in court. Even when the police officer has done his or her job well, a skilled University Park DWI lawyer may still be able to get a jury to question the accuracy of the evidence, finding the defendant not guilty. Thus, the prosecution always has incentive to work out a plea bargain and eliminate the possibility of recording a loss on his or her record.

What a Park Cities DWI Attorney Can do to Assist You

When it comes to DWI offenses, the state of Texas likes to keep an open mind and provides a wide array of different punishments that can be assigned to different violators of the same crime. The court assigns a punishment according to the threat to society presented by the offender due to the harm caused by this particular offense, as well as, the offender’s prior history of DWI convictions. A maximum sentence of 180 days in prison is allowable for a first DWI conviction, but the judge will usually instruct the jury to consider all of the factors of the case before deciding to sentence someone to that maximum penalty. When someone has multiple DWI convictions, he or she is subjected to much harsher punitive measures. If the prosecution’s evidence is full-proof, then you need the help of a Park Cities DWI lawyer who is capable of getting the court to see you as a minimal threat who is deserving of one of lighter punishments possible, such as probation.

With more than 20 years of experience dealing with DWI cases in Dallas County, the Park Cities DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices can give you the representation and knowledgeable counsel you need. Through our years of handling these cases, we’ve developed a system for processing them that we’ve come to rely upon. Before doing anything else, we’re going to want to listen – to you. We’ll sit down and have you tell us your version of events on the night you were arrested – everything from the moment you began drinking until you were put in jail. We must stress the importance of being honest with your attorney when relaying your version of events. Should you mislead your lawyer, then he or she will only devise a strategy for your case that is based upon false pretenses. This plan of attack will be flawed and will only end up hurting you in the long run. Once we know your version of what happened, we’re going to want to meet with the prosecution and discover what evidence they have against you and what intentions they have as far as punishment. While the prosecution is required to share all of their information about the case during the designated discovery period due to the laws governing evidentiary procedure, our strong reputation within the Dallas County courts will facilitate this process since we have long-standing working relationships with many of the county’s prosecutors. After learning both sides of the story, we can begin determining the best course of action for you to take. If the evidence has weaknesses, then we will want to go to court and fight for an acquittal, but if bargaining for a plea agreement seems like the way to go, then we will sit down at the negotiating table with the prosecution. We’re devoted to taking the course of action that best benefits each of our clients according to the specific details of his or her case. No matter how we proceed, we make sure our clients are informed of every decision and development in the case.

The Specifics of DWI Cases

Now that you understand a little bit about the legal process in general, we can begin discussing DWI cases in more detail. Of course, you likely knew long before you were arrested that driving a car while intoxicated is illegal not just in Texas but throughout the United States. You nay even know that the measurable standard for DWI in Texas and all other states is a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or greater. However, did you know that Texas also recognizes a second standard for DWI that is far vaguer? Someone can be determined to commit DWI when he or she is driving a car after having lost “normal physical and mental abilities” due to drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs.

The second definition of intoxicated is so hard to prove at trial that police officers in Texas are instructed to acquire a BAC test before making an arrest for drunken driving. When referring to “normal” behavior the ambiguous standard has come to be recognized as what is normal for the specific driver in question and not what is normal for your average driver. Of course, this presents a problem: how can a law enforcement officer know what behavior is normal for a DWI suspect he or she has just met?

While this question leads Texas law enforcement officers to request all drivers to take breathalyzers, there’s an added incentive in Texas. In 2011, legislators added a new category of DWI called Aggravated or Extreme DWI that increases penalties and punishments for drunken drivers who record BAC levels in excess of .15 percent. We will discuss the differences between extreme and standard DWI later on this article.

Whether you blew a BAC level of .08 percent or .18 percent, the Park Cities DWI attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can help you find the best possible outcome to your case.

Weighing a Plea Bargain against Going to Court

If your Park Cities DWI lawyer believes the case against you has weaknesses, then he or she will want to contest the charges in court and secure a not guilty verdict. If not, then he or she will direct you to plea bargain. This is why telling your attorney the truth is so critically important to achieving the best end result to your case. If you misrepresent the strength of your case, you will only be leading your attorney astray. On the other end of the spectrum, if the case against you is completely unfounded then a skilled and experienced DWI attorney will be to petition the judge for a summary judgment, throwing the charges against you out of court.

When it comes to DWI cases, though, summary judgments are as rare as a White Christmas in South Texas. In the Lone Star State, law enforcement officers have very strict guidelines for investigating DWI suspects and making arrests that have been forged through years and years of practice with other cases. At the risk of reprimand and dismissal, all police officers are expected to follow these guidelines. When a driver is suspected of being drunk, the officer will pull in behind him or her and begin shooting video of the driver’s erratic driving, using the video system in the police cruiser. If the drive violates a law of some sort, then the officer will pull him or her over and position the police car so that the video system continues recording the entire interview with the suspect. The officer is instructed to follow a loose outline of certain questions that can be asked. Should the driver admit to drinking alcohol or sound intoxicated when answering, then the officer will ask the suspect to perform a roadside sobriety test. If the driver declines to take the field sobriety assessment or doesn’t perform well on it, then and only then will the officer request a breathalyzer test. Suspects will only be arrested for drunken driving if they fail or refuse the breathalyzer test. If the prosecution has video of you acting like a drunken fool and a failed breathalyzer test, then you’d probably be better off working out a plea agreement. Should you take a case to court and lose, then the punishment dealt out by the court will be far more severe than that which you could have obtained through a plea arrangement.

However, your lawyer will invariably make the wrong decision about the best course of action to take if you do not provide him or her with an honest assessment of your DWI situation.

Your Rights When Stopped for Suspicion of Drunken Driving

When the flashing lights come upon behind you, shocking you into sobriety, it’s best not to lose your cool. Sure, the First Amendment guarantees you the Freedom of Speech to say whatever you would like to the arresting officer, but that doesn’t mean you should exercise that right. Angering the officer will only increase your chances of being arrested, so it’s a much better game plan to politely answer any questions you are asked. When the police officer begins asking you questions, you don’t have to answer, for you have the “right to remain silent.” Just remember that remaining mum will only make you look guilty on the video that the jury is destined to see. If the officer moves on to request that you take a roadside sobriety test, then you also have the right of refusal. Since the purpose of a field sobriety test is to assess if a suspected drunken driver has lost his or her “normal physical and mental abilities,” you may refuse to take any field sobriety test that you suspect you could not pass under normal circumstances. For instance, someone who is 120 pounds overweight will not be able to balance on one foot while reciting the alphabet.

On the other hand, our Park Cities DWI attorneys would not recommend trying this ploy too often. Refusing several field sobriety tests for one excuse after another will only make you appear guilty to anyone observing the video later. Moreover, several refusals gives the officer the right to take his or her next move, asking you to take a breathalyzer test. As we’ll discuss later in this article, breathalyzer tests can be alarmingly inaccurate, allowing DWI suspects to refuse to take them. However, just as with refusing a field sobriety test, this action comes with consequences and much more severe consequences, as well. When you refuse a breathalyzer, the officer will arrest you, suspend your driver’s license and confiscate it immediately. Upon arriving at the station, you will then have the chance to take a much more reliable blood test. When suspects decline to take the blood test on their own choice, the officer may attempt to secure a search warrant, but in most cases DWIs occur late night when judges are not always available for this purpose.

Importantly, many jurisdictions, among them Highland Park and University Park, have begun changing this procedure in response to greatly increased rates of drunken driving on holiday weekends like Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and the Fourth of July. Now, judges in certain communities issue warrants preauthorizing police to extract blood from DWI suspects without their consent for the purpose of blood testing. Literally, the officer need only fill in the blanks on the warrant with the suspect’s information. In and around San Antonio, Bexar County has carried this practice a step further by allowing non-consensual blood testing on all weekends for a test basis. Before you refuse to take a breathalyzer and expose yourself to an automatic driver’s license suspension, you may want to remember where you are, what time of week or year it is, and whether or not your blood is going to be tested no matter what you do. Moreover, if you have been taking drugs in addition to drinking alcohol, then you’d also be wise to agree to a breathalyzer. While a test of your breath will not reveal the drug usage to authorities, a blood test definitely will.

Whether you refused a breathalyzer test or failed a breathalyzer or blood test causing you to be charged with drunken driving, you will need a competent and clever Highland Park DWI lawyer in your corner protecting your rights and fighting for the best possible outcome to your case. If the evidence against you was obtained by violating your rights, we will make sure the jury never sees it.

DWI Crimes and Punishment in Texas

Since the end-goal of DWI laws is to protect the public, punishments for DWI crimes vary depending upon the threat posed by the offender and the offense. In doling out punishment, the court carefully considers the previous drunken driving history of the violator and the severity of the crime in the specific instance. In order to better inform you about the possible punishment you could be facing, here is a list of the various drunken driving charges and their maximum punishments. Don’t panic when reviewing this list, though, since probation is allowable and usually granted for most DWI offenses.

• First-time DWI: A first DWI conviction when the offender has a BAC between .08 percent and .15 percent is grouped as a Class B misdemeanor that could carry a possible punishment of up to 180 days in jail, a maximum fine of $2,000, a driver’s license revocation from between 90 and 365 days.
• Extreme or Aggravated DWI: When the BAC of a DWI offender is recorded over .15 percent, then he or she has committed Extreme or Aggravated DWI, a Class A misdemeanor that can be punished with as long as two years in prison and a fine as high as $4,000 in conjunction with the typical driver’s license suspension for DWI.
• Second-time DWI: When a DWI offender doesn’t learn his or her lesson from the first drunken driving offense, then a second conviction is a Class A misdemeanor with the prospect of a maximum prison sentence of one year, a fine as high as $4,000, and a driver’s license suspension of two years.
• Third-time DWI: Since the purpose of DWI laws is protecting the public, a third DWI convicted is treated much more sternly, classified as a 3rd-degree felony with a possible term of 10 years behind bars, a fine as much as $10,000, and a driver’s license suspension running two years.
• Open Containers: In order to discourage drunken driving, Texans are forbidden from driving while carrying an open container holding alcohol in the cab of the car. Failure to comply with this law adds punishment on top of any existing sentence for the DWI crime – an extra six days in prison and an additional fine of up to $2,000.
• Driver’s License Surcharges: The fines a convicted drunken driver will be forced to pay don’t end with those assessed for punishment, so long as the offender wants to return to unrestricted driving once his or her driver’s license revocation has come to an end. In order to regain your driver’s license, you must then pay an annual surcharge for each of the first three years after returning to driving, with the amount depending upon the crime -- $1,000 a year for a first-time DWI, $1,500 for a second conviction, and $2,000 for a third. When any of these offenses was an Aggravated DWI, then the surcharge doubles for each of the three years it is owed. Additionally, if a drunken driver is particularly irresponsible and picks up multiple drunken driving convictions in a three-year period, then he or she will be forced to pay any overlapping surcharges simultaneously. As a result, our attorneys have encountered convicted drunken drivers who’ve had to pay $5,000 to get their licenses back, and a surcharge of $9,000 is possible.
• Intoxication Assault: The punishment gets far more severe for anyone who injures another in a drunken driving accident. This crime is categorized as a 3rd-degree felony and carries the possibility of two to 10 years in prison and a fine as high as $10,000. Furthermore, anyone convicted of intoxication assault is required to spend at least 30 days in prison before becoming eligible for probation. Intoxication assault with a deadly weapon bars any convicted offenders from being eligible for probation at all.
• Intoxication Manslaughter: In Texas, the most hazardous DWI crime is intoxication manslaughter, when a drunken driver kills someone else in a wreck. This is a 2nd-degree felony with a possible sentence of 20 years behind bars and a maximum fine of $10,000. Just like intoxication assault, anyone convicted of intoxication manslaughter must spend some time behind bars, with at least 120 days in jail required.
• Community Supervision (Probation): With the exceptions of intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter, most other DWI offenders will be offered community supervised probation rather than being sent to the big house.

  While probation is a far more desired fate than even a few days in prison, completing community supervision is far from easy. Probationers will be assigned to a probation officer with whom they will be initially instructed to meet once per month to verify that all terms of probation are being met, paying a fee of $50 for the honor. The probation officer will want to confirm that the probationer is: paying all fines and fees on schedule, conforming to all laws, abstaining from drinking, avoiding bad influences – both people and places, completing all community service hours within the allotted time, attending and passing alcohol awareness class, and maintaining employment. At the probation officer’s leisure, he or she can order the probationer to take a urine test to prove that he or she is avoiding alcohol and drugs, with that likelihood increasing greatly when the DWI itself involved drug usage. In some instances, when the probationer has developed trust and rapport by meeting all probation requirements for several months, then the probation officer may allow him or her to report by mail for alternating months, but even then, the probationer must still pay the supervision fee of $50.

Anyone convicted of multiple DWIs will also likely have an ignition interlock device installed on his or her car by judicial decree. In order to start a car with such a mechanism, the driver must breathe into the device and prove that he or she has no alcohol in his or her system. If the driver has been drinking, then the car will not start and another test cannot be taken for two hours. Additionally, the probation officer will be notified of the failure and could revoke probation, sending the probationer to prison for the entirety of his or her sentence. Even when the driver adheres to the conditions of probation and successfully passes every interlock test, merely having the device attached to one’s car can be highly embarrassing when it is seen by bosses, dates, co-workers, clients, or family.

In most cases, a DWI conviction will follow the offender around forever, as only rarely can they be expunged from one’s record. In the event a DWI conviction can be expunged from the offender’s legal record, it still remains on his or her driving record, leading to exorbitant insurance rates for the next decade.

Considering that anyone will be able to discover your DWI conviction with a quick and easy Internet background check, you must protect yourself by finding a knowledgeable and experienced Park Cities DWI attorney you can trust to help you secure the best viable outcome to your case. With over 20 years of experience handling DWI cases in Dallas County, the attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can help.

More on Intoxication Manslaughter and Intoxication Assault

The laws regarding intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault have more differences with other DWI offenses than just in the matter of required jail time. When a wreck occurs in which people are injured or killed and police suspect the involvement of alcohol, then they have the right extract blood for BAC testing without the consent of the parties involved. When you couple this ease of investigation with the natural prejudice most jurors will carry against a drunken driver accused of killing or injuring someone else, and fighting an intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter charge is already an uphill battle. Then, consider that the state has a fairly easy to meet burden of proof, needing only to establish the driver was intoxicated and involved in the accident – the intoxicated driver need not have any malicious intent or even be fully responsible for the accident. With a fine as high as $10,000 and 10 years in prison for an intoxication assault or 20 years of an intoxication manslaughter conviction, and you’re be crazy not to want the best Park Cities DWI lawyer you can find in your corner.

Blood Alcohol Content in Texas DWI Cases

We’ve already mentioned that the concrete, measurable standard for DWI in the state of Texas is a BAC in excess of .08 percent, but do you really understand what blood alcohol concentration means? This is a measurement of the amount of alcohol you have flowing through your veins. The legal level used to be .10 percent, but the federal government pressured states to lower the level during the early 1990s in response to studies that showed .08 percent was the point at which most people lost normal mental and physical abilities. In order to determine BAC, Texas relies on three different methods:

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

  No matter how smart you are, trying to track your own level of intoxication throughout a night of heavy drinking is going to make you feel stupid. Even if you have a drink conversion chart, eventually you will lose track of how many drinks you’ve had, making correct assessment of your own BAC impossible. Only a fool would argue that self-monitoring is more efficient than any of the accepted methods for measuring BAC. On the other hand, none of these BAC measuring methods is infallible either, since they all rely upon body chemistry for an average human to make their calculations. If someone’s body chemistry differentiates too greatly from the norm, then the BAC test results can be inaccurate and effectively useless. Given this information, you can see how a person could test legally intoxicated with a BAC above .08 percent by one method of testing and still be legally sober when tested by other means. However, when police officers arrest someone without a BAC test based merely on their suspicions, then the case is usually extremely difficult to prove in court.

  
  

  Problems with BAC Tests

  The biggest dilemma for law enforcement officers trying to prove a driver was drunk comes from the passage of time. In order to establish a person has committed DWI, the state must be able to demonstrate that he or she was actually drunk when driving the car. However, a breathalyzer test won’t be given until at least 30 minutes after the initial traffic stop and it could be as long as an hour. Blood tests, on the contrary, take even longer to administer and may not be given until upwards of two hours after the car was stop under DWI suspicions. What does a test given so long after the suspect was stopped really prove?

  As time elapses while the driver is waiting to take a BAC test, his or her body is processing the alcohol he or she consumed. The suspect’s body weight, metabolism speed, the amount of food he or she ate, the speed at which the alcohol was drunk, and the types of alcohol consumed can all affect exactly how fast the booze works through the driver’s system. A delay of 45 minutes before a breathalyzer test could disrupt the accuracy of a BAC test, and two hours definitely calls reliability into question – either for or against the state’s case. One driver may have stopped drinking an hour or two before getting behind the wheel. When this driver was pulled over, he or she was legally drunk, but the 90 minutes before taking a blood test enable the driver to sober up enough to score under .08 percent BAC. Conversely, another driver may have consumed a few drinks right before getting behind the wheel and was pulled over while legally sober. Then, as time passes waiting to take the BAC test, the driver digests the alcohol, causing his or her BAC to rise above .08 percent and cause a false positive BAC test.

  If you have questions about the BAC test that led to your arrest, then you need to contact the Park Cities DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices so we can help you determine if too much time passed before your test was administered.

  
  

  Breathalyzer Procedures in Texas

  Ask anyone who knows about the subject, and you’ll learn that blood tests are the most accurate BAC tests both because of their results and the fact that blood samples can be stored and retested to confirm results. Sadly, blood tests are neither safe nor practical to give in the field, and the elapsed time before arrival at the police station often leads to unreliable results. Therefore, law enforcement officers in Texas all turn toward hand-held breathalyzer tests, with the Texas DPS preferring a model called the Intoxilyzer 5000.

  Unfortunately, several concerns arise from the use of the Intoxilyzer 5000, a machine that detects BAC by picking up alcohol on the breath using infrared light detectors. First, the Intoxilyzer makes it calculations using computer technology that is 30 years old. You wouldn’t rely upon a 5-year-old calculator, but Texas law enforcement officers feel free to use such outdated computer technology to arrest people. Those concerns are exacerbated by the fact the machine’s manufacturer refuses to guarantee its findings, and only law enforcement personnel are permitted to test the device.

  In practice, worries about the Intoxilyzer 5000 are confirmed. The machine has been known to mistake harmless substances such as mouthwash, asthma medication, or fingernail polish for alcohol, and it’s formulas for measuring BAC are highly suspect at times. To calculate BAC, the Intoxilyzer 5000 uses a formula that assumes average people have a blood to breath ration of 2,100/1. The problem with this is that a person’s blood to breath ration can range as high as 3,100/1 or as low as 1,100/1. When someone has an atypically high blood to breath, then he or she will record an incorrectly low BAC, and someone with an uncommonly low blood to breath ratio would record an incorrectly high BAC.

  Believer it or not, these concerns are not the most frustrating aspect of the Intoxilyzer 5000 and how it is utilized in Texas – the machine has the capability to be much more accurate if its functions were being fully realized by law enforcement in the Lone Star State. There is another test on breath that is called the gas chromatography test that is much more accurate than the Intoxilyzer 5000, but it’s not portable. Meanwhile, the Intoxilyzer 5000 can easily store breath samples for later testing, but the Texas Department of Public Safety won’t mandate that officers save breath samples or retest them using the gas chromatography test. The only explanation for this is that the DPS values quantity of convictions over quality of convictions.

  As you can see, a failed BAC doesn’t necessarily mean that you should give up on your defense. A crafty and time-tested Park Cities DWI lawyer may be able to call into question the accuracy of the damning BAC test, inspiring the jury to ignore its findings.

  
  

  Minors under 21 DWI & DWI

  In the United States, a minor is usually considered to be anyone under the age of 18, but this not the case when it comes to any laws related to alcohol. The legal drinking age is 21, so anyone under 21 is considered a minor in terms of drinking and driving. Barred from drinking legally, anyone under 21 is also banned from driving with any amount of alcohol in his or her system. Minors who ignore this law are committing Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

  Although not legally adults, minors do enjoy the same rights as adults accused of DWI when questioned and detained for DUI. They can refuse to answer questions and decline to take both roadside sobriety tests and breathalyzers, but they also face negative fallout for taking that course. Any minor convicted of a first DUI after refusing to take a breathalyzer will have his or her driver’s license revoked for 120 days, and a refusal for a second failed DUI test leads to a 240-day driver’s license revocation. By contrast, minors who fail BAC tests only lose their license for 60 days. When you take into account that a minor can’t hope to have his or her BAC level drop enough before taking a blood test to avoid a DUI charge like an adult can with DWI, then a minor accused of a first DUI would be well-advised just to agree to be tested by breathalyzer. Upon a second DUI conviction, this situation changes, and the minor is subject to a year-long driver’s license suspension for a failed breathalyzer.

  When minors have been shown to struggle repeatedly with alcohol or drugs, the court can also mandate that the minor lose his or license permanently or be sent to rehab to address the addictive behavior.

  In addition to being arrested for DUI, minors can still be charged with DWI when their BAC exceeds .08 percent or Aggravated DWI when their BAC rises above .15 percent. When this is the case and the minor in question is older than 16, then he or she faces the same punishment as an adult accused of the same crime – 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000. When minors are 16 or under, then they can be sent to juvenile detention for a DWI conviction.

  • First-time DUI - Classified as a Class C misdemeanor, a first DUI conviction requires the defendant to appear in court with his or her parents and carries a punishment of 20-40 hours of community service and a mandatory 15-hour alcohol awareness class along with the driver’s license suspension discussed above. The minor’s parent may also be ordered to take the alcohol awareness class along with the minor in the event the parent is deemed to have contributed to the minor’s behavior. A first DUI conviction does have one major advantage over other drunken driving convictions: the minor can eventually expunge the conviction completely from his or her record, provided he or she completes a deferred adjudication program and then turns 21.
  • Second-time DUI - A second DUI conviction carries only minor differences from the first. The required community service hours rise to 60, and the driver’s license suspension doubles in length. Most importantly, while still eligible for deferred adjudication, the minor can no longer fully expunge the arrest for his or her record. It may only be non-disclosed.
  • Third-time DUI: - When a minor is convicted of a third DUI, the courts treat him or her very much like an adult who has committed a DWI. This crime is classified as a Class B misdemeanor and carries the threat of 180 days behind bars and a maximum fine of $2,000 for any minors 17-years-old or older.

  Quite simply, you wouldn’t be reading this if you or your son or daughter hadn’t already displayed a lack of judgment. Your own future or that of your son or daughter requires that you respond with better decision making and secure the assistance and protection of a skilled and seasoned Park Cities DWI attorney.

  
  

  Texas DWI and Child Endangerment

  Children can’t tell their parents that they’re taking a cab when the parents have had too much to drink; they’re at the whim of their parents weaknesses. To protect such children, the state of Texas has made the crime of DWI with a minor in the vehicle a form of child endangerment and a state felony. Anyone convicted may be sent to prison for two years and fined as much as $10,000. In order to protect the children, police are even encouraged to make arrests for DWI with a minor in the vehicle without any form of BAC testing if necessary. What’s more, the fallout from such an arrest can be devastating for single parents. An ex-spouse could have visitation rights revoked or take away custody of the children entirely. In some cases, custody could be given to parents, in-laws, or even assumed by Child Protective Services

  Our goal here isn’t to frighten you, but only to make you realize the grave situation you could be in if accused DWI with a minor in the vehicle. To keep your family in one piece, you need the skilled guidance of a Highland Park DWI attorney.

  
  

  Administrative License Revocation (ALR) Hearings

  No matter how old you are when you refuse a breathalyzer test requested by a law enforcement officer in Texas you’re going to have your driver’s license revoked and confiscated as you’re arrested. However, your driving privilege have not yet officially been lost at that point, so the arresting officer will issue you a provisional license that remains in effect for 40 days.

  After you’re arrested, the arresting officer or the DPS will send you notification of the intention to revoke your license. You then have 15 days to request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) Hearing to challenge the legality of the revocation. At this hearing, your lawyer will have the opportunity to present evidence demonstrating why your license should not be revoked – say you were able to pass a blood test after refusing the breathalyzer.

  In Dallas County, the volume of cases flowing through the court system is immense in nature; thus, your ALR Hearing will likely not fall within the 40 days allowed by the temporary license. Should this occur, the license remains in effect until the ALR Hearing is held. If you are unable to convince the judge of your right to remain driving, then you have another 30 days to appeal, and if you file for an appeal the temporary license remains good for an additional 90 days. If you win the ALR Hearing or subsequently an acquittal at trial, then your revocation will end immediately.

  To put it plainly, your driver’s license isn’t necessarily revoked just because the arresting officer said it was. Put your fate in the hands of a savvy Park Cities DWI attorney like those at Grossman Law Offices, and we may be able to put you back in the driver’s seat.

  
  

  Occupational Driver’s Licenses

  Even if you lose your ALR Hearing, our Park Cities DWI lawyers at Grossman Law Offices may be able to get you back behind the wheel before your driver’s license revocation has come to an end. The Metroplex is a vast suburban wasteland, and even with the massive improvements in our rail system, it’s not always possible for people to get to work using public transportation. The state of Texas understands this and is sympathetic to the need of all Texans to get to work and take of their children and families – even convicted drunk drivers, who are permitted to apply for Occupational Driver’s Licenses (ODLs). While the best option to continue driving, ODLs are expensive and greatly restrict travel. Drivers are only permitted to drive to pre-approved locations with an ODL and must keep track of all trips in a travel log that details all aspects of the journey – date, time of departure, destination, time of return, total miles driven, and reason for the trip.

  Obtaining an ODL isn’t as easy as just paying for it. An application must be submitted to the presiding judge in your case. Failure to follow the guidelines to apply could lead to the driver not being granted access to all locations for which he or she needs to travel, or the application could be denied entirely. To make sure you’re able to get to work without waiting for a bus or train, you need to secure the assistance of an experienced and knowledgeable Park Cities DWI attorney.

  
  

  DWI and Public Intoxication Share Little in Common

  Due to the word “intoxication” most people automatically lump DWI and Public Intoxication (PI) together, but the two crimes are vastly different and don’t even define that word the same way. In terms of PI, someone is determined to be intoxicated when he or she is deemed to be a danger to him or herself or others.

  When investigating a DWI, Texas law enforcers follow established parameters for their investigations, but there is no protocol for an officer making an arrest for PI. Officers merely use their judgment to decide when someone’s level of drunkenness has become dangerous, and what one officer thinks is PI another might laugh off as humorous recreational drinking.

  Without a doubt, people committing PI present less of a hazard to the general public than those who are committed DWI. When someone passes out in a pool of his or her own vomit, that person presents far less of a danger than a blackout drunk who is barreling down the highway in a pickup truck. Therefore, PI has no threat of jail time and is only a Class C misdemeanor carrying a $500 fine. Unlike a DWI arrest which always requires legal assistance of an experienced DWI attorney, someone accused of PI can handle his or her own case, paying the fine. A lawyer would only be needed for a public intoxication charge when the accused believes he or she is innocent.

  
  

  More Information on Your Rights When Accused of a DWI

  While you have rights that are protected as a citizen of this country, driving isn’t one of them. Driving is privilege afforded to you by the state, and when you don’t follow the rules of the road, then that privilege can be revoked. Thus, if you exercise your right to refuse a breathalyzer test, then the state can exercise its right to revoke your license. Think about the state’s options if this rule were not in place – everyone would refuse to take breathalyzer tests, nobody would get convicted of drunken driving, and the roads of Texas would be only slightly better than those of Road Warrior. Thus, the current system has been put in place, and a refused breathalyzer test can even be presented as evidence against the accused.

  When being questioned about a DWI, you also need to remember that all of your actions and comments are being recorded on video and will be available to the jury. If you appear intoxicated than can be just as dooming as a failed breathalyzer.

  While you might think you have the “right to an attorney” while sitting at the side of the road with the blue and red lights flashing behind you, that’s just not the case. That Miranda Right is only reserved for those who have been charged with a crime and are subjected to an interrogation of a criminal nature. On the other hand, you do have the “right to remain silent” when being questioned, but you must remember that exercising this right will make you look very guilty to the jury who sees the video and virtually assure that the enraged officer will arrest you.

  
  

  Grossman Law Offices Knows how to Help You

  For more than 20 years, the Park Cities drunken driving lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have been helping Texans accused of DWI offenses fight the charges against them. We’ve learned the ropes about not only the laws involved with drunken driving but also the best ways of manipulating the system and procedures within the Dallas County courts.

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  While we can’t guarantee your acquittal, we will promise to do everything legally within our power to help you find the best outcome to your case. We have the experience to help anyone accused of any drunken driving offenses: people who refused breathalyzers, a mom who was pulled over with the kids in the car after one glass of wine too many at a dinner party, a driver who killed or injured someone else in a car accident, or a teen who got pulled over coming home from a kegger after drinking just one beer. Call us now for a free consultation at 1-855-427-0000 (toll free) and take advantage of our decades of expertise. We’re available 24/7 to answer your questions, ease your mind, and explain your legal options. You’re taking on undo risk to try and handle your own case, so call us today and secure the assistance of experienced Park Cities DWI attorneys.