During the past week, we have been retained by two new clients who each have Driving While Intoxicated cases and who both suffer from bipolar disorder. Over the course of my practice, one of the things that has surprised me the most is the high percentage of DWI clients who have a bipolar diagnosis.
This goes under the category of games that courts play.
If you have a misdemeanor case in Comal County, here's the lowdown on the infamous $250.00 mentioned in those pink pieces of paper mailed out by the court: In every first court date notice sent out by the Comal County Court-at-Law, there is a sentence that mentions that court costs are due at the time of sentencing and that court costs usually run $250.00. No other explanation is given. This notice creates a huge amount of confusion.
First, let's understand what an ALR hearing is. In most DWI cases, when you are arrested, a cop offers you a breath test. If you turn down the breath test, or "fail" the breath test, the cop seizes your driver's license and give you a notice of DL suspension.
The notice tells you (in incredibly fine print) that you have to decide within 15 days whether or not you wish to request and ALR hearing -- a hearing to decide if your DL will be suspended. If you do nothing, the Department gof Public Safety gets to automatically suspend your license 40 days after the day of your arrest.