DWI

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DWI CASES

  1. Range of Punishment:
    First Offense -- Class B Misdemeanor
    Fine: up to $2000
    County Jail: 72 hours up to 180 days
    Probation: up to 2 years
    Driver's License Suspension: 90 days up to 1 year

    Second Offense -- Class A Misdemeanor
    Fine: up to $4,000
    County Jail: 30 days up to 1 year
    Probation: up to 2 years
    Driver's License Suspension: 180 days up to 2 years

    Third Offense -- 3rd Degree Felony
    Fine: up to $10,000
    Prison: 2 years up to 10 years
    Probation: 2 years up to 10 years

    Second Offense or First Offense with Blood Alcohol .15 or above -- Class A Misdemeanor

    Driver's License Suspension: 180 days up to 2 years 
  2. Driver's License Surcharges:
    First Offense Conviction: $1000/year x 3 years
    Subsequent Offense Conviction: $1,500/year x 3 years
    Conviction Where Breath Test is .16 or Above: $2,000/year x 3 years
  3. Just Because You Blew Over the Legal Limit Does Not Automatically Mean that Your Are Guilty. It's not illegal for you to be intoxicated at a jail when you take a breath test. It's illegal for you to be intoxicated when you are driving. And a person's alcohol level can vary over time. Even if you blew over the legal limit at jail, it's possible that your blood alcohol was below the legal limit when you were driving. A jury in a DWI case is allowed to reach its own conclusion about the meaning of breath test results.
  4. A Portable Breath Result from the Roadside Cannot Be Used to Prove Your Blood Alcohol Level. It's simply not considered scientifically reliable evidence. The results are inadmissible in court.
  5. There is No Longer A Time Limit On the Use of Prior DWI Convictions. Even if a DWI conviction is 20 years old, it can still be used to increase the punishment for a new offense.
  6. You Cannot Get Deferred Adjudication for First Offense Driving While Intoxicated. A first offense DWI is one of the few offenses in Texas for which you cannot get deferred adjudication probation. However, if a DWI is plea-bargained to some other type of charge, deferred adjudication is then possible.
  7. You Should Never Make a Decision About Your DWI Case Until You Have Seen the Video. In most DWI cases, there is a law enforcement videotape that was made on the side of the road. Our clients are often surprised at how they look on the tape -- some pleasantly, some not as much. Don't simply rely on your memory of what happened. Judge your case by the same evidence that a jury would see before you make a decision.