How to defend dwi in texas

Just because drunk driving is among the most common criminal charges in Texas doesn't mean it's any less serious. In fact, you can face serious jail time, stiff fines, and loss of mobility upon conviction. With such high stakes, it makes sense to get help from a legal professional.

Our Experience Is Your Best Defense Against A DWI/DUI

Get started today by contacting an experienced Texas DWI attorney near you. Find your Lawyer Explore Resources For Learn About the Law. Legal Forms. Are you a Legal Professional? Examples of affirmative defenses are duress, mistake of fact, or insanity. It is unlikely that insanity would arise as an affirmative defense to DWI. Most of the defenses that arise in DWI cases are not affirmative defenses.

In most DWI cases, the defenses do not admit the underlying conduct. Many of the defenses in DWI cases attack the reliability of the blood test or the breath test or the dependability of the field sobriety tests. Defenses to DWI charges often revolve around reasonable doubt and how the evidence brought forth by the state is insufficient to support a conviction. The defendant does not have to prove anything. The defense does not have to put on any evidence.

The state has the burden of proof. The state has to prove its case, and if this case can be attacked successfully, that is all it takes to get to Not Guilty.

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Beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of proof in criminal cases, and it is a high standard. There is no legal definition, but it is the most demanding standard in the legal system. While there is no legal definition, the dictionary definition, at its essence, means doubt based on reason. Reasonable doubt is about logic, and not about size. During jury selection, I illustrate this point by discussing Tylenol with the jurors.

I ask them if in this bottle of Tylenol capsules, there is a chance that one capsule in this bottle could be laced with arsenic, would they be comfortable giving a Tylenol from the bottle to a family member? The answer will be a hard and firm "no" for all prospective jurors. Then, the bottle size is hypothetically increased.

What if they bottle had 1, pills, and there was a chance that one is laced with arsenic? What if the bottle had 10, pills? This example, taken from David Ball's book on Criminal Defense , teaches the idea of reasonable doubt to jurors very well. The reasonable doubt that one pill will not be safe does not disappear despite the fact that the chance is very small. The standard is lower. For law enforcement, the standard of proof needed by a police officer to arrest someone for DWI is probable cause. To have probable cause, a police officer needs to show is that more likely than not a crime has been committed.

This is a great way to defend a DWI without undermining the integrity of the police. Many jurors believe in police officers, and get turned off by defense attorneys who attack and undermine the police.

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It is crucial to be conscious of this. Always know your audience. Of course, for reasonable doubt to be an effective defense, it must be tied to the facts. In a police report, there are three things that can be counted on in almost every DWI report: bloodshot eyes and odor of alcohol and slurred speech. So what do these things mean? How can they be explained? How can they be accounted for? A person could have red because they are tired, because of cigarette smoke, because of wind, because of allergies or other irritants have caused them to rub and itch their eyes.

What does it mean to slur speech? The police officer will admit that he or she has not met the defendant before, and has no idea how the defendant usually speaks. For odor of alcohol, the police officer will have to admit that drinking alcohol and driving is not illegal.

Once again, although the police officer may have probable cause to arrest, there may not be evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to convict. It must fit. This can be a powerful defense, but the defense lawyer must powerfully weave the narrative. The presumption of innocence requires that jurors presume the defendant is innocent until evidence closes. The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of the American criminal justice system.

Although the Constitution does not specifically address the presumption of innocence, it has been tied to the right to due process and incorporated into the fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments. State law defines DWI as a person who operates a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. You can be in a car, boat, aircraft or operating an amusement ride and still be charged with a DWI if you are caught operating any of the mentioned motor vehicles while intoxicated.

Aggravated factors such as high BAC or open alcohol containers can increase the penalties. Intoxication Assault : This offense involves causing serious bodily injury to another person as a result of driving while intoxicated. The court charges the crime as a third-degree felony that includes a prison sentence of a minimum of two years but up to Intoxicated Manslaughter : Intoxication manslaughter involved the accidental or unintentional death of another person because of drunk driving.

Because of the loss of life, the crime is more severe than intoxication assault and is charged as a second-degree felony. You could spend two to 20 years in prison if convicted. You could spend no less than days in state jail or up to two years.

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